Sony Brings Recorded Music, Publishing Together Under Rob Stringer

AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko – Sony / EMI
Sony Corp. CEO Kenichiro Yoshida speaks at a press conference at the company

Sony Corp. will join Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music Publishing under the new umbrella of Sony Music Group, with CEO Rob Stringer as chairman, effective starting August 1, as indicated in an internal memo from the company’s. President/CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.

Sony/ATV has previously been distinct from Sony Music Entertainment, with their respective leaders until now reporting separately into corporate.     

Under the new structure, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman/CEO Jon Platt, who officially joined the company from Warner Chappell Music on April 1, will now report to Stringer, but according to the memo, retain the authority and responsibility he currently has over the music publishing business. Until November of last year, Sony/ATV had been owned as a joint venture with other equity stake holders, but Sony Corp. acquired the 70% it didn’t own in a deal valued at $4.75 billion.

Stringer remains CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, now the recorded-music arm of the new Sony Music Group, in addition to his role as Chairman of the latter. Platt replaced Martin Bandier, who had been in charge of Sony/ATV since 2007.

“The purpose of this new Group is to further strengthen and solidify Sony’s position as a leader in the music industry and create new value for the company,” read the memo from Yoshida. “This unification will help us foster a higher level of collaboration between our recorded music and music publishing businesses, while respecting and maintaining the independence and unique culture of each organization.”

According to Yoshida, Sony Music Entertainment Japan will remain a separate entity reporting to him, who expects the two companies “to continue and further strengthen their collaboration in the spirit of One Sony.”

Addressing Sony Music staffers, Yoshida went on to write, “I have the utmost respect and trust in Rob and Jon who are outstanding leaders with enormous industry expertise and have the strong support of their employees, artists and songwriters. Working together, and with your help, I am confident they will lead Sony Music Group to a new level of success, remaining the world’s most artist- and songwriter-friendly music company, and further strengthening and securing our legacy for the future.”

The memo indicates the rise of streaming, among other trends in the current music industry, were behind the new organization.

“We felt it was particularly important at this juncture for Sony to take proactive steps to sustain its leadership position in the music industry by accelerating the collaboration and value creation between our world-class recorded music and music publishing businesses to strengthen our value to artists, songwriters and business partners,” writes Yoshida. “It’s been 51 years since Sony entered the music business through a joint venture of CBS Sony Records in 1968. And, with the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing in 2018, Sony has become an even stronger music company.”