Inside The Hit-Making World Of Indie Upstart Ark Publishing Collective

A few years ago Grammy-winning, multi-faceted recording engineer Noah Goldstein reconnected with his industry colleague Psymun, with whom he’d briefly worked on a project for Bon Iver.

Psymun mentioned he had a meeting the following day about a publishing deal. Goldstein—who’s been at the boards for some of the decade’s biggest hits from the likes of Kanye West, Travis Scott and Drake—said he was about to launch his own publishing joint venture with Concord. He floated the idea of working together, no matter where Psymun landed with his deal.

“Psymun said, ‘Oh, cool. I’ll take the meeting, but I’m going to sign with you,’” Goldstein recalls. “And I was like, ‘I literally haven’t started the company yet. I haven’t even signed the deal.’ But if you’re serious, I’ll make sure it happens.”

Psymun was serious, and he became the first signee to Goldstein’s Ark Publishing.

“The timing was so wild,” recalls the musician, songwriter and producer. “My first big placement, Chanel by Young Thug, came out the very next day. After that song I was getting a lot of offers from all the big publishing companies but nothing was as exciting to me as Noah’s deal. And he wanted to do it the day before my worth to all these companies went way up.”

It’s a salient anecdote, but it’s also business as usual for Goldstein and the way he’s built Ark, a small but mighty collective that pocketed three Grammys this year.

At a time when many writers and producers are struggling to be heard—and compensated—Goldstein has created a creators’ haven, a self-described “squad” of talents with complementary skills and shared motivation who frequently hit each other up for advice, inspiration or just to riff. All are busy hustling their own projects, and all benefit from the business savvy Goldstein has culled through more than 20 years in the industry including nearly a decade as West’s producer, A&R, engineer and touring audio director.

“I go on gut instinct when I meet people,” Goldstein says. “It comes down to putting a team together, not so much about signing writers and a bunch of people who make loops—which we all do any way. Everyone here is a multi-hyphenate. These are people I really believe in, that are incredibly talented, that share similar interests, and that I know can execute at a high level.”

The industry is taking notice. Goldstein took home a Grammy in February for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for Motomami (Rosalía), his second after picking up a Best Rap Album award for his work on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2012. Ark’s Tim Maxey won for Best Rap Album for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar), and Yuli scored for Best Progressive R&B Album for Gemini Rights (Steve Lacy).

The Ark roster—which currently totals nine—also includes Daniel Aged, who has worked with Frank Ocean and just performed with Ocean at Coachella; William Sullivan (Kid Cudi, Paris Texas); Elliott Kozel (Yves Tumor); Anthro Beats (Phora); Oscar Santander (Omar Apollo, Cautious Clay, Fade Em All); and Jake Miller (Bjork, Yves Tumor, and the Rosalia & Rauw Project, RR).

“I’ve had other deals through majors and I’m not talking down other companies, but I’ll just say they are kind-of faceless,” Goldstein says. “Here, everybody gets to work with me directly. It’s somebody they can call and talk to that’s in the room making records basically every day. I’m not sitting in an office. My office is the studio. We do zoom calls and then we go make records.”

He’s also been around long enough to know his worth and that of those he surrounds himself with.

“When it comes to publishing, I go hard for my people. I’ve been through it in this business and I don’t want to be taken advantage of at all anymore. That does not sit well in my heart,” he says. “And when I bring people onto my team, I’m now responsible for them. So if I feel like somebody is trying to wrong them or take advantage of them, I take that very seriously and if I have to make a call, I make the call, or we work it out together.”

“There’s a long history of top producers and songwriters who have built massive publishing companies. Noah’s prowess and taste in both business and record-making, along with an impeccable personal discography make Ark a viable option for any artist, writer or producer to call home,” says Goldstein’s manager Lucas Keller, president of global music and sports management firm Milk & Honey.

The Ark ethos resonated immediately with Yuli, a multi-instrumentalist, artist, songwriter and producer who had been shopping around for a deal when she met Goldstein.

“I talked with a bunch of different [publishers] but the vibe wasn’t there for me. I wanted something that felt like they really care about your goals and about putting you in the right rooms,” she says. “Noah will literally text us, ‘I’m going in the studio with Travis Scott—everybody send your best stuff.’ That’s just not normal. To have that sense of community and everybody being in partnerships with each other… that’s something that’s really priceless.”

Goldstein says he has plans to grow the Ark roster but only when the time, and the talent, are right.

“I have plans to expand but I’m not going to do it unless I know for sure I can be of service to everybody in the same way,” he says. “There have been other people who’ve wanted to sign and we’ve talked about it, and it doesn’t mean I don’t think they are amazing talent but for whatever reason I didn’t think it was the right fit for the team.”

And Goldstein, above all, is all in for the team.

“For Yuli and Tim to come away with Grammys this year—and beyond the Grammys everybody’s getting these great placements—it gives me more confidence in the company and as a publisher. It’s proof of concept.”