Wise Music Group

Name

Wise Music Group

Legal name

Wise Music Group Ltd

Website

https://wisemusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223), Sound Recording Industries (5122)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sync Rights Representation (Pitching, Clearance, Negotiation) (MPAIABAF), Music & Synchronization Rights for Film/TV (MPADALAC), Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL)

Keywords

• Music publishing services
• Synchronization licensing
• Classical music catalogue
• Music copyright administration
• Grand rights licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices14 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Synchronization Licensing: Licensing of music for use in TV, film, advertising, and other visual media. Wise Music arranges synch licenses for the use of underlying copyright in music, separate from master recordings.
2. Music Publishing Rights: Ownership and control of music copyrights, administering over 500,000 copyrighted works including classical, popular, jazz, reggae, blues, and pop/rock songs from all territories.
3. Print Licensing: Licensing for reproduction of music and lyrics in print or digital form, including existing arrangements, new arrangements, lyrics permissions, and photocopying.
4. Record Label Revenue: Storyville Records (jazz/blues reissues and original recordings) and Node Records (soundtrack music) generate revenue through physical and digital record sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Wise Music Group is a family-owned international music publishing company that owns or controls over 500,000 copyrighted works. The company administers catalogues from iconic publishing houses (Chester Music, G. Schirmer, Novello, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Bosworth, Campbell Connelly, Éditions Alphonse Leduc) and represents more than 100 living composers. Core services include synchronization licensing for TV, film and advertising, grand rights licensing for dramatic performances, and print licensing for sheet music reproduction.

Product overview

Wise Music Group operates as an international family of music publishing companies with three main divisions: Music Publishing (classical and popular music through imprints like Novello, Chester Music, G. Schirmer, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Bosworth, Campbell Connelly, and Éditions Alphonse Leduc), Record Labels (Storyville Records and Node Records for jazz and soundtrack releases), and Book Publishing (Omnibus Press imprint for music biographies, illustrated titles, and reference books). The company also manages digital education platforms including MusicFirst and Charanga (divested in 2025), and provides licensing services for synchronization, grand rights, and print through international offices spanning the UK, USA, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Wise Music Group owns or controls approximately half a million copyrights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wise Music Classical: Classical music publishing division
• Wise Music Creative
• Storyville Records
• Node Records
• Omnibus Press
• The Orchestra

Products and services

• Synchronization Licensing
• Print Licensing Licensing for reproduction of music and lyrics in print or digital form, including existing arrangements, new arrangements, lyrics permissions, and photocopying. Minimum fee of £100.00 + VAT, with a standard two-year term.
• Grand Rights Licensing Licensing of rights for dramatic performances including ballets, operas, musicals, and theatrical concert productions, administered through Wise Music Classical offices and Schirmer Theatrical.
• Music Publishing Administration Ownership and control of music copyrights, administering over 500,000 copyrighted works including classical, popular, jazz, reggae, blues, and pop/rock songs from all territories on behalf of composers and songwriters.
• Storyville Records Legendary jazz label featuring highly collectible re-issues as well as original recordings, generating revenue through physical and digital record sales.
• Node Records
• Omnibus Press
• G. Schirmer / Associated Music Publishers (AMP)
• Novello & Company
• Chester Music
• Edition Wilhelm Hansen
• Schirmer Theatrical
• Bosworth Music

Quantifiable outcome

• Acquired Edition Peters Group, one of the world's oldest and most distinguished music publishing houses, in 2023
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major_divestiture, core and minor.

• Achieve Partnersmajor_divestitureStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2025Achieve Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, acquired Wise Music Group's Digital Education division including MusicFirst, Charanga, Rising Software, Focus on Sound, and O-Generator. This transaction enabled Wise Music Group to focus solely on music publishing.
• Sony Music MasterworkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2020Strategic partnership to identify and sign top artist and composer talent. The partnership combines Wise Music Group's catalogue and publishing expertise with Sony Music Masterworks' recording and artist development capabilities.
• Hal Leonard EuropecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAll print licensing requests for Wise Music Group copyrights are handled by Hal Leonard Europe, including requests to reproduce existing publications, print new arrangements, include lyrics, and permission to photocopy. Hal Leonard Corporation handles US print licensing.
• BFD/The Orchard SonyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNode Records, Wise Music Group's boutique soundtrack label, partners with BFD/The Orchard Sony for marketing and distribution purposes.
• STEF (Icelandic collecting society)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWise Music Iceland works with STEF, the Icelandic collecting society, for royalty collection and rights management in Iceland.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boosey & Hawkes: Boosey & Hawkes is a major classical music publishing house (Stravinsky, Bartók, Britten, Copland) and a direct peer in classical publishing with overlapping composer rosters. Both firms compete for premier contemporary classical commissions and estate representations.
• BMG: BMG is the world's second-largest independent music publisher and a direct peer to Wise Music, offering combined publishing and recorded-music services with comparable catalogue scale, sync licensing capabilities, and a global office network — competing head-to-head for songwriter/composer signings and catalogue acquisitions.
• Concord Music Group: Concord is a US-based independent music publisher and rights owner that acquired the Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalogue in 2024 for ~$1.4B. It is a direct peer to Wise Music in independent publishing, with overlapping classical/jazz publishing assets and a similarly acquisitive catalogue-growth strategy.
• Hal Leonard: Hal Leonard is the world's largest print music publisher and a direct peer in print licensing and educational repertoire. Wise Music is structurally tied to Hal Leonard (outsourced print licensing partner), but the two compete for representation rights and print catalogue acquisitions.
• Schott Music: Schott Music is a leading German classical music publisher (Beethoven, Mahler, Henze, Henze) and a direct peer in classical publishing with global distribution and a comparable high-prestige catalogue of European concert works.

Emerging players

• Kobalt Music Group: Kobalt is a tech-forward music publisher and rights administrator with an alternative, technology-led model. It is an emerging player overlapping with Wise Music in publishing administration and royalty accounting, though it operates a more pop-focused, direct-to-creator model without legacy classical imprints.
• Primary Wave Music Publishing: Primary Wave is a US-based independent music publisher and IP investor with $4B+ in catalogue assets (Prince, Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston estates). It is an emerging player competing in the same catalogue acquisition market as Wise Music, with a more pop-focused and PE-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Sony Music Publishing: Sony Music Publishing is the second-largest global music publisher and a broad incumbent with the largest active popular catalogue. Sony Music Masterworks is also a strategic partner to Wise Music, making this a hybrid peer/partner relationship.
• Warner Chappell Music: Warner Chappell is the third major global music publisher and a broad incumbent with strong pop, film/TV sync, and emerging songwriter presence. It competes with Wise Music in the sync licensing and catalogue acquisition markets.
• Universal Music Publishing Group: UMPG is the world's largest music publisher, majority-owned by Universal Music Group, and a broad incumbent operating across pop, classical, and production music. It competes with Wise Music for catalogue acquisitions and composer signings at the top of the market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wmcreativeuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MusicFirstVideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/wmcreativeuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries32 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wise Music Group