Simon Perry has been named President and Head of A&R, North America, at Sentric Music Group, signalling what the independent publisher says is its full entry into the US market.
In the two newly created roles, Perry will establish Sentric’s operations in North America, hiring staff in every major US market across offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami and the Mid-West, says Sentric.
Perry will join Sentric’s leadership team, reporting directly to CEO, Chris Meehan.
He is tasked with growing the company’s global footprint and building a North American network of industry executives to spearhead Sentric’s growth in the region, says the company.
Sentric says that Perry will help bolster its wider tech-enabled artist identification and development capabilities.
Perry began his career as a BMG-signed artist, later signing a publishing deal with Steve Mac, and became a multi-Platinum selling writer and producer.
In the UK, he has had three No.1 albums and seven Top 20 singles, writing and producing pop acts such as Westlife and Sandi Thom, solo releases for members of Busted, Blue, Steps, and Atomic Kitten, and indie rock acts including Echo And The Bunnymen’s 11th studio album, The Fountain.
As an executive, he founded licensing initiative Archangel Media with Nettwerk’s Maria Alonte.
He took on the role of Chief Creative Officer and Head of A&R in 2015 at US artist services platform ReverbNation, which was recently acquired by BandLab.
At ReverbNation, Perry oversaw all rights, licensing, brand and A&R initiatives.
He also designed, built and led the company’s data-driven platform used to identify emerging artists by major and indie labels, publishers, festivals and brands.
Perry’s appointment follows a year when Sentric expanded its operations further into electronic music.
“[perry] brings with him a unique blend of tech expertise and a deep understanding of the creative needs of our writers and artists.”
Chris Meehan, Sentric
Chris Meehan, Sentric Music Group CEO, said: “I am very excited to be welcoming Simon to the team as he is the perfect candidate to start building on the foundations of our US operations which represents an important step in the next stage of our international growth.
“After working with him for some time as a partner it was evident to me that his work ethic and values completely align with that of Sentric.
“With experience as both an artist, writer/producer and an executive, he brings with him a unique blend of tech expertise and a deep understanding of the creative needs of our writers and artists.
“I look forward to honing in on that skill set to strengthen our commitment to early-stage artist identification and development.”
“[Perry] has a great track record of developing artists, and his career sales speak for themselves.”
Peter McCamley, Sentric
Peter McCamley, Sentric Creative Director, added: “I’ve known Simon as a writer and producer since he came to Windswept via a partnership with Steve Mac.
“He has a great track record of developing artists, and his career sales speak for themselves.
“We’ve also been following his work as a creative executive, and no one understands the space around tech-driven artist discovery quite like him, I am wholly certain he will bring a host of exciting opportunities for the company and our clients.”
“I’m excited to be joining Sentric, particularly at this moment when technology is creating both challenges and opportunities in publishing.”
Simon Perry
Simon Perry, said: “I’m excited to be joining Sentric, particularly at this moment when technology is creating both challenges and opportunities in publishing.
“As a company, Sentric seems uniquely equipped to address both of those.
“I’ve worked with Chris for over a decade as a business partner, so I know how good he and the team are at what they do.
“I’ve also known Pete since my days as a writer at Windswept, and know first-hand he is the very best a writer could wish for in a publisher.”Music Business Worldwide
