 Logo used since 2023 | |
 Headquarters at 25 Madison Avenue, New York City | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Music |
| Genre | Various |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | September 9, 1929 |
| Founder | Louis G. Sylvester |
| Headquarters | 25 Madison Avenue, , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Rob Stringer (CEO) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$8.86 billion[1] (FY 2020) |
| US$1.74 billion[1] (FY 2020) | |
Number of employees | 11,100 (2023[2]) |
| Parent | CBS (1938–1988) Sony Corporation of America (1988–2012) Sony Entertainment (2012–2019) Sony Music Group (2019–present)[3] |
| Divisions | See List of Sony Music Entertainment labels |
| Website | www |
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing.[4]
Founded in 1929 as American Record Corporation, it was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1938 and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation. In 1966, the company was reorganized to become CBS Records. Sony bought the company in 1991 and renamed it SME. In 2004, Sony and Bertelsmann established a 50–50 joint venture known as Sony BMG to handle the operations of Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), but Sony bought out Bertelsmann's stake four years later and reverted to using the 1991 company name. This buyout led to labels formerly under BMG ownership, including Arista, Jive, LaFace and J Records into former BMG and currently Sony's co-flagship record label, RCA Records, in 2011 and led to the relaunch of BMG as BMG Rights Management. Arista Records would later be revived in 2018.
On July 17, 2019, Sony announced a merger of Sony Music Entertainment and music publishing arm Sony/ATV to form the Sony Music Group.[5] The merger was completed on August 1, 2019.[6][7]
As of 2023[update], Sony Music Entertainment is the second largest of the "Big Three" record companies, behind Universal Music Group and followed by Warner Music Group. Its music publishing division Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV) is the largest music publisher in the world.[8][9]
- ^ a b FY 2020 revenue & operating income: "Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021" (PDF). Tokyo, Japan: Sony. April 28, 2021. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023". SEC.gov. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ "Michael Lynton Named Ceo Of Sony Corporation Of America; Nicole Seligman To Become SCA President" (Press release). Sony Pictures. March 30, 2012. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Wang, Amy X. (July 17, 2019). "Sony's Music Recording and Music Publishing Companies Are Now One". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
As part of Sony's business goals to increase collaborations across its entertainment units, be closer to creators and unlock more strategic opportunities, I'd like to inform you that effective August 1, we are bringing together Sony's recorded music and music publishing businesses outside of Japan to create a new Sony Music Group.
- ^ Christman, Ed (July 17, 2019). "Sony Corp. Restructures Music Division, Brings Recorded Music, Sony/ATV Publishing Together Under Rob Stringer". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Stassen, Murray (July 17, 2019). "Rob Stringer to run new Sony Music Group, housing publishing and records, from August 1". Music Business Worldwide. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
Effective August 1, Sony Corporation is bringing together its recorded music and music publishing businesses outside of Japan to form Sony Music Group.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (July 17, 2019). "Sony Unites Recorded Music and Publishing Under One Company". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
The move will take effect on Aug. 1.
- ^ Yamazaki, Makiko (May 21, 2018). "Sony in US$2.3 billion deal, becomes the world's biggest music publisher". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley; Aswad, Jem (May 21, 2018). "Sony to Buy Additional 60% Stake in EMI Music Publishing for $2.3 Billion". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.