Trailblazers is an MBW interview sequence that turns the highlight on music entrepreneurs with the potential to change into the worldwide enterprise energy gamers of tomorrow. On this function, we converse to Jeff Waye, Co-Founder and COO, and Patrick Curley, Co-Founder, President and CEO, of worldwide impartial music writer Third Aspect Music. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore.
Third Aspect Music began life in Montreal in 2005 with a $150,000 funding by two music trade veterans. Now, it’s an impartial publishing powerhouse.
The corporate, based by Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley, tells MBW that it’s averaged 15-20% year-over-year development and generated over USD $25 million in annual revenues in 2025, all with out ever taking a cent of outdoor capital.
Waye began his profession in file distribution and retail earlier than spending a decade working Ninja Tune‘s operations in North America.
Curley, in the meantime, got here from the indie rock world, finally turning into an leisure lawyer and founding Plateau, one of many first companies to supply sync as a devoted service.
Right this moment, their firm’s monitor file speaks for itself: “Over 95% of our offers have been absolutely recouped, and we’ve had 99% consumer retention throughout our energetic roster,” says Waye of Third Aspect Music.
“Our ardour is music not market share.”
Jeff Waye, Third Aspect Music
TSM’s 75,000-plus title catalog spans a roster that features SOFI TUKKER, Sky Ferreira, BadBadNotGood, Courtney Barnett, Future Islands, Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, and Colin Stetson, alongside iconic legacy catalogs reminiscent of The Clyde Otis Music Group, Studio One, Galt MacDermot, and Alan Watts.
The corporate’s sync division – with devoted groups in Los Angeles, New York, London, Montreal, and Mexico Metropolis – has been the engine of a lot of its success, touchdown music in every thing from The Bear and The White Lotus to model campaigns for Apple, Dior, and Hermès.
The facility of TSM’s sync operation was on full show in late 2025, when consumer Wolf Parade’s 2005 monitor I’ll Consider in Something was positioned within the TV sequence Heated Rivalry.
The track almost doubled its lifetime Spotify streams – from 21 million to over 40 million – in simply two months. Wolf Parade’s month-to-month Spotify listeners, in the meantime, surged from 196,000 to over 2 million.
“In my 35+ years in music, I’ve by no means seen a sync have this sort of impression — each statistically and culturally,” says Waye.
Curley tells MBW that TSM skilled “file development” in 2025, together with its best-ever yr for sync, and says the corporate is constructing on that momentum in 2026.
“TSM is increasing methods we are able to associate with artists, together with new admin offers, joint ventures, and partial catalog purchases — whereas staying disciplined in regards to the sorts of offers we do,” he says.
In an trade more and more formed by consolidation, Waye and Curley’s insistence on full independence has change into central to their pitch to artists.
“Corporations have provided to purchase us,” says Waye. “However I think usually their curiosity is usually in burying a competitor. The minute you must prioritize buyers over artists, it’ll by no means profit the artists, and I’m not occupied with that.”
Right here, Waye and Curley focus on TSM’s two-decade journey, the state of impartial publishing, and why they’ve by no means been tempted to promote…
YOU BOTH CAME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IN THE BUSINESS — HOW DID THOSE EXPERIENCES INFORM YOUR VISION FOR THE COMPANY?
Jeff Waye: Within the early 2000s, file gross sales had been taking a dive, individuals had been shopping for the odd monitor on Apple, streaming hadn’t actually are available but, and it was getting more and more laborious to make a file label work. However on the similar time we’d land a six determine sync, and I’d more and more marvel why we had been sending a lot mechanical earnings to passive publishers.
So it led me to consider creating a brand new form of artist-focused publishing firm that may be an equitable vacation spot, treating them as companions and never commodities, and truly bringing companies to the desk.
Patrick Curley: Since Plateau had been specializing in B2B advertising to music supervisors and manufacturing corporations, I noticed firsthand how highly effective it may very well be when it was executed proper. So we merged this, and modeled TSM after the indie labels we cherished, specializing in inventive and sync, administration, correct registrations, paying precisely, and constructing long-term partnerships as a substitute of locking individuals into lopsided offers.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE THE STATE OF THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS WHEN YOU LAUNCHED COMPARED TO TODAY, AND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE WITNESSED?
PC: Once we began, sync was comparatively under-serviced by plenty of the key publishers, and lots of artists checked out sync as promoting out. Right this moment it’s central to how they construct their careers, and publishers have since added full-service sync operations that didn’t exist in the identical means as once we began twenty years in the past. As publishing revenues have grown considerably, so has the urge for food for catalog acquisitions, and valuations have modified accordingly.
“WHEN WE STARTED, SYNC WAS RELATIVELY UNDER-SERVICED BY A LOT OF THE MAJOR PUBLISHERS, AND MANY ARTISTS LOOKED AT SYNC AS SELLING OUT.”
PATRICK CURLEY
JW: Again then, you’d pitch extra seasonally to some networks and promoting companies, and usually the enterprise wasn’t as international as it’s at this time. However as issues shifted to streaming, the demand exploded. To not point out the rise of video video games and different media. Right this moment we’re pitching on tons of of tasks every week. Over the past 20 years, the standard of content material turned means broader, and music wants extra international. Syncs can even catapult a profession. That basically modified the notion of many who had beforehand considered sync as a sellout.
YOU’RE CELEBRATING YOUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH as much as 20% YOY GROWTH AND $25M ANNUAL REVENUE. WHAT’S DRIVING THIS REVENUE GROWTH?
PC: Jeff and I launched TSM with $150,000 of our personal cash and have averaged as much as 15-20% development yearly by sticking to a primary philosophy: pay precisely and commonly, supply particularly reasonable offers, and win individuals over by way of companies and outcomes slightly than hype. We deal with constructing catalogs which have depth, not simply a few headline hits, and staying genuinely impartial so we are able to make selections with a long-term view.
“Jeff and I launched TSM with $150,000 of our personal cash and have averaged as much as 15-20% development yearly by sticking to a primary philosophy: pay precisely and commonly, supply particularly reasonable offers, and win individuals over by way of companies and outcomes slightly than hype.”
Patrick Curley
JW: Our mannequin has confirmed to work in apply. Over 95% of our offers have been absolutely recouped, and we’ve had 99% consumer retention throughout our energetic roster. A lot of our shoppers are on their fourth or fifth contract cycle, which suggests two issues: we’re choosing the right companions, and delivering sufficient worth that they select to remain. In addition they acknowledge we’re in it for the lengthy haul and never seeking to flip their copyrights to another person. Our ardour is music not market-share.
PC: On prime of that, we’ve intentionally invested in constructing a worldwide copyright admin platform, which suggests collections experience, fixing registrations and doing the heavy lifting on complicated, usually non-Western catalogs.
We additionally guarantee music supervisors can license music simply. This strategy has turned plenty of under-exploited repertoire into regular, recurring earnings. Whenever you mixed that with a high-retention of the roster, and employees that has been with us 10–18 years, and also you get compounding development, not simply incremental. Our present head of royalties, Monica Castilla, was TSM’s first worker again in 2007!
TSM IS STILL FULLY INDEPENDENT AFTER 20 YEARS. WHAT DOES INDEPENDENCE MEAN TO YOU, HAVE YOU HAD BUY-OUT OFFERS, AND HOW HAS STAYING INDEPENDENT SHAPED YOUR DECISION-MAKING?
JW: With no third-party buyers, mother or father firm, or company oversight, TSM will not be beholden to anybody however our artists, songwriters, and their groups. This lets us take a long-term strategy, and again music we consider in.
YOU’VE BECOME A PROMINENT PLAYER IN THE SYNC SPACE WITH OVER 17,000 PLACEMENTS. HOW HAS YOUR SYNC STRATEGY EVOLVED, AND WHAT DIFFERENTIATES TSM’S APPROACH?
PC: We began as a sync-focused firm earlier than it was an trade norm, and constructed our basis round doing that extraordinarily properly—pitching, clearances, relationships, and ensuring each artist has approval over what’s licensed.
Our strategy hasn’t modified. However as the marketplace for syncs exploded, TSM’s sync popularity and international attain has grown. TSM has devoted groups in Los Angeles, New York, London, Montreal, and Mexico Metropolis, and we make investments closely in catalog analysis and rights-clearance particularly for non-Western repertoire in order that supervisors don’t get hit with claims later. That’s why we are able to place 9 tracks from one catalog in a single season of a present like The White Lotus and never have any points.
“We began as a sync-focused firm earlier than it was an trade norm, and constructed our basis round doing that extraordinarily properly—pitching, clearances, relationships, and ensuring each artist has approval over what’s licensed.”
Patrick Curley
JW: If I do say so… we now have palms down one of the best sync staff and sync technique. However, not right here to share our particular sauce besides to say, it’s nothing with out the A&R staff bringing in continually thrilling and related new music companions, and a sync staff that makes it their job to make shoppers’ lives straightforward and never waste anybody’s time. Additionally, we don’t sit again and await the telephone to ring. We’re insanely proactive, know every catalog inside out, and make it straightforward and secure for supervisors to make use of our music.
YOUR ROSTER SPANS LEGACY CATALOGS LIKE STUDIO ONE, THE CLYDE OTIS MUSIC GROUP, GALT MACDERMOT, JOE DARION, AND SOUNDWAY, TO CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS LIKE SOFI TUKKER. HOW DO YOU BALANCE DEVELOPING NEW TALENT VERSUS ACQUIRING ESTABLISHED CATALOGS?
PC: At a primary stage, we’re all music nerds and file collectors. So we are inclined to gravitate in the direction of nice artwork regardless of whether or not it’s new or outdated. The great thing about being a music writer is that you simply’re not public going through, so there’s no want to stay to a selected sound or type. Very intentionally, we attempt to get world class high quality music in all genres, kinds, and eras.
Within the case of SOFI TUKKER (pictured inset), TSM has helped to land them over 450 syncs to this point, which have completely performed a singular position in growing their profitable profession. For lots of our writers, sync isn’t simply ancillary earnings, it’s integral to how they attain followers.
“We’re not on the market attempting to purchase a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re occupied with rigorously chosen catalogs the place TSM can add actual worth.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re not on the market attempting to purchase a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re occupied with rigorously chosen catalogs the place TSM can add actual worth —particularly non-Western catalogs, the place rights are generally messy, as traditionally there weren’t rights administration buildings in place when the music was created.
Our copyright staff led by Melanie Santa Rosa excels on the heavy lifting — monitoring down heirs, doing due diligence, fixing splits, and ensuring the correct individuals receives a commission. That lets us grasp an “open for enterprise” signal on deep Nigerian, Ghanaian, Thai, and Jamaican catalogs, and convey them safely into trendy sync and streaming.
On the similar time, we signal and develop new artists that we’re real followers of. We would like one of the best of one of the best in each style potential, so we by no means go away a possibility on the desk. However, not a lot of 1 factor the place we’re then competing towards ourselves and the artist we made commitments to.
WHAT M&A OPPORTUNITIES ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET?
PC: Essentially the most fascinating alternatives for us are much less about huge headline acquisitions and extra about focused catalog partnerships. With so many reversions taking place, there are plenty of writers and estates getting rights again after lengthy durations.
“We’re additionally seeing a spot in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs which might be off the radars.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re additionally seeing a spot in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs which might be off the radars. So we now have been positioning ourselves to supply partial catalog purchases and joint ventures on an as-needed foundation. Nevertheless, we’ll solely do these offers if they’re genuinely mutually helpful and tied to our long-term work rising the earnings of a catalog.
WHAT OTHER TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?
JW: In the beginning is the trade obsession with treating music catalogs as monetary belongings. We’d slightly simply discuss music as music after which work out methods to make good cash for musicians we respect. Can also the AI bros please simply transfer on to their subsequent shiny object. AI output that by design can solely be spinoff is simply such a boring matter.
PC: Total publishing revenues are rising, and organizations like NMPA and others are combating the large battles. After which there’s AI and the wave of panic round it. From our perspective, good music isn’t going anyplace.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE MUSIC PUBLISHING BUSINESS TODAY?
PC: One fast problem is platform conduct — Spotify’s bundling being a main instance. One other is the sheer quantity of capital chasing catalog acquisitions, and majors bidding up belongings. It may be laborious for independents to compete on upfront cash the place the multiples is mindless (i.e. offers that gained’t recoup within the Time period). Nevertheless our shoppers know we all know we are able to ship higher companies and higher outcomes, and in the end assist them improve the long run worth of their catalogs.
JW: There are additionally challenges round rights readability, particularly with non-Western catalogs. There will be many years of inaccurate registrations that rights house owners face, copyright gaps, and distrust. We’ve invested in offering the best stage of companies to assist remedy these points and maximize earnings for our shoppers. The work is painstaking, however in the event you don’t do it, supervisors and artists find yourself coping with the problems down the road. And thumbs all the way down to the fixed tech-bro-ification of music.
IF THERE WAS ONE THING YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT THE GLOBAL MUSIC BUSINESS, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
PC: I’d undo the form of strikes we’ve seen with bundling and comparable ways that strip tens of millions from songwriters and publishers. Songwriters have to be correctly valued.
JW: I’d like to see the trade cease speaking about music as if it’s simply one other asset class. When boardrooms deal with songs like actual property, you find yourself with selections which might be completely divorced from the inventive actuality and lives of working musicians.
Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore. TuneCore gives self-releasing artists with know-how and companies throughout distribution, publishing administration, and a variety of promotional companies. TuneCore is a part of Consider.Music Enterprise Worldwide
