Imagine’s Chris Meehan on rising Sentric into a world platform, servicing indie songwriters, and why publishing as soon as ‘felt like a darkish artwork’
MBW’s World Leaders is a daily collection during which we flip the highlight towards a number of the most influential trade figures overseeing key worldwide markets. On this characteristic, we converse to Chris Meehan, CEO of Publishing at Imagine. World Leaders is supported by SoundExchange.
Chris Meehan has spent practically 20 years within the publishing enterprise. He began out by fixing an issue he says the standard trade wasn’t addressing.
In 2006, whereas nonetheless a scholar at Liverpool’s Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), Meehan based Sentric Music with a easy however radical premise: impartial songwriters have been leaving cash on the desk, and no one was serving to them gather it.
“The very first thing you do is write a tune, and then you definitely play it reside,” Meehan explains. “So the primary piece of income you’re going to generate out of your music profession goes to be publishing. However there was simply nothing there [to help independent artists collect it].”
Sentric’s reply was then a rolling 28-day, non-exclusive contract providing an 80/20 royalty cut up whereas permitting writers to retain 100% of their copyrights.
The corporate grew from a college undertaking into a world operation representing over 4 million songs and 400,000 songwriters throughout 200 territories.
After a quick stint beneath Utopia Music’s possession following a 2022 acquisition, Sentric was offered to Imagine in March 2023 in a deal valued at €47 million ($51 million).
That acquisition has now culminated in a major milestone. In October 2025, Imagine formally launched Imagine Music Publishing, with Meehan on the helm as CEO of Publishing.
The division operates with 160 publishing consultants throughout a number of markets, constructing on Sentric’s expertise and assortment infrastructure whereas leveraging Imagine’s international footprint spanning 47 nations.
“We’ve put groups into France, Germany, India and Southeast Asia,” says Meehan. “The repute that Imagine has of their markets simply permits us to make the most of the success of Imagine’s journey to speed up our place.”
Right here, Meehan discusses Sentric’s origins, Imagine’s publishing ambitions, the expertise powering their assortment infrastructure, and what he’d change in regards to the international music enterprise…
WHEN YOU FOUNDED SENTRIC IN 2006, THE DIY DISTRIBUTION MODEL WAS JUST EMERGING WITH COMPANIES LIKE TUNECORE. WHAT GAP DID YOU SEE IN THE MARKET FOR PUBLISHING?
On the time, TuneCore and the like had simply launched, so you would get your music onto iTunes. It was very a lot the DIY ethos – “I’m gonna do it myself, I’m gonna run my very own label.”
However there was simply nothing there for publishing. The extra we appeared, the extra we noticed that the largest drawback was entry to the infrastructure to gather. There have been a number of nice A&R individuals and many nice firms, however they will solely work with the identical quantity of individuals they will work with. Everybody else is sort of left to fend for themselves.
So we checked out making a mannequin whereby we may assist individuals gather the cash they have been already making that they most likely didn’t know they have been already making.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN CONVINCING INDEPENDENT ARTISTS THEY NEEDED PUBLISHING REPRESENTATION?
It was convincing them that publishing existed. You needed to educate individuals on what publishing was earlier than you would then inform them how you would assist them. I don’t assume that’s any totally different immediately, actually – it’s received extra difficult than it was.
Again in 2006, most of your earnings as an impartial artist was coming from reside performances. Now, reside remains to be a chunk, nevertheless it’s a chunk of a a lot larger puzzle.
The largest situation was telling individuals they have been leaving cash on the desk. We used to say: the very first thing you do is write a tune, then you definitely play it reside to get validation. So the primary piece of income you’re going to generate out of your music profession goes to be publishing.
“PUBLISHING FELT LIKE A DARK ART. THERE’S A LOT MORE EDUCATION NOW THAN THERE WAS 20 YEARS AGO.”
When you play sufficient exhibits – the Simply Introducing levels, the reside circuit – perhaps that means that you can gather the cash to fund the following recording, the following a part of your profession. It was very a lot schooling into how issues work. It felt like a darkish artwork. There’s much more schooling now than there was 20 years in the past.
SENTRIC PIONEERED THE NON-EXCLUSIVE APPROACH TO MUSIC PUBLISHING. WHY WAS THAT SO IMPORTANT?
We checked out all of the the reason why a songwriter wouldn’t have interaction with the ecosystem that’s going to pay them cash, and we tried to do away with all of the limitations.
One of many limitations – very a lot spoken about on the time – was copyright possession and management. We didn’t wish to put that as a barrier. We didn’t need long-term contracts. We didn’t wish to put punitive phrases on the desk.
We checked out: how can we assist individuals in the best manner? And it was eliminating the entire the reason why they wouldn’t have interaction.
The way in which we checked out it was that if we do what we are saying we’re going to do, then we offer an alternative choice to a standard publishing deal. We’ve nonetheless received a number of the very first writers that we labored with immediately. When you do job and also you do what you say you’re going to do, why would somebody go away? What does exclusivity and long-term actually matter when you’re doing the precise factor?
BELIEVE ACQUIRED SENTRIC IN 2023. WHAT MADE THEM THE RIGHT PARTNER FOR SENTRIC’S NEXT CHAPTER?
We have been at some extent the place we’d been going for 17 years. One of many issues we knew we have been actually good at was our capacity to gather royalties on a world foundation and place ourselves to offer worth to shoppers.
One of many issues we struggled with was find out how to roll that out internationally. We had a world income base, we had a world shopper base, however we weren’t actually a world firm.
Imagine has grown tremendously over the identical time interval. It made sense for us to take a look at how we may very well be in markets that we most likely didn’t find out about. With Imagine’s digital focus and digital management, and digital royalties collections rising, they have been very uniquely positioned with their relationships with the DSPs and their international market share.
“IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS, WE’VE ACCELERATED OUR STAFF AND TEAMS ACROSS THE WORLD IN MARKETS WE JUST WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT.”
In two and a half years, we’ve accelerated our workers and groups the world over in markets we simply would by no means have been ready to take a look at. The factor we began with in 2006 – entry to assortment – we’re now capable of carry that to markets the place we are able to make an actual distinction, particularly now that every thing is much more digital and international.
WHICH MARKETS IN PARTICULAR WERE YOU TRYING TO EXPAND INTO THAT YOU’RE NOW REACHING VIA BELIEVE?
We’ve put groups into France, Germany, India, and Southeast Asia – instantly the place Imagine have gotten large footprints. The repute that Imagine has of their markets simply permits us to make the most of the success of Imagine’s journey to speed up our place.
We’ve already seen success in signings reminiscent of Ben Zucker in Germany, French rapper R2, main Punjabi singer-songwriter Garry Sandhu and lots of extra.
Our industrial relationship with Imagine started through TuneCore in 2018. When Sentric began working with them in 2018, we utilized our expertise and assortment functionality to the TuneCore publishing catalogue, and we noticed speedy progress from there.
There are a few key shoppers we signed collectively, like Viva Data within the Philippines. It’s actually about ensuring that we are able to gather the cash from the pockets of consumption that occur world wide that is perhaps very unsighted.
TELL US ABOUT THE PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY THAT UNDERPINS BELIEVE MUSIC PUBLISHING.
We’re very distinctive as a publishing firm – very tech-focused and tech-enabled. It’s at all times been on the forefront.
Again in 2006, we constructed expertise which suited the enterprise mannequin we had on the time, relatively than suited the aptitude or the ambition for what publishing would possibly turn into. Round 2014-2015, we restarted constructing. We introduced our builders in-house and began interested by what publishing appears to be like like in 15-20 years. What are the issues we’re going to need to face? What are the alternatives? What are the weaknesses?
The expertise infrastructure we’ve received now runs guidelines for shoppers in any manner they may want – whether or not that’s easy tune registrations, augmented ISRC matching, rights accounting. We use it to energy our relationship with CMOs. We additionally use it to ensure we’re enriching information on the shopper facet.
“WE’VE PROBABLY DEALT WITH MORE DATA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR THAN WE DID IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.”
The place we’re wanting now’s changing into a knowledge powerhouse when it comes to having the ability to match [consumption data to works]. One of many largest issues we see as a problem is the amount of knowledge that must be matched and what our function is within the chain of management on that information.
We have to supply and management as a lot information as doable and depend on third events as little as doable. We’ve most likely handled extra information within the first half of this 12 months than we did within the earlier two years. The route of journey goes a method, and we must be 5 to seven years forward.
HOW DOES BELIEVE MUSIC PUBLISHING DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF FROM MAJOR PUBLISHERS AND OTHER INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING COMPANIES?
The expertise now we have, the way in which we have interaction with information, the way in which we current that again to shoppers – that’s positively one large differentiator.
We wish to be certain we’re translating information right into a consumable manner. Simply because we’ve received a number of it doesn’t imply we must always move a number of it on. Translating that into what individuals wish to see – which might be a well being test – is necessary. Is my tune registered? Has it been acknowledged? Is the royalty flowing? Am I getting paid for Spotify in each market, or is there a spot? We see our CMO relationships much less as membership and extra as partnership, as a result of we’re in there to innovate and ensure we’re being companion from a knowledge and registration perspective.
“WE’VE GOT 160 PUBLISHING EXPERTS NOW IN THE BUSINESS ACROSS ALL THE MARKETS WE’RE IN.”
And we’ve received 160 publishing consultants now within the enterprise throughout all of the markets we’re in – a really direct piece of constructing certain we’re there for the writers within the territories we’re signing them. We offer alternatives exterior of knowledge enrichment that is perhaps by way of sync, or artistic. Imagine operates in over 50 markets, and there’s recordings taking place in each single a kind of, and each recording wants a tune. The artistic alternative we are able to carry to the desk for writers could be very distinctive.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST PAIN POINTS IN MUSIC PUBLISHING TODAY, AND HOW IS BELIEVE POSITIONED TO ADDRESS THEM?
There are many information challenges, a number of scale challenges that all of us want to beat. We’ve seen actual optimistic steps from loads of the CMOs to maneuver to faster fee cycles, which once more comes with the necessity to deal with information faster.
Being forward of the curve with DSPs is necessary, and that’s the place Imagine is uniquely positioned – now we have these international relationships on the sound recording and the publishing facet. Ensuring we’re taking a look at worth alternatives in addition to making certain we’re being remunerated correctly.
One of many largest points is licensing offers. We’re nonetheless not absolutely at all times licensed for completely every thing that pops off, and that reactivity time might be just a little bit too lengthy. We’re having these conversations on each the sound recording and publishing facet so we are able to get forward of the curve and forward of the pattern.
HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT AI AND ITS IMPACT ON SONGWRITERS AND THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS?
The largest concern for songwriters most likely stands again to the start of the century, which is the unknown. Something that’s an unknown is one thing we’re naturally nervous about.
Denis [Ladegaillerie] talked about it not too long ago – there’s marginal income alternative and marginal menace from the info he’s checked out. One thing like 34% of tracks uploaded to Deezer are absolutely AI-generated and accounting for 0.5% of streams on the platform. So I don’t actually assume we ought to be specializing in AI eliminating songwriters.
The way in which we’re taking a look at it at Imagine is round worth safety and worth creation. On the safety facet, we’ve received consent, management, compensation, and transparency as our 4 guiding rules.
“WITH BMI AND ASCAP ACCEPTING GENERATIVE AI REGISTRATIONS, WE’RE MOVING INTO A WORLD WHERE THERE’S A BIT MORE CONTEXT AROUND THE COMPLEXITY OF AI.”
Match that with worth creation – the Spotify initiative we simply grew to become part of, taking a look at methods to succeed in audiences utilizing AI. With many CMOs accepting generative AI registrations, we’re transferring right into a world the place there’s a bit extra context across the complexity of what AI appears to be like like. That ought to reassure writers that whereas there may be an inherent menace, there’s additionally alternative. We’re there to assist defend the worth and create extra worth.
From a enterprise effectivity standpoint, issues are transferring each day. We’ve repositioned a few of our improvement crew into innovation squads to take a look at the artwork of the doable. A number of the issues we’ve been capable of do when it comes to querying and interrogating information – we simply wouldn’t be capable to do with standard tech. There’s an enormous alternative for enterprise effectivity and processing.
WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM PREDICTIONS FOR THE GLOBAL MUSIC PUBLISHING BUSINESS?
Having been round for 20 years and began once we did, we’ve seen many alternative waves come and go. Consolidation will proceed to occur, and consolidation creates alternative for firms invested in rising their service enterprise.
From a publishing market perspective, we’re as buoyant as ever in regards to the alternative for impartial publishers. We’re going to proceed to have information gaps, points round matching and transparency. Turning into nearer to the DSPs is absolutely going to assist with transparency round funds.
“IF YOU LOOK BACK FIVE YEARS, THEN FIVE YEARS BEFORE THAT, THE THINGS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NOW WEREN’T EVEN ON THE RADAR.”
When you’ve been doing this for 20 years, the long-term most likely isn’t any longer than 5 years. When you look again 5 years, then 5 years earlier than that, the issues we’re speaking about now weren’t even on the radar.
We must be far more data-focused, tech-focused, global-thinking in the way in which we gather. We’re in a novel place at Imagine – very robust tech focus, and we are able to deploy that with very robust music executives. That places us ready the place we are able to adapt to modifications we would not foresee and capitalize on those we are able to.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
Blissful songwriters and publishers.
Going again to the philosophy in the beginning of Sentric – if you’ve received somebody on a rolling 28-day deal they usually can go away at any time, it actually focuses you on serving individuals in the way in which you’d count on to be served your self.
Ensuring we’ve received that ethos all through the enterprise. And catalyzing on the artistic alternative inside Imagine. What’s been nice coming into Imagine from being an outdoor companion is that it looks like one firm, not dozens of places of work world wide. We’re all aligned from the exec crew all the way in which right down to native groups. That’s what’s going to provide extra alternative for the recording and publishing enterprise than we’ve seen earlier than.
IF THERE WAS ONE THING YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT THE GLOBAL MUSIC BUSINESS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
World alignment from CMOs and publishers. That’s it, actually.
After we have a look at alternatives, they turn into threats as a result of we don’t assume globally. We expect regionally, we expect regionally. The recorded and publishing sides don’t typically have the identical view.
We’d be quite a bit higher at capitalizing on alternatives if there was alignment on each facet of the rights in each market on the earth. That might lead us to have a lot simpler lives.
“WE DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THE US THAN WE DO IN EUROPE, THAN WE DO IN SOUTH AMERICA. IT CREATES FRICTION AND DELAY.”
We’re beginning to consider multi-territory licensing, nevertheless it’s not international. You do one thing totally different within the US than you do in Europe, than you do in South America. It creates friction, and it creates delay.
If we had that international alignment and actually thought globally about how we have interaction with DSPs – who’re international – we’d be capable to move down the advantage of that regionally, in addition to facilitate international careers and international songs.
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