Strictly Confidential
Strictly Confidential is an independent music publishing company headquartered in Brussels with offices in Paris, London, and Amsterdam. It represents 100+ artists globally, administers international rights through 16+ sub-publishers, and places music in film, advertising, TV, and video games via direct sync licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Strictly Confidential does
Strictly Confidential, operating through its Belgian legal entity Strictly Songs SPRL (BE 0654 892 926), is an independent music publishing company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Brussels. It maintains direct offices in Paris, London, and Amsterdam, and administers international rights through a network of 16+ sub-publishing partners covering 20+ territories including USA/Canada (Wixen), Asia-Pacific (Fujipacific), South/Central Americas (Peer Music), and pan-European coverage. The company represents a roster of 100+ artists spanning rock, electronic, chanson, jazz, folk, soul and hip-hop, including Editors (signed 2013), Balthazar, Soulwax, Santa, Vitalic, Warhaus, and classic back-catalog rights for Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Neil Young, Santana, and The Black Keys.
The core offering is built around music publishing administration (mechanical, performance, and synchronization rights collection), direct sync licensing into film, advertising, TV, and video games, and artist development through in-house A&R. Revenue is generated from royalty streams administered globally through the sub-publishing network and from sync licensing fees on a per-placement basis — pricing is not publicly disclosed. Notable commercial outcomes include seven Cannes 2025 film placements, syncs for Cacharel, Chanel, and Delta Airlines, Santa's debut album achieving gold status in three months and roughly 200 million streams, and the Victoires de la Musique Best Album award in 2025. The business is sales-led with relationship-driven A&R and sync teams, supported by a 'Syncs Platform' that categories placements across commercial, documentary, trailer, TV series, and video game uses.
The company has 11-50 employees, is privately held with no venture funding rounds disclosed (a minor investment relationship exists with ST'ART), and operates without disclosed financials. Go-to-market combines direct artist signings via A&R, direct enterprise sales to film/brand clients for sync, and partnership-based distribution via sub-publishers for non-direct territories. There are no patents, AI/ML capabilities, or public APIs disclosed in the available material.
Strictly Confidential firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Strictly Confidential
- Legal name
- Strictly Songs SPRL
- Website
- https://strictly-confidential.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Strictly Confidential is an independent music publishing company headquartered in Brussels with offices in Paris, London, and Amsterdam. It represents 100+ artists globally, administers international rights through 16+ sub-publishers, and places music in film, advertising, TV, and video games via direct sync licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Strictly Confidential industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Publishing Services
- NAICS
- Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223), Record Production and Distribution (51225)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sync Clearance & Rights Management (One-Stop, Negotiation, Documentation) (MPAIALAF), Sync Rights Representation (Pitching, Clearance, Negotiation) (MPAIABAF), Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE), Sync Royalty Administration & Reporting (Cue Sheets, Claims, Audits) (MPAIALAL), Music Rights & Clearances (Sync, Score, Publishing) (MPADAAAI)
Keywords
Where Strictly Confidential is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brussels
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Strictly Confidential business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Music Publishing Royalties: Traditional music publishing revenue from mechanical, performance, and synchronization rights. The company administers catalogs for represented artists and manages rights globally through sub-publishing networks.
- Sync Licensing: Placing music in film, advertising, TV, video games, and other visual media. The company has successfully placed music from artists like Kompromat, Warhaus, Santa, and others in major productions including Cannes Film Festival entries and commercials for brands like Cacharel, Chanel, and Delta Airlines.
- Sub-Publishing Network: Managing international rights through partnerships with sub-publishers across multiple territories including South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, Italy, Brazil, Asia Pacific, Central/Eastern Europe, Australia, Israel, Greece, South/Central Americas, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, USA, and Canada.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Strictly Confidential product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Strictly Confidential is an independent music publishing company that signs, develops, and represents a roster of 100+ artists across genres. Its core offering comprises music publishing administration (mechanical, performance, and synchronization rights), royalty collection, A&R artist development, and synchronization licensing that places music from its catalog into film, advertising, TV, video games, and other visual media. The company operates through direct offices in Brussels, Paris, London, and Amsterdam, and extends global reach via a network of 16+ sub-publishing partners.
Product overview
Strictly Confidential operates as a music publishing company offering a comprehensive suite of services centered around music publishing administration, synchronization licensing, and artist representation. The core offerings include Music Publishing Services for rights management and licensing, Sync Licensing for placing music in film/TV/advertising, and a Sub-Publishing Network with global territorial coverage. The company manages an Artist Roster across multiple genres (rock, pop, electronic, folk, jazz, hip-hop) and maintains relationships with sub-publishers worldwide for international rights administration. The company is based in Paris and Brussels with a worldwide network of partners and representatives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Music Publishing Services
- Sync Licensing
- Sub-Publishing Network
- Artist Roster Management
- Catalogue Management
- Syncs Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 200 million streams worldwide for Santa's debut album Recommence-moi
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Strictly Confidential
Customer profileNamed customers22 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Strictly Confidential technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Strictly Confidential partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered standard and core.
- Active Music PublishingstandardSub-publishing partner for South Africa, managing local rights administration and royalty collection
- Ediciones Musicales Clipper'sstandardSub-publishing partner covering Spain and Portugal territories
- Edition BjorlundstandardSub-publishing partner covering Scandinavia including Finland and Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
- Edizioni CurcistandardSub-publishing partner for Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City
- Fermata Do BrasilstandardSub-publishing partner for Brazil
- Fujipacific MusiccoreMajor sub-publishing partner covering Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Macau, South Korea, Japan - significant Asian market coverage
- Golba MusicstandardSub-publishing partner covering Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Czech Republic and Slovakia
- Mushroom Music PublishingstandardSub-publishing partner for Australia
- Music 972standardSub-publishing partner for Israel
- Musou Music PublishingstandardSub-publishing partner for Greece
- Peer MusiccoreMajor sub-publishing partner covering South and Central Americas (excluding Brazil)
- PelikanstandardSub-publishing partner for Turkey
- SiDoMusic - Liechti Publishing GroupstandardSub-publishing partner for Switzerland
- SMV Schacht Musikverlage GmbH & Co. KGstandardSub-publishing partner for Germany and Austria
- Wixen Music PublishingcoreMajor sub-publishing partner covering USA and Canada - key North American market coverage
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Strictly Confidential competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BMG Rights Management: Major independent music publisher offering publishing administration, sync licensing, and neighboring rights globally. Comparable as a directly competing independent publisher with a large multi-territory roster and dedicated sync team.
- Kobalt Music Group: Tech-forward independent music publisher administering rights and royalties for songwriters and catalogs worldwide. Comparable as an independent publisher competing with major publishers through technology-enabled rights administration and global collections.
- Concord Music Publishing: Independent music publisher representing catalogs across pop, rock, jazz, classical, and theatrical genres with active sync placement operations. Comparable due to similar multi-genre catalog breadth and emphasis on sync licensing revenue.
- peermusic: Largest independent music publisher with global sub-publishing network and direct offices in multiple territories. Comparable given similar global sub-publishing model and independent ownership; notably also serves as one of Strictly Confidential's own sub-publishers in Latin America.
- Spirit Music Group: Independent music publisher managing catalogs and signing songwriters across rock, pop, country, and other genres. Comparable as a privately-held independent publisher with catalog acquisition and active signing strategy.
- Primary Wave Music Publishing: Independent music publisher and talent management firm focused on artist development, catalog acquisitions, and sync placement. Comparable as a privately-held independent publisher with both legacy catalog assets and active artist roster.
- Downtown Music Publishing: Independent music publisher offering publishing administration, sync, and royalty services to songwriters and catalogs globally. Comparable as an independent publisher operating in the same publishing administration and sync licensing space.
- Round Hill Music: Independent music publisher acquiring and administering song catalogs across multiple genres with global reach. Comparable as a smaller-scale independent publisher with catalog acquisition focus.
Broad incumbents
- Sony Music Publishing: World's largest music publisher and dominant market incumbent. Comparable as the broader industry leader competing for the same songwriters, catalogs, and sync placements, though operating at vastly larger scale.
- Warner Chappell Music: Major global music publisher and one of the 'Big Three' publishers alongside Sony and Universal. Comparable as a major publisher competing for sync placements and signing the same tier of artists Strictly Confidential targets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Strictly Confidential social profiles
Digital presenceStrictly Confidential compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Strictly Confidential financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Strictly Confidential leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Strictly Confidential funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Strictly Confidential M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Strictly Confidential
What does Strictly Confidential do?
Strictly Confidential is an independent music publishing company that signs, develops, and represents a roster of 100+ artists across genres. Its core offering comprises music publishing administration (mechanical, performance, and synchronization rights), royalty collection, A&R artist development, and synchronization licensing that places music from its catalog into film, advertising, TV, video games, and other visual media. The company operates through direct offices in Brussels, Paris, London, and Amsterdam, and extends global reach via a network of 16+ sub-publishing partners.
Is Strictly Confidential a public or private company?
Strictly Confidential is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Strictly Confidential founded?
Strictly Confidential was founded in 1986. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Strictly Confidential based?
Strictly Confidential is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Strictly Confidential make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Music Publishing Royalties are the primary driver. The others are sync Licensing and sub-Publishing Network.
Who are Strictly Confidential's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Group, Concord Music Publishing, peermusic, Spirit Music Group, Primary Wave Music Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing and Round Hill Music. Broad incumbents are Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music.
Does Strictly Confidential have an API?
No public API is recorded for Strictly Confidential.
What industry is Strictly Confidential in?
Strictly Confidential's product category is Music Publishing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIABAB, Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing), with a secondary code of MPAIALAF, Sync Clearance & Rights Management (One-Stop, Negotiation, Documentation). Its NAICS code is 512230 and its SIC code is 2741.