Bertelsmann Music Group, (BMG), was a division of
Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to
Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann. It consisted of the
BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher, and the 50% share of the joint venture with
Sony Music,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Sony BMG).
The joint venture with Sony was set up in August 2004. It reduced the Big Five of music companies to the
Big Four record labels. At that time, the company had a 21.5% share in the global music market. Sony Music and BMG remained separate in Japan, although BMG Music Japan was wholly owned by
Sony BMG.
On March 27, 2006, the New York Times reported that Bertelsmann was looking to raise money by leveraging some of its media assets, and that executives from both companies were in talks about possibly altering the current venture. Bertelsmann sold its 50% share of
Sony BMG to
Sony Corporation of America for a total of $1.5 billion and the company will be renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
While officially withdrawing from the business of recorded music, Bertelsmann will continue its strong presence in the
music industry with the forthcoming BMG branded company, BMG Rights Management, which will specialize in music rights management by representing artists and authors. It will be focused mainly in BMG's European stronghold markets. The basis of the company will be formed through BMG's decision to withhold selected European music catalogs from the former
Sony BMG joint venture and the BMG Publishing business.
Also kept separate from the acquisition by Sony Corporation of America was
Sony BMG's wholly owned and operated BMG Japan.
Sony Music Japan remained independent from the Sony BMG joint venture, therefore BMG and Sony labeling were kept separate in Japan under the venture. During Sony BMG's buyout, BMG Japan was instead picked up by
Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It briefly continued to operate as a distinct entity until when, in early 2009, the Japanese operations were shifted under the global
Sony Music Entertainment, subsequently leading to BMG Japan's folding.
Subsidiaries
Now part of Sony Music Entertainment after the buyout of
Bertelsmann AG's 50% stake in Sony BMG
BMG Music Publishing
BMG Music Publishing, which was not part of the
Sony BMG merger, was a business of the Bertelsmann Music Group until it was sold to
Universal Music Group for €1.63 billion in 2007. Universal then folded the company into
Universal Music Publishing Group, and the BMG name was retired. The company was headquartered at 245 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10016 and had operations in 36 offices in 25 countries.
Artists
BMG Music publishing controlled over one million copyrights. Writers/artists signed to the company included
Jaguares,
Alcazar,
Gloria Trevi,
Angelica Maria,
Dido,
Avril Lavigne,
Lee Ryan,
Coldplay,
The Troubadours,
Shakira,
Powderfinger,
Nelly,
Britney Spears,
Rammstein,
Modern Talking,
R. Kelly,
Shania Twain,
Ville Valo,
Christina Aguilera,
Kelly Clarkson,
Clannad,
Linkin Park,
Maroon5,
Backyard Babies,
Keane,
HARD-Fi,
Justin Timberlake,
Joss Stone,
Elvis Costello,
Paul Weller,
Sara Evans,
Ne-Yo,
Chad Hugo and
Westlife.
The company's songwriters have written chart-topping hits for
Mariah Carey,
Black Eyed Peas,
Kenny Chesney,
The Game,
Mario,
Rascal Flatts,
No Doubt,
Thomas Anders,
Jessica Simpson and
50 Cent as well as legends like
Bob Dylan,
Elvis Presley,
Frank Sinatra and Roselyn Sanchez.
BMG Music Publishing was the global leader in Classical music and was number one in Contemporary
Christian music.
Catalogues owned
Through international subpublishing deals, BMG Music Publishing represents the catalogues of
Famous Music Publishing,
Walt Disney,
Leiber & Stoller,
Pete Waterman, and
Malaco in various territories.
Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing is BMG Music Publishing's Christian publisher and owns over 60,000 copyrights.
BMG Music Publishing and its assets have now been completely absorbed and folded into
Universal Music Publishing Group.
Future of BMG
BMG Rights Management will serve as a new division within
Bertelsmann and as a replacement to the now defunct Bertelsmann Music Group. Therefore the BMG brand will effectively be revived through this Bertelsmann business venture.
See also
