Anara Publishing Limited

What Anara Publishing Limited does

Anara Publishing Limited is a UK-registered independent music publisher (Company No. 10387186) founded in 2017 by Nick Dunn and Deborah Smith and headquartered in Leicester, England, with an additional office in India. The firm operates within the Nick Dunn Enterprises group alongside sibling music-distribution businesses Horus Music (UK) and its regional arms in India, Nigeria, and Brazil, which provide operational and distribution synergies for catalog administration and rights management.

The company's two core service lines are music publishing administration (registering, collecting, and distributing royalties for songwriters and composers) and sync licensing (placing catalog works into film, television, advertising, and branded-media productions). Its administered catalog has grown through active signings, with Josh Coyler and DVMA added in 2025, and its sync placements span major media buyers including Apple India, CBS, Hulu, Sony Pictures Television, Vice Media, and Lionsgate. The Erased Tapes partnership delivering a MacBook sync for Apple India in 2026 is the most visible institutional-grade placement to date.

Anara generates revenue through administration fees on collected publishing royalties and through sync licensing fees paid by licensees, with economics influenced by the size of the administered catalog and the value of individual placements. It is a member of the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors and the MPA Futures Group, and operates with a small team of roughly seven staff. The firm has also articulated an AI policy that distinguishes AI-assisted from AI-generated works and declines to administer fully AI-generated compositions, positioning around rights integrity rather than AI capability.

Name

Anara Publishing Limited

Legal name

Anara Publishing Limited

Website

https://anarapublishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Anara Publishing Limited is a UK-based independent music publisher offering publishing administration and sync licensing for songwriters and composers, with a Leicester HQ and India office, serving as the publishing arm within the Nick Dunn Enterprises group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE), Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL), Copyright Registration & Catalog Management (Metadata, ISWC/ISRC Linking) (MPAIABAC)

Keywords

• Music publishing administration
• Sync licensing services
• Royalty collection services
• Independent songwriter representation
• Music supervision licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Publishing Administration: Anara Publishing registers songs with collection societies worldwide (e.g., PRS for Music, MCPS in the UK) and collects performance and mechanical royalties on behalf of songwriters. Royalties are paid out to artists via bank transfer (UK) or Convera (overseas).
2. Sync Licensing: Anara secures synchronisation opportunities for its roster, placing music in film, television, advertising, and video games. Sync fees are negotiated on a per-project basis depending on territory and production type. Artists earn both sync fees and associated performance royalties from placements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Anara Publishing is an independent music publisher that registers songs with collection societies worldwide to collect and distribute performance and mechanical royalties on behalf of songwriters, and actively secures synchronisation placements of its roster artists' music in film, television, advertising, and video games. The company also provides library music (one-stop tracks) and bespoke compositions, serving both independent songwriters (publishing administration) and music supervisors/brands (sync licensing) from a handpicked global roster.

Product overview

Anara Publishing Limited operates as an independent music publisher offering two core services: Music Publishing and Sync Licensing. Music Publishing handles the registration of songs with collection societies worldwide to collect and distribute performance and mechanical royalties. Sync Licensing places music in visual media including film, television, advertising, and video games. The company also provides library music (one-stop tracks) and bespoke compositions. Anara works with a handpicked global roster of artists and composers, connecting them with music supervisors and sync opportunities. The company was launched in 2017 and is headquartered in the UK with an additional office in India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Music Publishing Music publishing administration service that registers songwriters' compositions with collection societies around the world (including PRS for Music and MCPS in the UK) to collect and distribute performance and mechanical royalties. It is targeted at independent songwriters, artists, and composers worldwide who lack the infrastructure or knowledge to manage publishing themselves.
• Sync Licensing Synchronisation licensing service that places Anara's roster music in film, television, advertising, and video game productions to generate sync fees and exposure for artists. Sync opportunities are pitched proactively to music supervisors globally through direct outreach and Guild of Music Supervisors membership.
• Library Music One-stop tracks and library music catalogue available for licensing to music supervisors, producers, and creators seeking ready-cleared music for visual media projects.
• Bespoke Compositions Custom composition service for specific media projects including film, TV, advertising, and gaming, delivered from Anara's roster of composers to meet the brief of music supervisors and brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Penguin Cafe Orchestra's 'Kora Kora' was featured in an Apple India MacBook campaign — a major global brand placement demonstrating Anara's sync capabilities.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Erased TapescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026Anara Publishing collaborates with Erased Tapes (founded by Robert Raths in 2007) on sync licensing opportunities. The partnership secured Penguin Cafe Orchestra's 'Kora Kora' placement in the Apple India MacBook campaign. Erased Tapes is a London-based independent record label and music publisher representing artists including Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Penguin Cafe, and others.
• ConveracoreOthersConvera is Anara Publishing's primary international payment provider for making royalty payments to artists based overseas. Anara uses Convera for bank transfer payments outside the UK.
• PayPalsupportingOthersPayPal is used as an additional payment mechanism for making royalty payments to clients alongside Convera and bank transfers.
• DISCOsupportingTechnology or IntegrationDISCO is a sync platform used by Anara Publishing that includes email creator capabilities. Anara uses DISCO for email marketing, analytics (open clicks, streaming download data), and its newsletter feature.
• UK & European Guild of Music SupervisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnara Publishing is a rightsholder member of the UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors. This membership provides access to a network of music supervisors from companies such as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Air-Edel, Leland Music, and Felt Music, facilitating sync pitching opportunities for Anara's roster.
• Horus Music (Parent/Sister Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnara Publishing was launched in 2017 by Horus Music's CEO Nick Dunn and operates as part of Nick Dunn Enterprises alongside Horus Music, Horus Music India, Horus Music Nigeria, and Horus Music Brazil. Horus Music has over 10 years of global music distribution experience. Anara collaborates with Horus Music Nigeria on Nigerian artist signings.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)supportingOthersAnara Publishing's servers are hosted by Amazon in Ireland and Germany. The company uses Amazon CloudFront (CDN) for network and application-level protection, and SSH keys for secure server communication.
• PrightersupportingOthersPrighter serves as Anara Publishing's European Privacy Representative and point of contact for EU data subjects, enabling EU-based artists and clients to exercise their GDPR privacy-related rights through Prighter's platform.
• Music Publishers Association (UK)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeborah Smith, Director of Anara Publishing, serves as Co-Chair of the MPA Futures Group (Music Publishers Association UK), which focuses on educating and empowering the next generation of talent within the publishing industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BMG Rights Management: Major independent music publisher (the largest indie) handling publishing administration, sync, and recorded music for a global artist roster. Comparable in core activity (music publishing, sync licensing, global royalty collection) but operates at significantly greater scale and catalog depth.
• APM Music: Long-established production music library offering pre-cleared tracks for film, TV, advertising, and gaming. Comparable in sync/library-music offering but operates at vastly greater scale with a much broader catalog.
• Spirit Music Group: Independent music publisher focused on catalog acquisitions, publishing administration, and sync licensing across pop, rock, country, and Latin genres. Comparable publishing-administration-and-sync model, but with a deeper catalog and stronger US focus than Anara.
• Concord Music Publishing: Large independent music publisher administering copyrights and pitching for sync on behalf of a substantial songwriter roster. Comparable in publishing administration and sync focus but operates with a much larger catalog and broader geographic reach.

Emerging players

• Artlist: Subscription-based music licensing platform for film, video, and advertising creators. Adjacent competitor: targets the same end-buyers (video creators, brands, agencies) but operates via a tech-platform/subscription model with a much larger catalog.
• Epidemic Sound: Subscription music licensing service used widely by YouTubers, brands, and agencies. Adjacent competitor: serves the same end-customer (brands, content creators needing cleared music) with a much larger catalog and platform-driven delivery.

Direct peers

• Sentric Music: UK-based independent music publisher offering publishing administration, royalty collection, and sync licensing for indie songwriters globally. Direct peer: same niche (indie music publishing + sync), similar target customer (independent artists), and overlapping revenue model (licensing royalties + sync fees).
• Position Music: Independent music publisher and sync agent pitching trailer, film, TV, advertising, and gaming placements from an indie roster. Direct peer in sync-led indie publishing with similar customer base (music supervisors and brands).
• Musicbed: Sync licensing platform focused on independent artists and film/TV/advertising placements, with curated roster and direct-to-supervisor pitching. Direct peer: same target customer (music supervisors for film/TV/ad), same curated-indie positioning.
• Songtradr: Music licensing marketplace and platform that connects indie artists with brands, agencies, and content creators for sync placements. Direct peer in sync licensing for independent artists, but uses a technology-platform model rather than Anara's relationship-led approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/anarapublishing
• Facebookfacebook.com/AnaraPublishing
• Instagraminstagram.com/anarapublishing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anara-publishing-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 Anara Publishing Limited