Switzerland-headquartered fintech company Utopia Music has acquired Liverpool-based music publisher and publishing administration company Sentric Music Group.
In doing so, Utopia is launching a new Royalty Management Services business unit, which will be led by Sentric’s current CEO, Chris Meehan.
Meehan joins Utopia Music as Vice President of Royalty Management Services and Utopia says that he will continue to service Sentric’s existing customer base as part of Utopia.
According to Utopia, the new business unit “will enable the copyright management, allocation, distribution, and licence management required by Songwriters, Publishers, Collection Societies, Performers and Labels”.
To support the growth of this new unit, Utopia Music plans to set up an engineering tech-hub in Liverpool and will “embark on a hiring spree over the course of 2022 to recruit top talent”.
Today’s news follows Utopia’s acquisition last month of UK-based distributor Proper Music Group, which says that it handles over 1 million titles at any one time and provides distribution services for over 1,000 independent labels and service companies.
Utopia’s acquisition of Sentric marks its sixth company acquisition since September.
In December it acquired US-based music industry directory ROSTR and Austria-based music data analytics platform, ForTunes.
In October, the firm bought Nashville-based financial services company, Lyric Financial and in September, Utopia bought Quincy Jones-backed emotional data enrichment company Musimap.
Sources tell MBW that Utopia has tens of millions of dollars at its disposal.
Utopia claims that the new acquisition positions it “as the de facto growth partner to the Music Industry”.
Founded in 2006, Sentric Music Group has offices in London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Palma, New York and Los Angeles.
It says that it represents more than 3.5 million songs on behalf of over 275,000 writers and publishers.
“Royalty Management Services is set to be a cornerstone of the Utopia business model.”
Roberto Neri, Utopia Music
“Royalty Management Services is set to be a cornerstone of the Utopia business model,” said Roberto Neri, Chief Operating Officer at Utopia Music.
“Our main goal is to bring ´Fair Pay for Every Play´ by partnering with all industry stakeholders and unlocking the true value of Music for the whole value chain.
Neri added: “I am very excited to welcome the very well-respected Sentric team.
“Led by Chris, this business unit will be foundational to adding additional value to our already comprehensive and global consumption database, delivering further transparency and faster royalty payouts to Songwriters, Publishers and Collection Societies for Compositions and Performers, and Labels for Neighbouring Rights.
“Importantly, this new unit will generate employment in Liverpool, something we are passionate about as Utopia continues to grow and recruit the best talent from around the world.”
“Sentric and Utopia have the same long-term vision for the Music Industry.”
Chris Meehan
Chris Meehan, said: “Sentric and Utopia have the same long-term vision for the Music Industry.
“Both companies have the same passion for unlocking the true value of Music, and helping Creators reach their full potential. By joining Utopia in the global roll out of our services we are sure to reach our goal faster as a unified front, providing more value to both new and existing clients.”Music Business Worldwide
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