Liverpool venture Sentric Music – which helps artists and songwriters collect royalties from countries across the world – reports 15% surge in revenues to £65.2m but significantly lower profits. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool music publisher Sentric Music sees pre-tax profits fall significantly despite a surge in revenues as it invests in staff to further its global expansion.

Founded in 2006 by Chris Meehan, Sentric’s aim is to offer the “fairest deal in the industry” to artists and songwriters. It collects royalties on their behalf from more than 200 territories worldwide.

It offers a 28-day rolling contract with an 80/20 royalties “split in your favour”. Its website says: “Doesn’t matter if you’ve written hundreds of songs or one, if your songs are played live, streamed, broadcast or used online you will be earning money.”

Sentric claims to have supported more than 400,000 artists. In February 2022 it was acquired by Swiss music fintech business Utopia Music. However, since 2023 it has been owned by French outfit Believe SA.

It still operates as a standalone business from its headquarters in Exchange Flags in Liverpool city centre. It also has operations in London, New York, Hamburg and Palma in Spain.

Financial results for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, published on Companies House, show a 15% rise in revenues to £65.2m. However, there was a significant drop in pre-tax profits from £2.7m in 2023 to £580,000.

Writing in the annual report, Sentric’s chief financial officer, Daniel Chaffer, said overhead costs had risen by 53% as the business invested in its team to “enable the ongoing growth for the business”. Employee numbers have risen from 86 to 107.

READ MORE: Boodles delivers oodles of cash for shareholders

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘cultural institution’ changes hands

He also said; “The business continued its positive trajectory in 2024… it continues to invest in operating overheads with continued investment in our teams to ensure we are settled for future growth including setting up new teams overseas.

“Compared to a very ambitious budget, revenue was slightly lower than target on a like-for-like basis. Publishing revenues were up 16% year on year on a like-for-like basis, driven by strong organic growth in revenue from streaming and other online use.”

On Sentric’s future prospects, he added: “The music publishing sector continues to show continued global growth, is predicted to continue to grow and is less exposed to macroeconomic risks than other sectors.

“Since Sentric was acquired by Believe SA in 2023, we have developed the strategy to leverage its successful global network and cross sell our publishing services to Believe customers who would benefit from our expertise.”