10 and 8's Nicholas Mishko Launches Ommco Licensing & Publishing

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10 And 8 Management President Nicholas Mishko has announced the formation of a new licensing and publishing company called Ommco, which officially opens on St. Patrick’s Day and makes use of his previous experience with ABKCO.

“At ABKCO I was blessed to learn licensing/publishing/royalties under Jody Klein, Alisa Coleman, Ken Salinsky and Chris Libenson in my early days of my career,” Mishko tells Pollstar, noting that the Ommco name is a nod to his children’s names (Owen and Melody) as well as a nod to the storied Abkco Music.

With the pandemic bringing a renewed sense of urgency for additional income streams, Mishko has been busy working sync deals for his clients, which include bands like Along Came A Spider, Everyone Dies In Utah, and many others, while peers and colleagues have continued to lean on him for help in the publishing and licensing space.

He says the licensing space is a growing opportunity for many artists, where, like every part of the music business, relationships are key.

“If a music supervisor is looking for a specific song for a particular movie or video game or tv show, they are looking for the perfect fit. It’s almost the final frontier where it’s really all about the music,” says Mishko, adding that a music supervisor at a TV network for streaming service may need a song containing specific words in a specific genre. “We’ve had some really good placement with some of our developing bands.”

On the publishing side, Mishko says the specialized knowledge he gained at Abkco can help artists make sure they’re fully registered worldwide and being properly compensated.

“Touring isn’t going to fully come back for a while so I needed a way to pivot,” he adds, admitting he’s tired of the “P” word as much as anyone. “My background is in royalties/licensing/publishing and we’ve had success in sync and getting back royalties has always been a specialty of mine. I had a lot of peers and colleagues tell me I should have started this years ago.”

2021 marks Mishko’s 13th year in music, having launched his own 10 and 8 Management in 2012 as a barely 20-something. He says while he’s fully committed and has his heart 100% in artist management, he’s eager to help the numerous labels and managers who have reached out pitching their clients for help with licensing and cleaning up their royalties.