Sentric has tapped Simon Perry as president and A&R head, North America, kicking off the independent publisher's full entry into the U.S. market. He'll report directly to Sentric CEO Chris Meehan.
In the roles, both newly created, Perry will establish Sentric's operations in North America, hiring staff across offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami and the Midwest. He will also be charged with expanding Sentric's global footprint, building a network of industry executives in North America, growing the company's client roster and helping strengthen Sentric's tech-enabled artist identification and development capabilities.
Perry launched his music career as a BMG-signed artist. He later signed a publishing deal with Steve Mac and became a songwriter and producer for artists including Westlife and Echo and the Bunnymen, scoring three No. 1 albums and seven top 20 singles in the U.K., according to a press release. He continues to write and produce today.
As an executive, Perry founded the licensing initiative Archangel Media alongside Nettwerk's Maria Alonte. He most recently served as CCO and A&R head at ReverbN ation for eight years. While there, he oversaw all rights, licensing, brand and A&R initiatives and designed, built and led the company's data-driven scouting-at-scale capability. Additionally, he designed and launched the company's tech-enabled artist development program CONNECT, which boosted DSP streams from less than 5,000 to more than 30 million in 18 months across 300 previously unknown acts.
In a statement, Meehan said that with Perry's experience as an artist, writerproducer and 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."
Sentric creative director Peter McCamley added of Perry, "No one understands the space around tech-driven artist discovery quite like him."
"I'm excited to be joining Sentric, particularly at this moment when technology is creating both challenges and opportunities in publishing," added Perry. "As a company, Sentric seems uniquely equipped to address both of those."
