Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational

music company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

owned by

Sony Group Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (imaging and sensing), S ...

. It is the recording division of

Sony Music Group Sony Music Group (SMG) is the American holding company that controls the recording and music publishing business of Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by Sony Entertainment. Sony Music Group is one of the "Record label, Big ...

, with the other half being the publishing division,

Sony Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

. Founded in 1929 as

American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company in operation from 1929 to 1938, and again from 1978 to 1982. Overview ARC was crea ...

, it was acquired by the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1938 and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation. In 1966, the company was reorganized to become

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

. Sony bought the company in 1988 and renamed it SME in 1991. In 2004, Sony and

Bertelsmann The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (), is a German privately held company, private multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

established a 50–50 joint venture known as

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

to handle the operations of Sony Music and

Bertelsmann Music Group Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music c ...

(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 LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

and

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

into former BMG and currently Sony's co-flagship

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, in 2011 and led to the relaunch of BMG as

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 ...

. 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. The merger was completed on August 1, 2019. , Sony Music Entertainment is the second largest of the " Big Three" record companies, behind

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

and followed by

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 ...

. Its music publishing division Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony) is the largest music publisher in the world.

History

1929–1938: American Record Corporation

The American Record Corporation (ARC) was founded in 1929 through a merger of several record companies. The company grew over the next several years, acquiring other brands such as the

Columbia Phonograph Company Columbia Records is an American recor ...

, including its

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

subsidiary, in 1934.

1938–1970: Columbia/CBS Records

In 1938, ARC was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) under the guidance of chief executive

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...

. The company was later renamed Columbia Recording Corporation, and changed again to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Inc. in 1947. Edward Wallerstein, who served as the head of Columbia Records since the late 1930s, helped establish the company as a leader in the record industry by spearheading the successful introduction of the

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

. Columbia's success continued through the 1950s with the launch of

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

in 1953 and

Date Records Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a short-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock. The more significant incarnation was rela ...

in 1958. By 1962, the Columbia Records productions unit was operating four plants around the United States located in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

;

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

;

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

; and

Pitman, New Jersey Pitman is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,780, a decrease of 231 (−2.6%) from the 2010 Un ...

. Columbia's international arm was launched in 1962 under the name "CBS Records", as the company only owned the rights to the Columbia name in North America. In 1964, the company began acquiring record companies in other countries for its

CBS Records International CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. ( CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture a ...

unit and established its own UK distribution outfit with the acquisition of Oriole Records. By 1966, Columbia was renamed CBS Records and was a separate unit of the parent company, CBS-Columbia Group. In March 1968,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

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 ...

formed CBS/Sony Records, a Japanese business joint venture.

1971–1991: CBS Records Group

In 1971, CBS Records was expanded into its own "CBS Records Group", with

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

as its administrative vice president and general manager. In the 1980s to the early 1990s, the company managed several successful labels, including CBS Associated Records, which signed artists including

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 ...

the Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues rock band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album ''Tuff Enuff'' sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singl ...

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

, and

Henry Lee Summer Henry Lee Summer (born Henry Lee Swartz; July 5, 1955) is an American rock singer and musician. Career Born in Brazil, Indiana, Summer played basketball in high school and received a scholarship to play at a college in Montana. However, he deci ...

. In 1983, CBS expanded its music publishing business by acquiring the music publishing arm of MGM/UA Entertainment Co. CBS later sold the print music arm to

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 ...

. By 1987, CBS was the only " big three" American TV network to have a co-owned record company. With Sony being one of the developers behind the compact disc digital music media, a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

production plant was constructed in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

under the joint venture, allowing CBS to begin supplying some of the first compact disc releases for the American market in 1983. In 1986, CBS sold its music publishing division, CBS Songs, to SBK Entertainment. On November 17, 1987, Sony acquired CBS Records for US$2 billion. CBS Inc., now

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

, retained the rights to the CBS name for music recordings but granted Sony a temporary license to use the CBS name. The sale was completed on January 5, 1988.

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

founded a new

in 2006, which was distributed by Sony through its

RED Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

subsidiary. In 1989, CBS Records re-entered the music publishing business by acquiring Nashville-based

Tree International Publishing Tree International Publishing was a major American music publisher, based in Nashville. As the last major music publisher that was owned and operated in Nashville, it was sold to the Sony Music, CBS Records Group in 1989.John ParelesRecords to Buy ...

1991–2004: Sony Music Entertainment

Sony renamed the record company Sony Music Entertainment (SME) on January 1, 1991, fulfilling the terms set under the 1988 buyout, which granted only a transitional license to the CBS trademark. The CBS Associated label was renamed Epic Associated. Also on January 1, 1991, to replace the CBS label, Sony reintroduced the Columbia label worldwide, which it previously held in the United States and Canada only, after it acquired the international rights to the trademark from

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in 1990. Japan is the only country where Sony does not have rights to the Columbia name as it is controlled by

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

, an unrelated company. Thus,

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

issues labels under Sony Records. The Columbia Records trademark's rightsholder in Spain was Bertelsmann Music Group, Germany, which Sony Music subsequently subsumed via a 2004 merger, and a subsequent 2008 buyout. In 1995, Sony and pop singer

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 ...

formed a joint venture which merged Sony's music publishing operations with Jackson's ATV Music to form

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

2004–2008: Sony BMG

In August 2004, Sony entered a joint venture with an equal partner

, by merging Sony Music and

, Germany, to establish

Sony BMG Music Entertainment Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...

. However, Sony continued to operate its Japanese music business independently from Sony BMG and BMG Japan was made part of the merger. The merger made Columbia and Epic sister labels to RCA Records, which was once owned by CBS rival,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. It also started the process of bringing BMG's

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

back under common ownership with its former parent

, a Sony division since 1989, and brought Arista founder

back into the fold. As of 2017, Davis was still with Sony Music as a chief creative officer.

2008–present: Sony Music revival and restructuring

On August 5, 2008,

Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA) is the American arm of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. Headquartered in New York City, the company manages Sony's business in the United States. Sony's princ ...

(SCA) and

announced that Sony had agreed to acquire Bertelsmann's 50% stake in

. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2008. On July 1, 2009, SME and

IODA The Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc., doing business as The Orchard (''also known as'' The Orchard Music), is an American music and entertainment company, specializing in media distribution. It is a division of Sony Music Entertainment, based in N ...

announced a strategic partnership to leverage worldwide online retail distribution networks and complementary technologies to support independent labels and music rights holders. In March 2010, Sony Corp partnered with The Michael Jackson Company in a contract of more than $250 million, the largest deal in recorded music history. From 2009 to 2020, Sony owned 50% of

Syco Entertainment Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment and production company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2 ...

, which operates some of the world's most successful reality TV formats, including ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...

'' and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' with

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

. Cowell acquired Sony's stake in 2020.

Doug Morris Doug Morris (born November 23, 1938) is an American record executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011, as well as Sony Music Entertainment from 2011 to 2017. He is the founder and CEO ...

, who was head of

, and later

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

, became chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment on July 1, 2011. Sony Music underwent restructuring upon Morris's arrival; with some artists switching labels and other labels eliminated. In June 2012, a consortium led by

Sony/ATV Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of en ...

acquired

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...

, making Sony/ATV the world's largest music publisher at the time. This acquisition also reunited the common ownership of pre-1986 CBS Songs (as SBK Songs) catalog to Sony/ATV.

Rob Stringer Robert Adrian Stringer (born 13 August 1962) is a British Music Executive, music industry executive. He has served as the chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment since 2017. He is also a Director (business), director of ...

became CEO of Sony Music Entertainment on April 1, 2017. He previously served as chairman and CEO of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. Sony has experienced many changes with its international labels. In February 2012, Sony Music reportedly closed its Filipino office due to

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

, and

Ivory Music and Video Ivory Music and Video, Inc. (formerly Ivory Records Corporation) is a Philippine record label owned by Viva Music Group, a subsidiary of Viva Communications. The label works with OPM veteran artists and bands/groups such as the Company, Side ...

had been handling distribution for its catalog a few months earlier in July 2011. In early 2018, their distribution deal with Ivory expired and SME resumed its operations in the Philippines, with the new offices still located in

Ortigas Center Ortigas Center (also known as the Ortigas Central Business District or Ortigas CBD) is a central business district located within the joint boundaries of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, within Metro Manila in the Philippines. With an area o ...

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

. In July 2013, Sony Music withdrew from the Greek market due to an economic crisis. Albums released by Sony Music in Greece from domestic and foreign artists would then be carried by Feelgood Records. In June 2017, Sony announced that by March 2018 it would be producing vinyl records internally for the first time since ceasing its production in 1989. Reporting the decision, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

noted that, "Sony's move comes a few months after it equipped its Tokyo studio with a cutting lathe, used to produce the master discs needed for manufacturing vinyl records" but added that "Sony is even struggling to find older engineers who know how to make records". On February 5, 2019, a group of 1970s-era musicians including

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...

and

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...

filed lawsuits accusing Sony Music Entertainment and

UMG Recordings, Inc. Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, N ...

of improperly refusing to let them reclaim the rights to songs they had signed away earlier in their careers. The lawsuit cites U.S. copyright law, which gives artists who formerly bargained away their rights on unfavorable terms a chance to reclaim those rights by filing termination notices after 35 years. The plaintiffs claim that Sony and UMG have "routinely and systematically" ignored hundreds of notices, having taken the position that recordings are "works made for hire" and are therefore not subject to being reclaimed. In April 2021, the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian media company

Grupo Globo Grupo Globo (), formerly and still legally known as Organizações Globo (), is a Brazilian privately held company, private entertainment and mass media conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1925 by I ...

sold its domestic record label

Som Livre Som Livre (Portuguese for "Free Sound") is a Brazilian record company that was founded in March 1969 in order to commercialize the soundtracks for TV Globo (its then parent company) soap operas and later expanded to recording studio albums. , it ...

to Sony Music for an undisclosed amount. It was approved by the

Administrative Council for Economic Defense The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (in Portuguese, ''Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica'', often referred to as Cade or CADE) is Brazil's national competition regulator and an agency of the government of Brazil. Its state ...

on November 4, 2021. The UK media company Somethin' Else was acquired outright by Sony Music in 2021, to form a Global Podcast Division, headed up by the Somethin' Else principles, Steve Ackerman and

Jez Nelson Jeremy Nelson MBE (born 1 April 1964) is a jazz broadcaster and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of media production company Somethin' Else, which in 2021 became part of Sony Music Entertainment. Education Nelson was educated at ...

. The new division was to have teams in New York, LA and London. In 2022, Sony Music Entertainment acquired boutique branding and merchandising agency, Ceremony of Roses (CoR). CoR would handle SME's 'branding, design, media and events'. The newly acquired company would merge with Sony's existing merch division and continue under the CoR banner. The merger brought together artists like

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

A$AP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mo ...

, and

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...

under one merchandising house. According to Sony, the move will help expand their merchandising team and take artists' merch to the next level. In January 2023, Sony Music and Alamo Records founder

Todd Moscowitz Todd Moscowitz is an American music industry executive. He is the founder and CEO of Alamo Records and Santa Anna Label Group, and the manager of Gucci Mane. Previously, Moscowitz served as co-president and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and ...

launched Santa Anna, an artist and label services company. In April 2024, it was announced Sony Music Entertainment's Global Podcast Division had acquired the Los Angeles-headquartered podcast production company, Neon Hum Media for an undisclosed amount.

Sony Music Canada

Sony Music Canada was formed when Sony Music acquired Canadian assets of

in 1990 (itself formerly

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Canada in 1954). Sony Music Canada is operated by

Sony Canada Sony Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, of Tokyo, Japan. Sony provides products that include Blu-ray players, BRAVIA televisions, Cyl digital cameras, Handycam Camcorders, VAIO computers, broadcast cameras, IPELA security ...

, which evolved from General Distributors or Gendis, which had been founded in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 1954 by Albert D. Cohen, who had made a deal with Sony to market its transistor radios in the same year.

Sony Music UK

Sony Music UK was founded in January 1980 and is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment in the United Kingdom. Since 2014,

Jason Iley Jason Iley is the current chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK. Formerly President of Roc Nation Records and the UK chief of Mercury Records, Iley currently heads up all of Sony Music's activities in the UK and Ireland, overseeing Sony Music's fro ...

has been chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Sony Music UK. Though owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music UK has standalone operations in the UK to promote musicians within the UK. In June 2017, it was announced that Sony would be merging its two independent distribution companies The Orchard and Red Essential. In 2014, Sony had its best singles success of 33 years, with 11 number 1 singles. Sony Music artists won a total of five individual awards at the BRITs 2015, including Best Female Solo Artist for

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...

, and

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

's "

Uptown Funk "Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer Mark Ronson featuring American singer Bruno Mars. It was released on 10 November 2014, as the lead single from Ronson's fourth studio album, '' Uptown Special'' (2015). "Uptown Funk" was wri ...

", which picked up Best British Single. Several other of the label's artists –

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

and

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 ...

– also collected awards. Sony's performance at the BRITs 2015 was the label's best in nearly 20 years, winning a total of 5 awards. In 2017, Sony Music UK celebrated the most successful BRIT Awards in the company's history, winning seven of the 11 awards. Sony Music UK has made key acquisitions including forming Insanity Records with Insanity Management.

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

became the first artist to sign an album deal with Insanity Records. Sony Music UK signed

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 ...

, who released his 11th album ''

The Heavy Entertainment Show ''The Heavy Entertainment Show'' is the eleventh studio album by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Columbia Records. It features guest appearances from Rufus Wainwright and John Grant. The alb ...

'' in 2016. Jason Iley commented that the agreement was "a once in a lifetime signing with the biggest male solo artist of our generation". Sony Music UK incorporated the independent sales and distribution company Essential Music and Marketing – renamed to

Red Essential RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...

. In August 2016, Sony Music acquired Ministry of Sound Recordings, home to

London Grammar London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman, and Dominic "Dot" Major. Their debut extended play, '' Metal & Dust'', was released in 2013 by Metal & Dust Recordings; ...

DJ Fresh Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), known professionally as DJ Fresh, is an English DJ and record producer. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, alongside Darren White ( dBridge), Jason Maldini and M ...

and

Sigala Bruce Fielder (born 1 November 1992), known professionally as Sigala, is an English DJ and record producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single "Easy Love (Sigala song), Easy ...

. On April 5, 2017, two of Sony Music UK's labels won awards at the annual Music Week Awards. Columbia Records was awarded A&R of the Year, and Syco was awarded Record Company of the Year. In 2021, Sony agreed to buy Kobalt neighboring rights division and independent distribution company

AWAL AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

, from the

Kobalt Music Group Kobalt Music Group, Ltd. is an independent Performing rights, rights management and music publishing company. Founded in 2000 by CEO Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt acts primarily as an administrative publishing company, not owning any copyrights. Also ...

for $430 million. In 2024, the former members of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

sold their entire catalog for $400 million to Sony. Previously, the band had licensed their music to Sony (from 1975 to 1999 and then again from 2016 until the sale) outside Europe, where the distribution was handled by

and later

. Alongside this, they had also acquired

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 ...

's catalog and "name and likeness" rights for £1 billion. Sony will start distributing the entirety of Queen's music internationally (outside of North America, where it remains with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

) by 2026, when their deal with

ends.

Sony Music Russia

Sony Music Entertainment Russia was the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n music label of Sony Music Entertainment. The company opened its division in the Russian Federation in 1999. In 2000, the first contract was signed with the Russian group

Bi-2 Bi-2 is a Belarus, Belarusian alternative rock band, formed in 1988 in Babruysk, Belarusian SSR. During their career, Bi-2 achieved international success in Eastern Europe. Bi-2 was named the Best Rock Act at the MTV Russian Music Awards in 20 ...

. For 2021, experts estimated the company's share in the Russian recording market at approximately 15-20%. Sony Music Entertainment LLC's revenue in 2021 amounted to 2.56 billion rubles ($42.7 million). Net profit amounted to 132.9 million rubles ($2.22 million). On March 10, 2022, in connection with

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Sony Music Entertainment announced the suspension of operations and new releases in Russia, while Russian employees of Sony Music Group receive pay indefinitely. On September 8, Sony Music officially announced its final withdrawal from Russia. The company recalled all foreign catalogs from the Russian streaming services

Yandex Music Yandex Music () is a Russian music streaming service developed by Yandex. Users select musical compositions, albums, collections of musical tracks to stream to their device on demand and receive personalized recommendations. The service is also a ...

, Zvooq and VK Music, and tracks from

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...

and many other artists were removed. The Russian division is intended as a completely independent structure from Sony Music to represent only local musicians under the new brand Kiss Koala, which was later bought by the structures of former top managers of

Warner Music Russia Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

Criticism and controversies

CD price fixing

Between 1995 and 2000, music companies were found to have used illegal marketing agreements such as minimum advertised pricing to artificially inflate prices of

s. This was done in order to end price wars of the early 1990s among discounters such as

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

and

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. A settlement was reached in 2002 that included music publishers and distributors Sony Music,

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

EMI Music EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), c ...

and

. In restitution for

price fixing Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...

, they agreed to pay a $67.4 million fine and distribute $75.7 million in CDs to public and non-profit groups but admitted no wrongdoing. It is estimated that customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million overall and up to $5 per album.

George Michael

British artist

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

, signed to Columbia in the U.S. and Epic worldwide, advised Sony executives in 1990 that he would not be appearing in music videos to support his forthcoming album, '' Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''. Michael then accused Sony of not promoting the album at all. He sued in the UK in 1992, asking to be released from his contract. Sony ultimately prevailed in the courts in 1994, but Michael's contract was bought out by other labels. Some 11 years later, Michael licensed tracks to Sony for release.

Michael Jackson and Tommy Mottola

The release of ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 theatrical film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy/martial arts TV movie starring Billy Za ...

'' was preceded by a dispute between

and Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him sometime in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits; however, clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson discovered that the attorney who had represented him in the deal had also been representing Sony. He was also concerned that for years Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in its music catalog venture; he feared that Sony might have had a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

, since if Jackson's career failed, he would have had to sell his share of the catalog at a low price.Taraborrelli, 2009, pp. 614–7. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. In July 2002, Jackson alleged that the then-Sony Music chairman

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American businessman, record executive, television producer, theater producer, film producer, investor, and serial entrepreneur. Mottola is the chairman of Mottola Media Group, co-founder of Nter ...

was a "devil" and "racist" who did not support his African-American artists, using them merely for his own gain. He charged that Mottola had called his colleague

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known as Irv Gotti or DJ Irv, was an American record producer and music executive. Gotti started off as a New York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming an A&R t ...

a "fat

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

". Sony refused to renew Jackson's contract, and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the United States.

Prosecution of copyright infringement

In May 2012, Sony Music filed charges against the website

IsoHunt isoHunt was an online torrent files index and repository, where visitors could browse, search, download or upload torrents of various digital content of mostly entertainment nature. The website was taken down in October 2013 as a result of a l ...

. The plaintiff's claims in the court document filed at the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

read: "The IsoHunt Websites have been designed and are operated by the defendants with the sole purpose of profiting from rampant copyright infringement which defendants actively encourage, promote, authorize, induce, aid, abet, materially contribute to and commercially profit from." In February 2016, in a lawsuit filed at a California federal court, Sony Music Entertainment and its associated brands (

and

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

, formerly owned by

) accused Belgian radio aggregator

Radionomy Radionomy was an online platform that provided tools for operating online radio stations. It was part of Radionomy Group, a company which later acquired the online streaming platform SHOUTcast from Nullsoft, and eventually consolidated Radionomy ...

(owned by Universal Music Group's parent

Vivendi Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...

) of copyright infringement.

Kesha v. Dr. Luke and 2016 boycott

In February 2016, 100,000 people signed an online petition in less than 24 hours, calling for a boycott of Sony Music and all other Sony-affiliated businesses after rape allegations against music producer

Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

were made by musical artist

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

. Kesha asked a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

to free her from her contract with Sony Music, but the court denied the request, prompting a widespread public and media response.

List of Sony Music Entertainment labels

Flagship record labels

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Genre-limited record labels

; Country music *

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music, Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Records#Columbia Nashville, Colu ...

Columbia Nashville Columbia Records is an American recor ...

RCA Records Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Artists Current artists *Kane Brown * Corey Kent * Nate Smith * Morgan Wade Former art ...

; Dance/electronic music * Epic Amsterdam *

Stmpd Rcrds Stmpd Rcrds (stylised in all caps; pronounced "stamped records") is a Dutch electronic dance music record label owned by record producer Martin Garrix, who founded the label on 4 March 2016. History Martin Garrix announced the creation of Stmpd ...

(co-distribution with

) * EEM Records *

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Company history Established in 1995 in New York City by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and Virgin Records ...

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

* Liquid State (joint-venture)
; Christian/gospel music *

Provident Label Group Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service. Provident Label Group ...

RCA Inspiration RCA Inspiration (formerly Verity Gospel Music Group) is a gospel music group operating under Sony Music Entertainment. History Inception In late 2002, BMG completed the purchase of the Zomba Group for US$2.74 billion and as a part of that deal, ...

* Kingdom Life Records * DeJountae Records
; Latin *

Sony Music Latin Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is an American record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. Sony Latin was also a division of the Sony Discos label. History In ...

; Classical/jazz music *

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (also known simply as Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known ...

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

Milan Records Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan has an electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases. In July 2 ...

Portrait Records Portrait Records was a sister record label, label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Notable artists Cyndi Lauper and Sade (band), Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the lab ...

RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

** Flying Buddha ** Masterworks Broadway ** XXIM Records
; Blues music *

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

; Pop music *

Disruptor Records Disruptor Records is an American record label founded by Adam Alpert in September 2014, as a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment. The label has sold more than 15 million singles worldwide as of 2016. History Alpert founded the label i ...

; Rock music *

Another Century Records Another Century Records is an alternative rock record label having offices in the United States, Germany and London. It is an imprint oCentury Media Records which was formed in August 2015 bSony Music Entertainment Origins Founded in late 20 ...

; Metal music *

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a German heavy metal record label with offices in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by R ...

Music for Nations Music for Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. Originally a subsidiary of Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG, the label was closed in 2004 and later revived in 2015 by Sony Music Ente ...

; Progressive music *

Inside Out Music Inside Out Music is a German progressive rock record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Cen ...

Others

; Sony Music UK * Columbia Records UK *

Relentless Records Relentless Records is a record label currently headed by co-founder Shabs Jobanputra. Originally known for UK garage singles such as Artful Dodger's " Re-Rewind" and B-15 Project's " Girls Like Us", Relentless has also published albums by J ...

* 5K Records * Black Butter Records (joint-venture) * Dream Life Records * Insanity Records (joint-venture) * Magic Star * Robots + Humans * Since '93 * Sony Music Nashville UK * WEAREBLK (joint-venture) * District 18 Entertainment (joint-venture)
*Heavy Muscle (joint-venture) ; Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. *

Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian music record label operated by Sony and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company began operations in 1997 and was the first record company in India to be fully foreign-owned, with ...

Sony Music South Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian music record label operated by Sony and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company began operations in 1997 and was the first record company in India to be fully foreign-owned, with ...

; Distributed labels *

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, the singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. Initially, the label existed sol ...

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

Rimas Entertainment Rimas Entertainment, commonly known as Rimas, is a Puerto Rican independent record label based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with offices in Miami, Florida, Caracas, Venezuela and Medellín, Colombia. It mainly focuses on reggaeton and Latin trap. ...

Robbins Entertainment Robbins Entertainment LLC is an American dance music record label. It is owned by Cory Robbins and has released music by Cascada, such as their hit single " Everytime We Touch". It is also the company responsible for the ''Dance Party Like It's.. ...

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell, and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Detroit, and Soho in London—with multiple entitie ...

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American music marketing, distribution and management company for independent artists, based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland and is distributed by The Orchard. In 20 ...

ABC Music ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult contempo ...

Big Brother Recordings Big Brother Recordings Ltd. is a British record label set up in 2000 to release material by rock band Oasis in the UK and Ireland. On 19 June 2008 a deal was signed with Sony BMG which entitled them to an arranged portion of the profits from ...

Heist or Hit Records Heist or Hit is a multi genre independent record label and music publisher located in Manchester, founded in 2007. About Heist or Hit are an independent record label based in Manchester, made up of Founder: Mick Scholefield, Label Manager: Mart ...

Mello Music Group Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Kil ...

Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...

; Catalog *

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 ...

* Follow That Dream Records * Louder Than Life Records
; International *

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...

Intl. * Defstar Records Intl. *

; Independent music distribution * The Orchard **

*XE

Previously affiliated labels

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York–based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, th ...

(2001–2010) (previously through BMG and RCA Music Group, now distributed by

) *

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

(1985–1994) (previously through Columbia Records, now part of

) *

Loud Records Loud Records, LLC. (a backronym for Listeners of Urban Dialect) is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label. The label si ...

(1992–2002) (previously through Zoo Entertainment, then RCA Records, and later Columbia Records, now a new company called

SRC Records SRC (Street Records Corporation) was an American record label created by former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. It was a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and was distributed through Motown Records and Republic Records. Company history S ...

through

) * Chaos Recordings Brasil (1993–2000) (previously part of Columbia Records, now dissolved) *

The Work Group The Work Label (stylized as The WORK Group) was an American record label. Its major album releases included ''Tidal'' (1996) by Fiona Apple and ''On the 6'' (1999) by Jennifer Lopez. History In July 1999, founders Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Har ...

(1993–2000) (previously through Epic Records, now dissolved) *

(1958–1970) (previously through Columbia Records, now dissolved) *

Aware Records Aware Records is an American record label. The label has worked with a range of artists, including John Mayer, Train, Five for Fighting, Mat Kearney, and Guster. History Aware Records was founded in 1993 by Gregg Latterman with the simple ...

(1997–2010) (now part of

through

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

) * PiperWorld Entertainment (2008–2013) (previously through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) *

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

(2009–2013) (previously through Columbia Records; now distributed by Universal Music Group) *

Nick Records Nickelodeon Records (formerly only known as Nick Records from 2001 to 2010) is the record label for the children's television channel Nickelodeon, which is owned by Paramount Global. The label featured new and emerging young musical artists, "trip ...

(1993–2010) (previously through Sony Music, now dissolved) *

The Echo Label The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded ...

(2013–2017) (owned by

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...

Chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...

; now distributed by

) *

Volcano Entertainment Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) is an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros. Records ...

(1996–2019) (previously through

Zomba Label Group RCA/Jive Label Group (sometimes stylized as RCA/JIVE Label Group) was an American record label group, owned by Sony Music Entertainment and representing the merger of the RCA Music Group and JIVE Label Group. The umbrella group was formed in 200 ...

and later

, now dissolved) *

RED Music RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...

(1979–2017) (now dissolved) *

Syco Music Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

(2002–2020) (previously through Sony Music UK, now dissolved)

References

External links

*
Yahoo! – Sony Music Entertainment Company Profile
via Yahoo! Business *
Sony Music TV
* {{Authority control Sony Music American companies established in 1929 Companies based in New York City IFPI members Record label distributors Entertainment companies established in 1929 Recording Industry Association of America American subsidiaries of foreign companies

History

1929–1938: American Record Corporation

1938–1970: Columbia/CBS Records

1971–1991: CBS Records Group

1991–2004: Sony Music Entertainment

2004–2008: Sony BMG

2008–present: Sony Music revival and restructuring

Sony Music Canada

Sony Music UK

Sony Music Russia

Criticism and controversies

CD price fixing

George Michael

Michael Jackson and Tommy Mottola

Prosecution of copyright infringement

Kesha v. Dr. Luke and 2016 boycott

List of Sony Music Entertainment labels

Flagship record labels

Genre-limited record labels

Others

Previously affiliated labels

See also

References

External links