Utopia Music Acquires Sentric Music Group, Establishes ‘Royalty Management Services’ Division

Liverpool, where the new royalty management services division of Utopia Music is based. Photo Credit: Atanas Paskalev

Having purchased Quincy Jones-backed Musimap, artist-advance business Lyric Financial, UK-based distributor Proper Music Group, and others during the second half of 2021 and early 2022, song-play monitor Utopia Music has now bought Sentric Music Group and established a royalty management services division.

Six-year-old Utopia Music unveiled the launch of its royalty management services division – as well as the related purchase of Liverpool’s Sentric Music Group – via a formal release today. 16-year-old Sentric, which bills itself as “a global, award-winning independent publisher,” has offices in London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, and Palma, and the financial terms of its sale haven’t been publicly revealed.

But Sentric is set to serve as “the foundation” of the just-detailed royalty management services operation, according to the involved businesses, with Sentric CEO Chris Meehan signing on as Utopia’s VP of royalty management services. In the position, Meehan will lead the newly minted division and, in turn, bring existing Sentric clients under the Utopia banner.

In keeping with Utopia’s aforementioned buyouts, the Swiss company is preparing to “set up an engineering tech-hub in Liverpool and embark on a hiring spree over the course of 2022 to recruit top talent,” higher-ups made clear.

Said tech-hub will “enable the copyright management, allocation, distribution, and licence management required by” performers, songwriters, publishers, labels, and others, per Utopia Music. Moreover, execs emphasized the royalty-management unit’s anticipated ability to position Utopia as an advocate of “accelerated and more accurate royalty payments to Creators.”

Addressing the developments in a statement, Utopia Music COO (and former Downtown Music exec) Roberto Neri touted the royalty management services division’s significance with regard to his company’s offerings.

“Royalty Management Services is set to be a cornerstone of the Utopia business model,” said Neri. “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.

“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,” continued the former PRS for Music director.

And Chris Meehan added in a statement of his own: “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.”