Fairwood Music

What Fairwood Music does

Fairwood Music is an independent music publisher founded in London in 1987, operating through its UK private limited company Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd. (also trading as Fairwood Music (International) Ltd. and The Fairwood Music Group). The company administers music catalogues on behalf of songwriters and artists, collecting and distributing mechanical, performance, and synchronization royalties through direct relationships with Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) worldwide and a network of more than twenty sub-publishers covering Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Russia. Its catalogue represents historical rights-holders including David Bowie, U2, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Sandy Denny, J.J. Cale, and Collective Soul, alongside active contemporary writers such as composer/producer Simon Franglen and multi-platinum singer/songwriter Nianell (Sonia Nel). The company runs sales-led direct relationships with songwriters and artists and proactively seeks multi-media synchronization opportunities, supported by co-writing and writer-camp projects designed to build creative partnerships.

Fairwood's core products are music publishing administration, synchronization licensing, sub-publishing agreements, and writer/catalogue acquisition. Synchronization placements cited in source material include the Avatar: The Way of Water end theme "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" (performed by The Weeknd, co-published by Fairwood, December 2022), Orange Mobile France (Selecter's "On My Radio", 2022–2023 campaigns), McDonald's Happy Meal France (The Sonics' "High Time"), Netflix's Bordertown (Little John & The Monks' "Black Winds"), and CarMax (Johnny & The Velvetones' "Hitch Hiking Home"). Sub-publishing partners identified include SueCo Music (UK/Eire), Red Brick Songs (US/Canada), Peermusic (South East Asia), Watanabe Music (Japan), Hebbes Music Group (Australia/NZ), and Fermata Do Brasil, among others. The company owns no disclosed patents, has no public mobile app, exposes no API or SDK, and has no AI/ML capabilities referenced in source material.

Revenue is generated through licensing royalties, sub-publisher fee splits, and international royalty collection on behalf of its represented writers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Fairwood is privately held with no external funding rounds recorded, no parent company, and no public listing. The company maintains offices in Bromley (headquarters) and London (UK & Eire), with on-the-ground representation or affiliates in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Athens, Milan, Copenhagen, Bucharest, Istanbul, Moscow, Johannesburg, São Paulo, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney. Overall scale is best described as a niche independent music publisher operating a global-claims, UK-anchored model with a long heritage catalogue and episodic high-profile sync wins.

Name

Fairwood Music

Legal name

Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd.

Website

https://fairwoodmusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fairwood Music is a London-founded (1987) independent music publisher that administers songwriter catalogues, collects royalties through CMO relationships worldwide, and licenses synchronization rights across 20+ global territories for songwriters, artists, and media buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAIABAB

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Publishing (Songwriting, Rights Administration, Licensing)

SECONDARYMPAIALAF

Sync Clearance & Rights Management (One-Stop, Negotiation, Documentation)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Sync & Music Licensing Services (Film/TV/Ads/Games)

SECONDARYMPAIABAL

Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Publishing (Songwriting, Rights Administration, Licensing)

SECONDARYMPAIALAG

Sync Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Sync & Music Licensing Services (Film/TV/Ads/Games)

Keywords

• Music publishing services
• Synchronization licensing
• Royalty administration
• Sub-publishing agreements
• Music rights management

Headquarters

HQ city

Boxley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices19 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Publishing Administration: Fairwood Music administers music catalogs for songwriters and artists, collecting and distributing mechanical, performance, and synchronization royalties through relationships with Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) worldwide.
2. Synchronization Licensing: Revenue generated from licensing songs for use in film, television, advertising, and other media. Notable placements include Avatar: The Way of Water, Orange Mobile France campaigns, McDonald's Happy Meal ads, Netflix's Bordertown series, and CarMax adverts.
3. Sub-Publishing Agreements: Fairwood enters into sub-publishing agreements with international publishers like SueCo Music to represent their catalog in specific territories, generating revenue through territorial licensing and royalty collection.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Fairwood Music administers music catalogs on behalf of songwriters and artists, collecting and distributing mechanical, performance, and synchronization royalties through direct relationships with Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) and a global network of sub-publishers. The company proactively pursues synchronization opportunities placing songs in film, television, advertising, and streaming content, and enters into long-term publishing agreements with songwriters covering their back catalogues and future works.

Product overview

Fairwood Music is an established independent music publisher formed in London in 1987, operating a single unified music publishing service. The company's core offering combines music publishing and rights management with a global sub-publishing network across 20+ territories, proactive synchronization licensing for films/TV/advertising, and writer catalogue acquisition. Notable represented artists include David Bowie, U2, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, and The Weeknd. Recent product launches include the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack synchronization deal and worldwide publishing agreements with artists like Nianell.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Music Publishing Services
• Synchronization Licensing

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• SueCo MusiccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 February 2022Fairwood entered into a UK/Eire sub-publishing agreement with Canadian publishing company SueCo Music, owned and managed by Ron and Sue Irving. This long-term deal establishes a close creative partnership to bring synchronization opportunities for SueCo's eclectic song catalog.
• Active Music PublishingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Southern Africa. Managing Director John Fishlock handles operations.
• Blue Line LLCregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Russia. Contact Ilya Klyuk.
• Collect! MusicregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Netherlands. Contact Mark Wijnstekers.
• D-Version Music Publishing Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Greece. Contact Denise Andrikopoulou.
• Editions Fairwood Music / Editer A PariscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFairwood's own office covering France. Contact Cyril Dohar.
• Fairwood Music (Germany)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFairwood's own office covering Germany, Austria & Switzerland. General Manager Andrea Vitz.
• Fairwood Music (Spain)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFairwood's own office covering Spain, Portugal & South America. Contact John Deane.
• Fermata Do BrasilregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Brazil. Contact Lena Lebendiger.
• Hebbes Music GroupregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Australia & New Zealand. Contact Peter Hebbes.
• K9 Music PublishingregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Romania. Contact Andrei Filip.
• Median Muzik EdisyonregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Turkey. Contact Ali Cosar.
• MMB MusicregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Scandinavia. Contact Jorgen Hansen Jorgensen.
• Oyez! MusicregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Italy. Contact Vittorio Cigala.
• PeermusiccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering South East Asia. Contact Spencer Lee.
• Red Brick SongscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering United States & Canada. President Jennifer Mitchell.
• The Right PeopleregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Belgium & Luxembourg. Contact Piet Bekaert.
• Watanabe MusicregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSub-publisher covering Japan. Contact Tatsu Hirano.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spirit Music Group: Independent music publisher managing significant legacy catalogs (including catalogs of artists in Fairwood's roster genre range). Spirit's blend of catalog administration, active writer signings, and sync licensing closely mirrors Fairwood's core business model, though at a larger scale.
• Round Hill Music: Independent music publisher specializing in legacy catalog acquisition and active songwriter management. Round Hill's blend of catalog administration and synchronization licensing represents a similar operating profile to Fairwood, albeit with US-centric operations.
• peermusic: The world's largest independent music publisher, founded in 1928, with global sub-publishing relationships similar to Fairwood's model. Notably, peermusic actually appears as one of Fairwood's sub-publishers (SE Asia), reflecting the comparable global indie publisher positioning.
• Hipgnosis Songs Fund: Investment vehicle focused on acquiring music publishing catalogs of iconic songwriters. Hipgnosis's catalog-acquisition-led strategy and emphasis on legacy hit songs parallels the heritage catalog elements of Fairwood's portfolio (Bowie, Marley, Cat Stevens).
• Primary Wave Music Publishing: Independent music publisher focused on legacy catalog acquisition, active writer signings, and synchronization licensing. Primary Wave's strategy of acquiring and actively marketing iconic catalogs (similar to Fairwood's Bowie/U2/Marley heritage) makes it a directly comparable peer.
• Reservoir Media: Publicly-traded independent music publisher with significant catalog holdings, songwriter management, and sync licensing operations. Reservoir's size and business mix make it a strong comparable for evaluating Fairwood's economics at scale.
• Kobalt Music Group: Independent music publisher and rights administrator known for proprietary technology infrastructure for royalty collection and sync licensing. Kobalt's tech-forward publishing administration model represents a contrasting approach to Fairwood's traditional sub-publisher network, but the underlying business is highly comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Concord Music Publishing: Independent music publisher formed through consolidation (acquired Imagem, Bicycle, Downtown), with extensive catalog administration and synchronization licensing operations. Larger and broader portfolio than Fairwood but addresses the same publishing administration and sync market.
• Warner Chappell Music: One of the three major music publishers globally, with deep catalog holdings across multiple eras and full global administration infrastructure. Warner Chappell is a broad incumbent that competes with Fairwood in the same publishing administration and sync licensing markets.
• BMG Rights Management: Major music publisher and rights administrator (owned by Bertelsmann) operating a global publishing, recordings, and neighboring rights business. BMG is a substantially larger, broad incumbent with overlapping publishing administration and synchronization capabilities relative to Fairwood's niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FairwoodMusic
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=1ez1tgiY5ds
• Facebookfacebook.com/FairwoodMusic
• Instagraminstagram.com/fairwoodmusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairwood-music-uk-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Fairwood Music