Concord Music Publishing's EVP of worldwide A&R Kim Frankiewicz has told Music Week that publishers are increasingly becoming artists’ “first call” in the modern music business.
During her keynote at Musexpo in the US in the spring, Frankiewicz talked about artists “going to publishers first because we can help them financially, creatively and with finding a producer, an agent and a manager”.
Speaking to Music Week's Karen Bliss in our September edition alongside VP of A&R Tom Coulson-Smith, she said the shift had been particularly noticeable over the past five years. She attributed the trend in part to the growth of independent distribution, which has given artists alternative routes to develop their careers.
"I’m feeling that people, especially artists, will come to us first," she said. "With so many independent distribution outlets available now, they have more options.
"For instance, they may not be getting the interest from the major record companies [yet], or they are, but they want to get a few more runs on the board before they can talk to a major. So, to be able to do that, they need financing and support. And so that’s why I feel the publishers are getting the first call a lot these days.”
Concord was named Independent Publisher Of The Year at the 2026 Music Week Awards, winning the category for the first time since 2021 amid a period of significant creative and commercial growth for the company.
"It’s always an absolute thrill when we’re announced as the winners of that award," said Frankiewicz. "It really means a lot. To be up on stage with all of our music industry peers in the room, it’s an honour, it truly is. This is our second one, which is fantastic. It’s always a goal to get it, and we’re very grateful to have got it twice now.”
It’s a whole cycle... You see a lot of mergers, but then you see all these great new companies coming through and so it then tends to balance itself out again
Kim Frankiewicz, Concord Music Publishing
In 2025 and 2026 so far, Concord writers have contributed to 14 No.1 albums in the UK, including Biffy Clyro’s Futique, Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp featuring work from Dom Maker and Fraser T Smith, Gorillaz’s The Mountain featuring Kara Jackson, and Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving, with contributions from Zach Nahome (who signed with Universal Music Publishing Group in January) and new signing Maverick Sabre. Concord writers Ben10k, Tom Levesque, Ovrkast and Dez Wright also contributed to Drake’s Iceman, which topped the UK albums chart.
Concord is, of course, also preparing to merge with BMG in a deal billed as creating “the leading independent music company in the world”, which is set to complete later this year.
“It’s an exciting announcement, but I’m not able to comment while the merger is pending,” said Frankiewicz, who also won the Seymour Stein Global A&R Award at Musexpo.
Elsewhere, Frankiewicz and Coulson-Smith gave their assessments of the current state of play in independent music. Frankiewicz pointed to the significant amount of capital currently flowing into the sector, with a wave of acquisitions coinciding with the emergence of new, well-financed independent companies increasingly able to compete at scale.
“There’s so much money moving around the music industry at the moment, with companies popping up left, right and centre doing acquisitions," said Frankiewicz. "Because of that, there are also some great music industry entrepreneurs who are setting up smaller independent companies with good financing.
"In the UK alone, [there are numerous] independent companies where they’ve got good, healthy financing and they’re being competitive – even with a company of our size, let alone the majors. So, I think that there’s going to be more of those coming through.
"It’s a whole cycle. I’ve seen this through all my years in the industry, where you see a lot of mergers, but then you see all these great new companies coming through and so it then tends to balance itself out again.”
I am of the opinion that great music and songs have to come from people
Tom Coulson-Smith, Concord Music Publishing
Coulson-Smith, who was promoted to VP of A&R last year, said the combination of investment and experienced A&R talent could give independent companies a particular advantage.
“There are a lot of great A&R people out there," he said. "When they partner up with those companies that you’re talking about that have investment, you create a bespoke team where the writers and artists can be really close to their A&R person, sync person, or whoever it might be.
"That’s what we pride ourselves on as well – being super close to the people we work with. [It’s about] them knowing not just that point person, but all the members of the team, so they feel at home with the people that are looking after their music.”
Coulson-Smith also addressed the continuing rise of AI, acknowledging that “it can be useful in certain areas”, but arguing that human creativity remains essential to great music.
"I am of the opinion that great music and songs have to come from people," he said. "AI does not have emotion. AI regurgitates what has already been created, but the brilliance of music is that when you hear something completely new that you’ve never heard before, that’s when you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, that is unbelievable music’ and AI can’t reproduce that in my opinion.”
Subscribers can read the full interview here.
PHOTOS: PAUL HARRIES
