Music sounds good at the Sanctuary Group

Music sounds good at the Sanctuary Group

The music industry may claim that it is reeling from the damage done by internet piracy, but some companies seem more resilient to its effects than others.

The Sanctuary Group is due to report full-year results on Monday. And FD Michael Miller is expecting to show 2002 was another bumper year.

The company, however, is more than just a record producer. It deals with artist management, book publishing, television production and runs audio and video studios. According to the company, all of its divisions have been performing profitably over the last year and should result in the announcement of record profits next week.

Despite a reported 7% drop in global sales of CDs, largely blamed on internet piracy, Sanctuary has managed to buck the trend and showed a growth of 16.25% in its sales of CDs during 2002. The company said this was due to the model it uses, which relies heavily on long-term heritage artists.

Another strong and steady earner for the group is the artist management business. Looking after a wide range of acts but specialising somewhat in rock, clients include Guns ‘n’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Jane’s Addiction, Judas Priest, Macy Gray, Super Furry Animals, Jimmy Page, Pet Shop Boys, Robert Plant and The Who.

Sanctuary made several acquisitions over the year including Bravado, a merchandising business. Bravado was bought in January of last year and after a successfully completed period of integration has started to register a significant increase in turnover.

DVD sales account for a significant part of Sanctuary’s business and indeed Sanctuary accounted for around 8% of all music DVD sales in Europe in 2002.

The group also has a line in television productions. A recent documentary about Phil Collins was produced by Sanctuary for BBC1 and is set to boost DVD sales even further when it is released on the company’s label.

The group also has a history in the production of teen dramas, mainly for UK TV channel Five, including The Tribe and Revelations. However, the proportion of profits from this division is expected to diminish over time as the company focuses more on music video productions.

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