by Kandiss Edwards
March 12, 2026
Prime Wave Music announce the settlement, which incorporates possession pursuits in parts of the band’s publishing catalog.
Legendary funk and R&B group Kool & the Gang has entered into a brand new partnership with Major Wave Music that may see the corporate purchase a stake within the band’s music catalog and associated rights.
On March 10, Major Wave Music introduced the settlement, which incorporates possession pursuits in parts of the band’s publishing catalog, artist royalties, and neighboring rights tied to Kool & the Gang’s recordings. The partnership can even present branding help and long-term advertising and marketing initiatives. With just one residing member of the group remaining, Robert “Kool” Bell, the purpose is to increase the group’s legacy and introduce their music to new audiences.
“I’m extraordinarily enthusiastic about my new partnership with Major Wave, not solely as a result of they perceive my imaginative and prescient, however as a result of they’re very accessible, only a telephone name away,” Robert “Kool” Bell stated in an announcement. “Collectively we’re going to journey a Kool Wave as we get issues mounted and keep slot in 2026!”
Major Wave Music has constructed a enterprise mannequin round buying stakes in iconic catalogs whereas growing licensing alternatives in movie, tv, promoting, and model partnerships. The agency expressed its dedication to “protect, defend and amplify” the group’s legacy now and sooner or later.
“Kool’s function because the final surviving founding member of Kool & the Gang makes this partnership particularly significant. As a real pioneer of funk and fashionable music, Kool has carried the group’s imaginative and prescient, spirit, and legacy ahead for many years. At Major Wave, we’re honored to companion with him to protect, defend, and amplify this iconic catalog for generations to come back,” stated Major Wave companion David Weitzman.
Shaped in New Jersey within the Sixties, Kool & the Gang rose to fame with a string of tolerating hits that blended funk, soul, and pop influences. Their catalogue options fashionable and profitable hits like Celebration, Women’ Evening, and Get Down On It, which proceed to obtain vital radio play and licensing placements many years after their launch. In 2024, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame. Bell accepted the glory after the latest deaths of earlier band members, together with drummer and songwriter George Brown (2023, saxophonist, flutist, and percussionist Dennis Thomas (2021 and Bell’s composer brother, Ronald (2020).
RELATED CONTENT: Kool & The Gang Founding Member Dennis’ Dee Tee’ Thomas Lifeless at 70
