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EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational
music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...
company headquartered in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approval. Sony has agreed to pay $2.3 billion to acquire EMI, as well as assume EMI's debt of $1.359 billion. In July 2018, Sony bought out the
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
estate's 10% stake in EMI for $287.5 million. With Sony and Jackson's share valued at $1.091 billion that gives EMI Music Publishing a valuation of $4.75 billion. On 26 October 2018, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
approved of Sony's acquisition of EMI. In November 2018, Sony Music Publishing completed its acquisition of EMI, which was completely merged into Sony Music Publishing. Following these transactions, Sony owned 100% of EMI Music Publishing. EMI currently exists for the artists that it signed pre-2012, effectively becoming an in-name-only unit of Sony Music Publishing. EMI Music Publishing controls over 2 million songs; including the
Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
catalogue, and classic songs by
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
and
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
, along with contemporary releases by
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
,
Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...
,
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
,
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
, Sam Smith, P!nk,
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...
and Sia. EMI owns the recorded catalogue of
Philles Records Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. In 1962, Spector p ...
, with distribution handled by Sony's division
Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 2 ...
.


History


Founding

The origins of EMI Music Publishing date back to the EMI Group's entry into music publishing in 1958 through the formation of Ardmore and Beechwood. In 1969, EMI greatly expanded its presence in music publishing through the acquisition of Keith Prowse Music for US$1.2 million in cash and 70,000 ordinary stock units. In 1973, EMI acquired Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd. In 1973, EMI acquired Affiliated Music Publishers for US$8.75 million. In 1974, EMI renamed its music publishing division as EMI Music Publishing. In 1976, EMI Music Publishing acquired the
Aldon Music Aldon Music was a New York–based music publishing company, founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins in 1958. Aldon is regarded as having played a significant role in shaping the Brill Building Sound in the late 1950s and 1960s. History Nevins w ...
,
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
and
Colgems Colgems Records was a record label that existed from 1966 to 1971. History Colgems was a joint venture between Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, and RCA Victor to issue records by the Monkees and other artists affilia ...
music libraries from
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, making it a major publisher of film music. In 1989, EMI acquired SBK Entertainment, which included the CBS,
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, and UA musical catalogs. In 1990, EMI acquired Filmtrax, which included the
Mills Music Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills w ...
, Ivan Mogull, and Al Gallico catalogs. In July 1997,
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
founder
Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...
sold a 50 per cent stake in the label's Jobete Music publisher to EMI for $132 million. In 2003, EMI bought an additional 30% stake in Jobete for $120 million, then the final 20 per cent in 2004 for $80 million. In July 1999, EMI acquired 40,000 copyrights from Fujisankei's Windswept Pacific publisher (including the Morris Levy songs) for $200 million. In May 2011, EMI Music Publishing began bundling performance rights previously represented by ASCAP with mechanical and synchronization rights.


LBO by Terra Firma in 2007

In 2007, EMI agreed to be purchased by Terra Firma, a UK-based private equity, beating out Warner and others. The deal value was about $6.5 billion, including $4.7 billion for the shares listed in the London stock exchange, and about $2 billion of debt. The deal represented a very high multiple of
EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...
, meaning it added large debt to EMI. After defaulting on its debt, Citigroup took over in early 2011 and weeks later announced that EMI would be split and sold off separately (music recording from the one hand, publishing on the other).


Acquisition by Sony and others in 2012

In November 2011, a consortium led by
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
agreed to acquire EMI Music Publishing from
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
, the owners of the EMI Group, for US$2.2 billion. (EMI Records was sold separately.) The acquisition was approved by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
in April 2012, conditional upon the divestiture of the worldwide publishing rights to four catalogues - Famous Music UK, Virgin Europe, Virgin Music Publishing UK and Virgin US - and the musical works of 12 contemporary authors, including Bullet for My Valentine, Gary Barlow, Ben Harper, the Kooks, Lenny Kravitz,
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
,
Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...
(Famous Music), and
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
. Those catalogues, collectively known as "Rosetta", were acquired by
BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...
in December 2012; the deal was finalized in May 2013. The acquisition was completed in June 2012 following receipt of necessary approvals from anti-trust regulators in the United States. Sony, through its Sony Music Publishing unit, acquired about 30% of EMI Music Publishing. Still, it won the administration of the entire catalog, making Sony Music Publishing the largest music publishing administrator in the world. Other owners of EMI Music Publishing include Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala, the Michael Jackson Estate, financial institutions, and billionaire David Geffen which grouped into DH Publishing Group (Partnership). The acquisition would put the Columbia-Screen Gems catalog back under common ownership with
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, which had sold the rights to EMI in 1976.


Other developments

Jho Low, owner of Jynwel Capital, was charged by the US government in civil proceedings as part of the 1Malaysia Development Berhard (1MDB) scandal. The government attempted to seize Jynwel's stake in EMI Music Publishing, claiming it used illicit funds. In July 2017, media reported that EMI Music Publishing was put up for sale. In March 2018, Mubadala Investment Co., an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund who was one of the buyers of EMI Music Publishing in 2012, has held talks with Sony and approached other possible buyers to sell its entire stake, according to the media. Mubadala was reportedly seeking a valuation of at least $4 billion, almost twice what the Sony-led group paid six years before. In August 2018, the
Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...
(IMPALA) filed a complaint to the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, asking them to block Sony Music Publishing's full acquisition of EMI.
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
and
BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...
, which both acquired parts of EMI and its publisher in 2013, have also objected to the acquisition. In October 2018, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors also objected to the buyout.


Operations

As of May 2018, EMI Music Publishing included the publishing rights to over 2.1 million songs. Its day-to-day operations, including the administration of songs, are delegated to Sony Music Publishing.


Awards

EMI Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year by ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' every year for over 10 years; in 2009, EMI tied with
Universal Music Publishing Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a global Music publisher (popular music), music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing has been ranked the #1 music publisher in market share by Billboar ...
for the award.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:EMI Music Publishing EMI Sony Music Publishing Music publishing companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies based in London British companies established in 1974 Mass media companies established in 1974 Publishing companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in England 2018 mergers and acquisitions IFPI members