[9][10] Mercuriadis has managed artists including Nile Rodgers, Beyoncé, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys, Macy Gray, Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, Jane's Addiction, and Catherine Wheel.

[16] In October 1986, Mercuriadis joined Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor, the founders, at Sanctuary Music (Overseas) Limited, a management company based in the United Kingdom.

Sanctuary reorganized its management team and named Mercuriadis CEO of the entire group for his substantial contribution in the global revenues overseas.

[19][20] During his tenure at Sanctuary Group, Mercuriadis oversaw the management of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé,[21] Nelly, Mick Fleetwood, Tommy Lee, The Who, and Robert Plant.

He also managed the recordings of Megadeth,[22] Kiss, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Blue Nile, Simple Minds and Lou Reed.

[23] He worked on the #1 success of "Changes" with Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, "Elton John's Electricity", Antony and the Johnsons' Mercury Music Prize-winning I Am a Bird Now, and several #1 Iron Maiden albums.

[37] The company raised more than US$300 million to fund the acquisition of copyrights in June 2018, and began trading on the London Stock Exchange as SONG in July.

Its first acquisition was a majority stake in The-Dream's 302-song catalogue, which included hits such as Justin Bieber's "Baby", Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Rihanna's "Umbrella.

[47] Hipgnosis Songs Fund submitted written evidence for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's December 2020 inquiry into the economics of streaming.

In an interview with Music Week, Mercuriadis stated: “Once they peel away the layers of that onion, what they’re going to get into is investigating the business practices of the major labels and the publishing companies that they own and control.