Sony Music facts for kids
Logo used since 2023
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Headquarters at 25 Madison Avenue, New York City
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Formerly
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Music |
| Genre | Various |
| Predecessors |
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| Founded | September 9, 1929 |
| Founder | Louis G. Sylvester |
| Headquarters | 25 Madison Avenue,
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United States
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Rob Stringer (CEO) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$8.86 billion (FY 2020) |
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Operating income
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US$1.74 billion (FY 2020) |
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Number of employees
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11,100 (2023) |
| Parent |
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| Divisions | See List of Sony Music Entertainment labels |
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), often called Sony Music, is a big music company from America. It is owned by Sony Entertainment. This company is part of the larger Sony Group Corporation. Sony Music is the part of Sony Music Group that records music. The other part, Sony Music Publishing, helps artists with their songs.
Sony Music started in 1929 as the American Record Corporation. In 1938, Columbia Broadcasting System bought it and changed its name to Columbia Recording Corporation. Later, in 1966, it became CBS Records. Sony bought the company in 1991 and named it Sony Music Entertainment. In 2004, Sony and Bertelsmann created a joint company called Sony BMG. This company managed both Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG). Four years later, Sony bought Bertelsmann's share. It went back to being called Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2019, Sony Music Entertainment joined with Sony Music Publishing (which was called Sony/ATV). They formed the Sony Music Group. This big change happened on August 1, 2019. As of 2023, Sony Music is the second largest of the "Big Three" record companies. It is behind Universal Music Group and ahead of Warner Music Group. Its publishing part, Sony Music Publishing, is the biggest music publisher in the world.
Contents
History of Sony Music
Early Years: American Record Corporation
The American Record Corporation (ARC) began in 1929. It was formed by combining several smaller record companies. Over the next few years, ARC grew bigger. In 1934, it bought other music brands, including the Columbia Phonograph Company. This also included its Okeh Records label.
Columbia/CBS Records Era
In 1938, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) bought ARC. The company was renamed Columbia Recording Corporation. Later, in 1947, it became Columbia Records Inc. Edward Wallerstein, who led Columbia Records, helped the company become a leader. He introduced the successful LP record, which changed how music was listened to.
Columbia's success continued into the 1950s. They launched Epic Records in 1953 and Date Records in 1958. By 1962, Columbia Records had four production plants in the United States. These were in Los Angeles, Terre Haute, Bridgeport, and Pitman.
In 1962, Columbia started its international branch called "CBS Records." This was because they only owned the "Columbia" name in North America. In 1964, the company began buying record companies in other countries. They also set up their own distribution in the UK. By 1966, Columbia was renamed CBS Records. In 1968, CBS and Sony created a joint company in Japan called CBS/Sony Records.
CBS Records Group and Sony's Purchase
In 1971, CBS Records became its own large group. Clive Davis became a key leader. In the 1980s, the company managed many successful labels. They signed artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Joan Jett. CBS also grew its music publishing business.
By 1987, CBS was the only major American TV network with its own record company. Sony was helping to develop the compact disc. A CD production plant was built in Japan. This allowed CBS to release some of the first CDs in America in 1983.
On November 17, 1987, Sony bought CBS Records for $2 billion. CBS Inc. (now Paramount Global) kept the rights to the CBS name for music. But they let Sony use the name for a short time. The sale was completed on January 5, 1988.
Sony Music Entertainment Begins
On January 1, 1991, Sony renamed the record company to Sony Music Entertainment (SME). This was part of the deal when they bought CBS Records. The CBS Associated label was renamed Epic Associated. Also on January 1, 1991, Sony brought back the Columbia label worldwide. They had only used it in the United States and Canada before. This happened after they bought the international rights to the Columbia name from EMI in 1990.
Japan is the only country where Sony does not own the Columbia name. There, it is controlled by Nippon Columbia, a different company. So, Sony Music Entertainment Japan uses labels like Sony Records. In 1995, Sony and Michael Jackson created a joint company. They combined Sony's music publishing with Jackson's ATV Music to form Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
Sony BMG Era
In August 2004, Sony joined with Bertelsmann. They merged Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group to create Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Sony still ran its Japanese music business separately.
This merger made Columbia and Epic sister labels to RCA Records. RCA Records used to be owned by NBC, a rival of CBS. It also brought Arista Records back under the same ownership as its former parent, Columbia Pictures, which Sony owned. Clive Davis, who founded Arista, also returned.
Sony Music Today
On August 5, 2008, Sony bought Bertelsmann's 50% share in Sony BMG. This made Sony the full owner again. The company went back to being called Sony Music Entertainment. The purchase was completed on October 1, 2008.
From 2009 to 2020, Sony owned half of Syco Entertainment. This company runs popular TV shows like Got Talent and The X Factor with Simon Cowell. Cowell bought Sony's share in 2020.
Doug Morris became the head of Sony Music Entertainment in 2011. Under his leadership, Sony Music changed its structure. Some artists moved to different labels, and some labels were closed. In June 2012, a group led by Sony/ATV bought EMI Music Publishing. This made Sony/ATV the biggest music publisher in the world at that time.
Rob Stringer became the CEO of Sony Music Entertainment on April 1, 2017. He used to be the head of Columbia Records. Sony has also made changes to its international labels. In 2012, Sony Music closed its office in the Philippines for a while. They reopened it in 2018. In 2013, Sony Music left the Greek market due to money problems.
In June 2017, Sony announced they would start making vinyl records again. They had stopped making them in 1989. This shows how popular vinyl records have become again. In 2021, Sony Music bought the Brazilian music company Som Livre. In 2022, Sony Music bought Ceremony of Roses (CoR). This company helps artists with their branding and merchandise. This helps artists like Adele and Lil Nas X with their products.
In March 2022, Sony Music stopped its activities in Russia. In September 2022, the company announced it would completely leave Russia. They removed music from many artists like AC/DC and Beyonce from Russian streaming services. In January 2023, Sony Music launched Santa Anna. This new company helps artists and record labels. In April 2024, Sony Music's podcast division bought Neon Hum Media, a podcast production company.
Sony Music UK
| Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited | |
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| Founded | January 4, 1980 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | 2 Canal Reach, London, UK |
Sony Music UK is the part of Sony Music Entertainment that works in the United Kingdom. Since 2014, Jason Iley has been its chairman and CEO. Even though it's owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music UK works on its own in the UK. It helps promote musicians there.
In June 2017, Sony announced that its two independent distribution companies, The Orchard and Red Essential, would merge. In 2014, Sony had its best year for singles in 33 years, with 11 songs reaching number 1. Sony Music artists won five awards at the BRITs 2015. This included Best Female Solo Artist for Paloma Faith. Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" won Best British Single. Other artists like Foo Fighters and One Direction also won awards.
Sony's performance at the BRITs 2015 was their best in almost 20 years. In 2017, Sony Music UK had its most successful BRIT Awards ever, winning seven of the 11 awards. Sony Music UK has also bought other companies. They formed Insanity Records with Insanity Management. Craig David was the first artist to sign an album deal with Insanity Records. Sony Music UK also signed Robbie Williams. He released his 11th album The Heavy Entertainment Show in 2016.
Sony Music UK also took over the independent sales and distribution company Essential Music and Marketing. It was renamed Red Essential. In August 2016, Sony Music bought Ministry of Sound Recordings. This label is home to artists like London Grammar and DJ Fresh. On April 5, 2017, two of Sony Music UK's labels won awards at the Music Week Awards. Columbia Records won A&R of the Year, and Syco won Record Company of the Year. In 2021, Sony agreed to buy AWAL from the Kobalt Music Group. AWAL is an independent distribution company. Sony Music also bought the UK media company Somethin' Else in 2021. This was to create a new podcast division.
Sony Music Russia
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Trade name
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Sony Music Russia |
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Native name
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Сони Мьюзик Энтертейнмент
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Romanized name
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Soni Myuzik Enterteynment |
| Industry | Music recording |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Defunct | March 10, 2022 |
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Area served
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Russia |
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Key people
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Arina Dmitrieva (CEO) |
| Revenue | US$42.7 million (FY 2021) |
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Operating income
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US$2.22 million (FY 2021) |
| Owner | Sony |
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Number of employees
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40-50 (2022) |
| Parent | SBME Holdings B.V. |
Sony Music Entertainment Russia was the Russian part of Sony Music Entertainment. The company started its division in Russia in 1999. In 2000, they signed their first contract with the Russian group Bi-2. In 2021, experts thought the company had about 15-20% of the Russian music market. Sony Music Entertainment LLC's income in 2021 was about $42.7 million.
On March 10, 2022, Sony Music Entertainment announced they would stop new music releases and operations in Russia. This was due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On September 8, Sony Music officially announced it was leaving Russia completely. The company removed all foreign music from Russian streaming services. This included songs from artists like AC/DC, Beyonce, and Britney Spears. The Russian division is now a separate company. It represents only local musicians under a new brand called Kiss Koala. This brand was later bought by former managers of Warner Music Russia and renamed Koala Music.
Sony Music Labels
Sony Music Entertainment has many different record labels. These labels help artists record and release their music.
Main Record Labels
Labels for Specific Music Styles
- Country music
- Sony Music Nashville
- Columbia Nashville
- Arista Nashville
- RCA Records Nashville
- Sony Music Nashville
- Dance/electronic music
- Epic Amsterdam
- Stmpd Rcrds (works with Universal Music Group)
- EEM Records
- Ultra Music
- Ministry of Sound
- Liquid State
- Christian/gospel music
- Provident Label Group
- RCA Inspiration
- Kingdom Life Records
- DeJountae Records
- Latin music
- Classical/jazz music
- Sony Masterworks
- Sony Classical Records
- Milan Records
- Portrait Records
- RCA Red Seal Records
- Okeh Records
- Flying Buddha
- Masterworks Broadway
- Sony Masterworks
- Metal music
- Century Media Records
- Progressive music
- Inside Out Music
Other Labels and Companies
- Sony Music UK
- Columbia Records UK
- Relentless Records
- 5K Records
- Black Butter Records
- Dream Life Records
- Insanity Records
- Magic Star
- Robots + Humans
- Since '93
- Sony Music Nashville UK
- WEAREBLK
- District 18 Entertainment
- Labels they distribute
- Robbins Entertainment
- Syco Music
- Nick Records
- Older music (Catalog)
- Legacy Recordings
- Follow That Dream Records
- Louder Than Life Records
- International labels
- Ariola Records Intl.
- Defstar Records Intl.
- Relentless Records
- Som Livre
- Companies that help distribute independent music
- The Orchard
- RED Music
- IODA
- AWAL
- The Orchard
Images for kids
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Sony Music's headquarters in New York City.
See also
In Spanish: Sony Music para niños
- List of Sony Music artists
- Sony Music Publishing
- Sony BMG
- Sony Music Entertainment Japan
- Sony Music Australia
- Sony Music UK
- Sony Music India
- Tero Entertainment
- Lists of record labels
