Kurt Vile Expands Publishing Deal With Third Side Music
Singer-songwriter Kurt Vile has expanded his publishing deal with Third Side Music, which will now look after his full solo catalogue and songs written by Kurt Vile and the Violators. Billboard reported the agreement on 26 October 2026.
Publishing is the side of music that covers the songs themselves, as opposed to the recordings. A publisher collects royalties when a song is played, streamed, covered or used in a film, advert or video game, and then pays the writers their share. Many writers hand that work to a company, which takes a cut of the income in return.
Third Side Music has worked with Vile for longer than this new deal. It began on the release of his 2015 album B'lieve I'm Goin Down, which peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 and reached No. 10 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. The company has handled part of his catalogue since then. Under the expanded agreement, it will also administer his future works, beginning with the album Philadelphia's Been Good to Me, released in May.
Vile moved to Verve Records, part of Universal Music Group, in 2021 after spending most of his career at Matador Records. The new publishing agreement is separate from any recording contract. Third Side Music says it can offer his songs for film, TV, video games and commercials. Third Side Music's website lists that service on his artist page.
Third Side Music describes itself as a 100% independently owned publisher with global reach. It represents more than 70,000 titles, according to its own website, and a Music Business Worldwide profile from February 2026 put its annual revenues at USD 25 million and its catalogue at more than 75,000 titles. The company was built by Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley. Waye is its COO and co-founder. Its roster also includes Waxahatchee and Colin Stetson, and it has previously been linked with the songwriting of Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard.
For the songwriter, the practical question is who handles the paperwork, the licensing requests and the money that comes in from songs. Vile's new deal puts his solo work and his band's songs under one publisher, and it reaches forward to records not yet made.
