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 communicate to Jeff Waye, Co-Founder and COO, and Patrick Curley, Co-Founder, President and CEO, of world unbiased music writer Third Facet Music. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore.
Third Facet Music began life in Montreal in 2005 with a $150,000 funding by two music trade veterans. Now, it’s an unbiased publishing powerhouse.
The corporate, based by Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley, tells MBW that it’s averaged 15-20% year-over-year progress 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 observe 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 Facet Music.
“Our ardour is music not market share.”
Jeff Waye, Third Facet 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 corresponding to 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 the whole lot from The Bear and The White Lotus to model campaigns for Apple, Dior, and Hermès.
The ability of TSM’s sync operation was on full show in late 2025, when consumer Wolf Parade’s 2005 observe I’ll Imagine in Something was positioned within the TV sequence Heated Rivalry.
The music practically 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 progress” in 2025, together with its best-ever 12 months for sync, and says the corporate is constructing on that momentum in 2026.
“TSM is increasing methods we will 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 supplied to purchase us,” says Waye. “However I believe usually their curiosity is generally in burying a competitor. The minute it’s a must to prioritize traders over artists, it’s going to by no means profit the artists, and I’m not interested by that.”
Right here, Waye and Curley focus on TSM’s two-decade journey, the state of unbiased 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 have been taking a dive, individuals have been shopping for the odd observe on Apple, streaming hadn’t actually are available in but, and it was getting more and more onerous 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 have been sending a lot mechanical revenue to passive publishers.
So it led me to consider creating a brand new type of artist-focused publishing firm that may be an equitable vacation spot, treating them as companions and never commodities, and really bringing companies to the desk.
Patrick Curley: Since Plateau had been specializing in B2B advertising and marketing to music supervisors and manufacturing firms, I noticed firsthand how highly effective it could possibly be when it was carried out proper. So we merged this, and modeled TSM after the indie labels we beloved, specializing in inventive and sync, administration, correct registrations, paying precisely, and constructing long-term partnerships as an alternative 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: After we began, sync was comparatively under-serviced by a number of the most important 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 manner as after 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 the moment. 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 a whole bunch of initiatives every week. During the last 20 years, the standard of content material turned manner broader, and music wants extra international. Syncs may also 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% progress yearly by sticking to a fundamental philosophy: pay precisely and frequently, provide particularly reasonable offers, and win individuals over by companies and outcomes moderately than hype. We deal with constructing catalogs which have depth, not simply a few headline hits, and staying genuinely unbiased so we will make choices 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% progress yearly by sticking to a fundamental philosophy: pay precisely and frequently, provide particularly reasonable offers, and win individuals over by companies and outcomes moderately 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. Lots of our purchasers are on their fourth or fifth contract cycle, which implies 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 trying to flip their copyrights to another person. Our ardour is music not market-share.
PC: On high of that, we’ve intentionally invested in constructing a worldwide copyright admin platform, which implies collections experience, fixing registrations and doing the heavy lifting on advanced, usually non-Western catalogs.
We additionally guarantee music supervisors can license music simply. This method has turned a number of under-exploited repertoire into regular, recurring revenue. If 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 progress, 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 traders, father or mother firm, or company oversight, TSM just isn’t beholden to anybody however our artists, songwriters, and their groups. This lets us take a long-term method, and again music we imagine 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 method hasn’t modified. However as the marketplace for syncs exploded, TSM’s sync repute 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 will 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’ve got fingers down the perfect sync workforce and sync technique. However, not right here to share our particular sauce besides to say, it’s nothing with out the A&R workforce bringing in continuously thrilling and related new music companions, and a sync workforce that makes it their job to make purchasers’ lives straightforward and never waste anybody’s time. Additionally, we don’t sit again and anticipate the telephone to ring. We’re insanely proactive, know every catalog inside out, and make it straightforward and protected 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 fundamental stage, we’re all music nerds and file collectors. So we are likely to gravitate in direction of nice artwork regardless of whether or not it’s new or previous. The fantastic thing about being a music writer is that you just’re not public dealing with, so there’s no want to stay to a selected sound or model. 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 up to now, which have completely performed a singular function in creating their profitable profession. For lots of our writers, sync isn’t simply ancillary revenue, it’s integral to how they attain followers.
“We’re not on the market making an attempt to purchase a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re interested by fastidiously chosen catalogs the place TSM can add actual worth.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re not on the market making an attempt to purchase a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re interested by fastidiously chosen catalogs the place TSM can add actual worth —particularly non-Western catalogs, the place rights are typically messy, as traditionally there weren’t rights administration constructions in place when the music was created.
Our copyright workforce led by Melanie Santa Rosa excels on the heavy lifting — monitoring down heirs, doing due diligence, fixing splits, and ensuring the suitable individuals receives a commission. That lets us dangle an “open for enterprise” signal on deep Nigerian, Ghanaian, Thai, and Jamaican catalogs, and convey them safely into fashionable sync and streaming.
On the similar time, we signal and develop new artists that we’re real followers of. We would like the perfect of the perfect in each style attainable, so we by no means depart a chance on the desk. However, not a lot of 1 factor the place we’re then competing in opposition to ourselves and the artist we made commitments to.
WHAT M&A OPPORTUNITIES ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET?
PC: Probably the most attention-grabbing alternatives for us are much less about massive headline acquisitions and extra about focused catalog partnerships. With so many reversions occurring, there are a number of writers and estates getting rights again after lengthy durations.
“We’re additionally seeing a niche in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs which might be off the radars.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re additionally seeing a niche in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs which might be off the radars. So we’ve got 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 useful and tied to our long-term work rising the revenue of a catalog.
WHAT OTHER TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?
JW: Initially is the trade obsession with treating music catalogs as monetary property. We’d moderately simply discuss music as music after which work out how you can 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 by-product is simply such a boring matter.
PC: General publishing revenues are rising, and organizations like NMPA and others are combating the massive 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 quick problem is platform habits — Spotify’s bundling being a chief instance. One other is the sheer quantity of capital chasing catalog acquisitions, and majors bidding up property. It may be onerous for independents to compete on upfront cash the place the multiples is senseless (i.e. offers that received’t recoup within the Time period). Nevertheless our purchasers know we all know we will 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 may be a long time of inaccurate registrations that rights house owners face, copyright gaps, and distrust. We’ve invested in offering the very best stage of companies to assist remedy these points and maximize revenue for our purchasers. The work is painstaking, however when 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 type of strikes we’ve seen with bundling and related ways that strip thousands and thousands 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 choices which might be completely divorced from the inventive actuality and lives of working musicians.
Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore. TuneCore supplies self-releasing artists with know-how and companies throughout distribution, publishing administration, and a spread of promotional companies. TuneCore is a part of Imagine.Music Enterprise Worldwide
