| Fate | Sony buys BMG's share |
|---|---|
| Successor | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Founded | August 4, 2004 |
| Defunct | October 2, 2008 |
| Headquarters | New York City, USA see List of Sony BMG offices |
| Key people | Rolf Schmidt-Holtz Chief Executive Officer Kevin Kelleher Executive Vice President Chief Financial Officer |
| Industry | Music & Entertainment |
| Products | Music & Entertainment |
| Parent | Bertelsmann AG (50%) Sony Corporation of America (50%) |
| Website | www.sonybmg.com |
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a global recorded music company with a roster of artists that included a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprised some of the most important recordings in history. Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a 50-50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG. The venture's successor, the again-active Sony Music Entertainment, is 100% owned by the Sony Corporation of America. Although being officially now owned by Sony, Sony BMG subsidiaries outside of the US and UK have yet to be rebranded.
The merger
On March 27, 2006, the New York Times reported that Bertelsmann was in talks with Sony to possibly alter the current venture. Two executives close to Sony BMG said that Bertelsmann may offer Sony its half of the company in order to raise money by leveraging some of its media assets. Executives close to the label have stressed that any such agreement will likely take months to conclude.
On July 13, 2006, however, the European Court of First Instance annulled the European Commission's clearance decision as IMPALA (a trade association for independent labels in Europe) had applied for. This judgment was appealed by the merging parties. On October 3, 2007, after a new investigation, the European Commission upheld its prior approval of the merger.
It was also announced in 2006 that Sony BMG would dismantle the Sony Urban Music label. All of the artists will now be assigned to Epic or Columbia.
In March 2007, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, which is not part of Sony BMG, dismantled the Tofu Records label, and SMEJ's North American licensing switched to Columbia, or for artists on Epic Records Japan, Epic.
The international media and entertainment companies Sony Corporation and Bertelsmann AG announced on August 5, 2008, that Sony has agreed to acquire Bertelsmann's 50% stake in Sony BMG. The music company, to be called Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SME), will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
On October 1, 2008, Sony Corporation completed the acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in the companies' joint venture. The music company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and operates music labels such as Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and Zomba Records. The sale price was not disclosed when the deal was announced in August, but news reports valued it at $1.5 billion.