Harry Styles’ record label saw a significant drop in revenue and profit in the year following the release of his third solo album.
The singer, formerly of One Direction, released Harry’s House in May 2022 through his own label, Erskine Records, together with Columbia Records. The album’s commercial success fuelled a standout financial year for Erskine Records in 2022, generating turnover of £68.2 million and pre-tax profit of £41.5 million.
However, recently filed accounts at Companies House show that in 2023 the label’s turnover fell sharply to £19.2 million, while pre-tax profit slumped to £2.5 million. The company attributed the year-on-year decline largely to the absence of a new album release during the period.
Despite the fall in music-related income, the business noted that some of the shortfall was cushioned by ongoing sales from its clothing and beauty lines. The reduced results were “in line with the directors’ expectations,” the company said.
Erskine Records, which was established by Styles following One Direction’s split, has been behind all three of the singer’s solo albums: his self-titled debut (2017), Fine Line (2019) and Harry’s House (2022). In 2023, American songwriter Mitch Rowland also released his album Come June through the label.
The financial update comes as Styles was recently ranked 22nd on the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated personal fortune of £225 million.
Other businesses linked to the pop star also posted mixed results. HSA Publishing, formed in 2014 by Styles and Irish accountant Alan McEvoy, saw its net current assets rise from £16.4 million to £19.2 million. McEvoy had previously co-founded 1D Media Limited with all five original members of One Direction, including Styles.
Pleased As Holdings, the parent company of Styles’ beauty venture launched in 2021, reported that its net assets declined from £2.1 million to £1 million in 2023.
Notably, the latest financial statements for all three businesses were filed significantly past deadline – 17 months after the financial year ended and eight months late to Companies House. As a result, the companies were served with first gazette notices for compulsory strike-off in February, though the action was subsequently discontinued.
All three firms are due to file their accounts for 2024 by the end of September.
