Palm Tree Records

What Palm Tree Records does

Palm Tree Records is a privately held boutique record label operating as a worldwide joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, co-founded in 2018 by Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo (Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll) and his manager Myles Shear. The label provides full-service artist development for a curated roster of approximately 10 electronic and dance music artists, offering recording, marketing, touring support, merchandise, publishing, radio promotion, and brand partnership services. Its current roster includes 220 KID, Charlotte Haining, Drove, Ella Rosa, Eloi El, Flight School, Forester, Frank Walker, Galo, and XANDRA, with notable commercial successes including 220 KID's 2 billion cumulative streams and multi-platinum certifications across 15 countries. The label has accumulated over 1.25 billion streams across 250+ releases since inception and leverages Sony Music's global distribution network spanning 44+ countries.

The label's revenue model is diversified across five streams: digital streaming royalties (transaction fees on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms), touring and live performance income, merchandise sales, publishing royalties from songwriting credits and copyright management, and radio airtime revenue. Palm Tree Records positions itself as a strategic partner rather than a traditional label, emphasizing transparency, artist-friendly terms, and a familial culture, while leveraging Kygo's celebrity status (over 10 billion personal streams) and Palm Tree Crew's festival infrastructure to provide promotional platforms for signed artists. Distribution operates globally through Sony Music's wholesale network, with releases available on all major streaming platforms and live touring supported by industry connections.

The company is led by President David Rishty, who previously founded Exchange Management and launched the Billboard Dance 100 ranking, and Senior Product Manager Savannah Cassidy, who transitioned from Sony Music's International Marketing team. Operational headquarters are tied to Sony Music's U.S. base, and the label maintains active social media presence across Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. While no external funding rounds have been disclosed (consistent with the JV structure), the label continues to sign and develop artists, with multiple debut albums released between 2024 and 2026 signaling a maturing artist development pipeline.

Name

Palm Tree Records

Legal name

Palm Tree Records

Website

https://palmtreerecords.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Palm Tree Records is a worldwide joint venture boutique record label with Sony Music Entertainment, co-founded by Kygo and Myles Shear in 2018, providing full-service artist development to approximately 10 electronic and dance music artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York, NY

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Streaming Revenue: Revenue from music streaming across platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital distributors. The label has amassed over 1.25 billion streams across 250+ releases.
2. Touring and Live Performances: Artists generate revenue through touring, arena shows, and festival performances. Palm Tree Records supports artists in selling hard tickets and performing at prestigious festivals worldwide.
3. Merchandise: Artists sell merchandise to their core audiences as part of the holistic artist development approach.
4. Publishing: Publishing revenue from songwriting credits and copyright management for artists on the roster.
5. Radio: Radio play and airtime revenue for artists on the label.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Palm Tree Records is a worldwide joint venture record label with Sony Music Entertainment that provides full-service artist development for electronic and dance music artists. The label signs emerging and mid-level artists in the tropical house and progressive electronic genres, offering recording support, marketing, touring assistance, merchandise, publishing rights management, and radio promotion. Releases are distributed globally through Sony Music's network across 44+ countries and on all major streaming platforms.

Product overview

Palm Tree Records is a worldwide joint venture record label with Sony Music Entertainment, co-founded by Norwegian DJ/producer Kygo (Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll) and manager Myles Shear in 2018. The label functions as a holistic artist development platform providing strategic partnership, management services, and marketing support to a select roster of electronic and dance music artists including 220 KID, Charlotte Haining, Drove, Ella Rosa, Eloi El, Flight School, Forester, Frank Walker, Galo, and XANDRA. The company positions itself as a strategic partner rather than a traditional record label, cultivating engaged fan bases through innovative storytelling, meaningful collaborations, and creative marketing across multiple revenue streams including streaming, touring, radio, merchandise, and publishing. The label has garnered over 1.25 billion streams across 250+ releases since its inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Palm Tree Records (Artist Development & Label Services) A boutique record label and worldwide joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment providing full-service artist development for electronic and dance music artists. Services include recording, marketing, global distribution, touring support, merchandise, publishing rights management, and radio promotion for signed artists in the tropical house and progressive electronic genres.
• Palm Tree Records Artist Roster A select roster of less than a dozen signed artists focused on dance, electronic, and tropical house music genres. The roster includes 220 KID, Charlotte Haining, Drove, Ella Rosa, Eloi El, Flight School, Forester, Frank Walker, Galo, and XANDRA.
• Above Ground (Eloi El debut album) Debut studio album by Palm Tree Records signed artist Eloi El, a Kigali, Rwanda-based electronic/dance music artist.
• ORIGIN (Frank Walker debut album) Debut album by Palm Tree Records signed artist Frank Walker, whose catalog has clocked 500 million global streams.
• Yellow Butterflies (220 KID debut album) Debut album by Palm Tree Records signed artist 220 KID, whose catalog has amassed over 2 billion streams, going platinum and double platinum in 15 countries with number 1 hits in 11 countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.25 billion streams across 250+ releases
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sony Music EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Palm Tree Records is a worldwide joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, co-founded by Kygo and his manager Myles Shear. The partnership provides global distribution, access to Sony's international affiliate network spanning 44+ countries, marketing resources, and major-label infrastructure while maintaining boutique-level attention to a select roster of artists.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/palmtreerecs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFKUg_b8twVUYBorpscv4Rw
• Facebookfacebook.com/palmtreerecs
• Instagraminstagram.com/palmtreerecs
• TikToktiktok.com/@palmtreerecords
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palm-tree-records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Palm Tree Records