Kobalt has signed Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson to a global publishing deal. The company will handle the playwright, composer, and lyricist’s publishing administration, creative services and sync for both catalog and future works. Jackson’s critically-acclaimed musical “A Strange Loop” won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, in addition to a multitude of additional honors including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award and an an Obie Award.
The show’s upcoming Broadway transfer is one of the most highly anticipated offerings aiming for New York post-COVID. In Variety‘s review, critic Frank Rizzo wrote: The abundantly talented Jackson takes the otherwise tired trope of the young, poor and sensitive artist trying to discover his true self and make it in New York, then adds layer upon layer of personal angst from a fresh and startling perspective.
“Michael R. Jackson’s musical, A Strange Loop, knocked me off my seat when I saw it last summer,” said Sue Drew, general manager, creative at Kobalt. “The eloquence of his storytelling and his unforgettable melodies signal a giant in musical theater. It is our honor and privilege to represent his publishing. He is an American treasure.”
Added Jackson: “I am beyond thrilled to partner with Kobalt on my music publishing. For me, music is a dream that began when my father made my brother and I start taking piano lessons as kids in Detroit, Michigan, the birthplace of Motown. It was then and there that I began to learn that music was a tradition and not a trend and an inextricable part of my being as an artist. I look forward to sharing my contribution to that tradition as far and as wide as I can with Kobalt.”
Kobalt’s publishing roster includes such artists as The Weeknd, Foo Fighters, Lorde and Finneas, among others.