Sacred Harp Publishing Company

What Sacred Harp Publishing Company does

Sacred Harp Publishing Company is a non-profit publishing organization dedicated to preserving and disseminating the Sacred Harp singing tradition. The flagship product is The Sacred Harp songbook, with the 2025 Edition currently in distribution; the publisher distributed 10,000 copies of that edition within its first six months and announced a third printing in response to demand. The company also maintains the Sacred Harp Museum and publishes the Shape Notes Journal, positioning itself as the central archival and editorial authority for the Sacred Harp community in the United States and abroad.

The broader product portfolio extends beyond the songbook to include complementary media and reference works: the "Like Cords Around My Heart" audiobook, "The Makers of the Sacred Harp," and "The Legacy of the Sacred Harp." These offerings, combined with the museum and journal, create an integrated cultural infrastructure serving traditional Sacred Harp singers, regional singing convention organizers, and historical researchers. Distribution is handled through a global e-commerce storefront, enabling individual consumers and community members worldwide to purchase materials.

The business model is dual-stream, combining revenue from songbook and media product sales with donor contributions that support the non-profit's cultural preservation mission. The customer base is a long-tail community of individual singers and enthusiasts rather than enterprise or institutional buyers. Leadership transitioned in July 2025 with the passing of long-serving President Mike Hinton, who had led the organization since 2002, creating a near-term governance question for the publisher.

Name

Sacred Harp Publishing Company

Legal name

Sacred Harp Publishing Company

Website

https://originalsacredharp.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sacred Harp Publishing Company is a non-profit publisher of The Sacred Harp songbook, the Shape Notes Journal, and related historical and audio works, serving the global traditional Sacred Harp singing community through e-commerce distribution and donor support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAHAE

Worship & Liturgy Publishing (Liturgical Texts, Missals, Service Books, Hymnals)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Religious & Spiritual Publishing

SECONDARYMPAIABAG

Print Music Publishing (Sheet Music, Scores, Educational Repertoire)

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

SECONDARYMPAJAHAB

Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Religious & Spiritual Publishing

Keywords

• Shape-note hymnals
• Traditional music publishing
• Sacred Harp songbooks
• Community singing materials
• Folk music preservation

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Songbook and publication sales: Sales of The Sacred Harp songbooks, related books (The Makers of the Sacred Harp, The Legacy of the Sacred Harp), and audiobooks (Like Cords Around My Heart) through their e-commerce platform.
2. Donations and contributions: Tax-deductible donations from supporters to help keep The Sacred Harp affordable and support the Sacred Harp Museum's preservation efforts.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sacred Harp Publishing Company publishes traditional Sacred Harp songbooks and related media, including The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, companion books, audiobooks, and the Shape Notes Journal. The company also operates the Sacred Harp Museum, an online exhibition preserving the history of Sacred Harp singing, and promotes traditional Sacred Harp singing, community, and culture as a non-profit organization.

Product overview

Sacred Harp Publishing Company offers a focused portfolio of traditional music publishing products centered on The Sacred Harp songbook tradition. The core product is the Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, a comprehensive songbook of shape-note hymns and sacred music. Supporting offerings include related books (The Makers of the Sacred Harp, The Legacy of the Sacred Harp), an audiobook (Like Cords Around My Heart), the Shape Notes Journal periodical, and the online Sacred Harp Museum exhibition. The company operates as a non-profit organization devoted to promoting traditional Sacred Harp singing, community, and culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shape Notes Journal: Journal publication related to Sacred Harp and shape-note singing.
• Sacred Harp Museum

Products and services

• The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition The flagship songbook collection containing shape-note hymns, revival choruses, plain and fuging tunes, odes, and anthems, serving traditional Sacred Harp singers, music educators, and folk music enthusiasts.
• Like Cords Around My Heart Audiobook Audiobook offering related to Sacred Harp music tradition, designed for listeners interested in the history and culture of Sacred Harp singing.
• The Makers of the Sacred Harp Book documenting the history and contributors to the Sacred Harp tradition, intended for historians, music educators, and Sacred Harp community members.
• The Legacy of the Sacred Harp Book exploring the enduring heritage and cultural significance of Sacred Harp singing, intended for community members, historians, and cultural preservation enthusiasts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000 copies of the 2025 Edition distributed in 6 months

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hope Publishing Company: A long-established Christian music publisher specializing in hymnals, choral music, and sacred song collections. Highly comparable to Sacred Harp Publishing Company's core activity of producing and distributing hymnal content for worship and community singing.
• GIA Publications: A major publisher of Catholic, ecumenical, and ecclesial choral and hymnal music. Directly comparable as a hymnal publisher serving worship communities, overlapping with Sacred Harp's core hymnal-publishing function.
• Augsburg Fortress: The publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, producing hymnals (including Evangelical Lutheran Worship) and liturgical resources. Comparable to Sacred Harp as a denomination-adjacent hymnal publisher serving worship and community singing.
• Church Publishing Incorporated: The official publisher of the Episcopal Church, producing The Hymnal 1982 and related liturgical and musical resources. Directly comparable to Sacred Harp's hymnal publishing and community-served model.
• Morning Star Music Publishers: A publisher of liturgical and sacred choral music with deep ties to church communities. Comparable as a niche publisher focused on sacred vocal and congregational music, paralleling Sacred Harp's specialized hymnal output.

Broad incumbents

• Oxford University Press (Music Department): A broad academic and music publisher producing hymnals (e.g., The New English Hymnal) and choral scores. Comparable as a larger hymnal publisher with overlapping repertoire, though serving a much broader market than Sacred Harp.
• Hal Leonard: The world's largest print music publisher, offering sheet music, hymnals, and choral collections across secular and sacred genres. Comparable as a sheet music and hymnal distributor, though operating at far greater scale and breadth.
• Alfred Music: A major music publisher covering educational, sacred, and popular sheet music. Comparable through its hymnal and choral catalog, though its portfolio extends well beyond Sacred Harp's focused shape-note niche.

Others

• Hymn Society in the United States and Canada: A non-profit scholarly organization dedicated to the study and promotion of hymnody, publishing The Hymn journal and resources. Comparable as a non-profit cultural-preservation organization serving the same hymnal community that Sacred Harp Publishing Company serves.
• Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: A non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution preserving and distributing American folk and traditional music. Comparable as a non-profit cultural-preservation entity with overlapping Americana and folk-music mission, complementing rather than competing with Sacred Harp Publishing Company's preservation work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sacredharppubco
• Instagraminstagram.com/sacredharpmuseum

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 Sacred Harp Publishing Company