Elaine Mai strikes publishing deal with Nick Halkes as part of JV with Sentric.

Mai released her debut album Home to critical acclaim in October, with lead single No Forever sweeping Irish radio

Rising Irish talent Elaine Mai has signed an exclusive publishing deal with respected industry pioneer Nick Halkes and his joint venture with Sentric Music Group.

Beginning her songwriting and production career in 2011, Mai’s name has become synonymous with an expansive electronica movement emerging from Ireland, delivering both crossover commercial smashes and edgy alternative innovation.

Mai’s debut album, Home, was released to critical acclaim in October 2021. Lead single No Forever (feat. MayKay) achieved over 13 million impressions across Irish radio, hit No.2 on the Irish Radio Breakers chart and peaked at No.6 on the Viral 50 Ireland Spotify chart.

It was recently listed as one of the Top 10 tracks of 2021 by the Irish Independent.

Mai is one of three artists representing Ireland with Keychange – the EU initiative working towards a total restructuring of the music industry to help reach full gender equality.

She was also a featured singer on the No.1 single Dreams – a cover of The Cranberries’ hit by Irish Women In Harmony, which took the country by storm in 2020 and raised over €250,000 for anti-domestic violence charity SAFE Ireland.

On December 18 and January 15, Mai will perform live on the Dave Fanning ‘Fanning At Whelan’s’ TV show, which showcases some of Ireland’s most interesting emerging talent.

Mai said: “From the first time we were introduced, I got a great feeling about collaborating with Nick and the team at Sentric. Nick’s exceptional industry expertise is coupled with a huge passion for music and helping artists develop and grow their careers. I’m really excited to see where this partnership takes us.”

Nick Halkes said: “I love that feeling when I hear great music with strong potential, and when I heard No Forever (feat. MayKay) for the first time I was keen to hear more. Elaine has a strong body of work already but I think there’s much more to this story that will unfold over the months and years to come.”

Sentric Music Group entered a partnership with pioneering artist manager Nick Halkes earlier this year. Halkes joined the group as an A&R consultant, signing writers in partnership with the independent publisher, as well as working creatively with Sentric’s existing clients.