Editing Sony (section)

====Sony Music Group and SMEJ====
{{main|Sony Music|Sony Music Publishing|Sony Music Entertainment Japan}}
[[File:Met Life North Building from West 25th Street.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sony Music Entertainment]] headquarters in [[New York City, United States]]]]

Sony Music Entertainment (also known as SME or Sony Music) is the largest global [[music industry|recorded music company]] of the [[Music industry#Consolidation|"big three" record companies]] and is controlled by [[Sony Corporation of America]], the United States subsidiary of Sony.

In one of its largest-ever acquisitions, Sony purchased [[Columbia Records|CBS Record Group]] in 1988 for US$2&nbsp;billion.<ref name="UPI Archives">[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/01/05/Sony-completes-2-billion-purchase-of-CBS-Records/2527568357200/ Sony completes $2 billion purchase of CBS Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024164249/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/01/05/Sony-completes-2-billion-purchase-of-CBS-Records/2527568357200/ |date=2020-10-24  }} upi.com 5 January 1988, Retrieved on 3 December 2017</ref> In the process, Sony partnered and gained the rights to the ATV catalogue of Michael Jackson, considered by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' to be the most successful entertainer of all time. The acquisition of CBS Records provided the foundation for the formation of Sony Music Entertainment, which Sony established in 1991.

In 1968, Sony and CBS Records had formed a 50:50 joint-venture CBS/Sony Records, later renamed CBS/Sony Group, in Japan. When CBS Records was acquired, a 50% stake in CBS/Sony Group owned by CBS was also transferred to Sony. In March 1988, four wholly owned subsidiaries were folded into CBS/Sony Group and the company was renamed as [[Sony Music Entertainment Japan]] (SMEJ). It operates independently of Sony Music as it is directly owned by Japanese Sony.

In 2004, Sony entered into a joint venture with [[Bertelsmann AG]], merging Sony Music Entertainment with [[Bertelsmann Music Group]] to create [[Sony BMG]]. In 2005, Sony BMG faced a [[Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal|copy protection scandal]], because its music CDs had installed [[rootkit|malware]] on users' computers that was posing a security risk to affected customers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Bob |date=1 November 2010 |title=Sony BMG rootkit scandal: 5 years later |work=Network World |url=http://www.networkworld.com/article/2194292/network-security-sony-bmg-rootkit-scandal--5-years-later.html |access-date=20 February 2015 |archive-date=2018-08-14  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814003208/https://www.networkworld.com/article/2194292/network-security/sony-bmg-rootkit-scandal--5-years-later.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the company acquired [[Famous Music]] for US$370&nbsp;million, gaining the rights to the catalogues of [[Eminem]] and [[Akon]], among others. Sony bought out Bertelsmann's share in Sony BMG and formed a new Sony Music Entertainment in 2008. Since then, the company has undergone management changes.

Sony purchased digital music recognition company [[Gracenote]] for US$260&nbsp;million in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 April 2008 |title=Sony to Buy Gracenote Music Data Company |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=4706733 |access-date=11 February 2015 |website=ABC News |archive-date=2020-12-04  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204104836/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=4706733 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tribune Media Company]] acquired Gracenote from Sony in 2014 for $170&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/23/sony-spins-out-gracenote/|title=Tribune To Acquire Sony Audio Recognition Unit Gracenote For $170 Million|date=23 December 2013|access-date=2020-09-03 |archive-date=2020-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812232327/https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/23/sony-spins-out-gracenote/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Besides its record label, Sony operates other music businesses. In 1995, Sony merged its publisher with [[Michael Jackson]]'s [[ATV Music Publishing]], forming Sony/ATV Music Publishing. At the time, the publishing company was the second largest of its kind in the world. The company owns the publishing rights to over 4&nbsp;million compositions, including [[The Beatles]]' [[Lennon–McCartney]] catalogue, [[Bob Dylan]], [[Eminem]], [[Lady Gaga]], [[Sam Smith]], [[Ed Sheeran]], and [[Taylor Swift]].

In 2012, Sony/ATV acquired a majority stake in [[EMI Music Publishing]], becoming the world's largest music publishing company. In 2018, Sony bought the rest of the shares in the publisher, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Halperin |first=Shirley |date=30 June 2012 |title=Sold! EMI Music Publishing to Consortium Led by Sony/ATV, Michael Jackson Estate for $2.2 Billion |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emi-music-publishing-sold-sony-atv-estate-michael-jackson-343848 |access-date=2020-04-28  |archive-date=2020-11-24  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124190516/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emi-music-publishing-sold-sony-atv-estate-michael-jackson-343848 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 May 2018 |title=Sony in $2.3 billion deal for EMI, becomes world's biggest music publisher |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-outlook-emi-idUSKCN1IN01F |access-date=12 July 2020 |archive-date=2020-08-07  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807110523/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-outlook-emi-idUSKCN1IN01F |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2016, Sony owns all of Sony/ATV.<ref name="Sony Finalizes Acquisition of Michael Jackson Estate">{{Cite web |last=Christman |first=Ed |date=30 September 2012 |title=Sony Finalizes Acquisition of Michael Jackson Estate's Stake in Sony/ATV Publishing |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7526542/sony-atv-michael-jackson-publishing-acquisition-completed |access-date=1 October 2016 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |archive-date=2020-11-12  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021346/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7526542/sony-atv-michael-jackson-publishing-acquisition-completed |url-status=live }}</ref>