Melbourne, Australia & Seattle, Washington — Materia Music has inked a deal to acquire Australia’s premier video game music record label Boss Battle Records. Materia Music is the worldwide leader in distribution of video game soundtracks, music publishing, and rights administration. The Boss Battle Records catalog spans 7 years of music, including 423 recordings and publishing works across 23 soundtracks.
Founded in 2017 by game industry veteran Fabian Malabello (founder of The Otherworld Agency and GYLD), Boss Battle Records has led the Australian game music community via proactive initiatives in support of its diverse roster of game composers and artists. Fabian’s experience extends to more than 150 productions, including working on AAA franchises such as Star Wars, Metal Gear Solid, Honor of Kings, PUBG, Pac-Man, and Apex Legends.
“Materia Music has been the leader in video game music rights administration for nearly a decade, and I am thrilled to extend our expertise and unprecedented global support for Boss Battle Records and its roster of renowned artists and IPs moving forward,” shared Sebastian Wolff, Materia Music founder and CEO.
“This acquisition is not just a benefit to our artists, but a critical step toward the future growth of the ANZ video game music industry. Materia is unrivaled in its expertise, being at the forefront of rights administration and accounting in the highly convoluted intersection of music rights and video games. To team up with Sebastian – who I’ve regarded as an indelible champion of the video game music community for over a decade – and bring my expertise as a music supervisor and agent to the Materia family is beyond exciting to me; I’m someone who entered this sector with the sole goal of leaving it a better place than before I entered it, and by unifying our powers and expertise, Materia’s initiatives will make instrumental waves for the industry on a global scale.”
Boss Battle Records’s catalog is home to BAFTA-Nominated and Crunchyroll Anime Award-winning composer Kevin Penkin (Star Wars: Visions, Pokémon: Paldean Winds, Made in Abyss, Tower of God), among dozens of other notable artists and IPs; including soundtracks from “Warhammer 40,000: Regicide” InXile Entertainment’s “Wasteland Remastered”, Chucklefish’s “Wargroove”, and indie smash hit “No Straight Roads” by ex-Final Fantasy designer Wan Hazmer.
“I’ve been involved with Boss Battle Records for many years as a composer. Their passion for video game soundtracks and dedication to exporting local soundtracks to the world is what I’ve admired most. For Materia to also recognise this passion and come on board to steer the ship, furthering Boss Battle’s legacy is extremely exciting to witness. This endeavour will mean an exciting future for Australian soundtracks to be discovered by the world.” – Kevin Penkin
Acquisition discussions began in 2019 after the Victorian Music Development Office and Creative Victoria brought Materia Music CEO, Sebastian Wolff, to Australia during Melbourne International Games Week to gain a deeper understanding of the Australian video game industry and music landscape, and share expert insights with its game audio and music communities.
“We’re thrilled that Boss Battle Records is gaining global recognition through this exciting acquisition. We extend our appreciation to both Fabian and Sebastian for their ongoing contributions to Victoria’s music industry – their first collaborations, hosted by the VMDO back in 2019, were just the beginning. We look forward to seeing Boss Battle Records shine globally and to the continued development of the game music sector in Victoria, with the prospect of more exciting international collaborations.” – Aijia (AJ) Li, VMDO Director
“Following Materia Music’s investment in Boss Battle Records, we are thrilled to further our investment into the Australian video game industry as part of our international expansion, presence, and offerings to global video game audio communities.” says Sebastian.
Adding, “We consider this acquisition the first step of our growth plan to create label and publishing opportunities for Australia’s highly talented video game community. We see Australia as a hotspot for games, music, and creativity, and we are actively creating financial initiatives to bolster and celebrate its local talent.”
Moving into 2024, Materia Music will be exploring opportunities to include Boss Battle Records’s catalog among its extensive offerings of vinyl, CDs, sheet music, and other physical merchandise.
