Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
 |
Sony/ATV Music Publishing was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and trusts formed by Michael Jackson. Today, Sony/ATV Music Publishing is one of the world’s largest music catalogues and owns or administers over 750,000 copyrights by such legendary artists as The Beatles, Beck, Brooks & Dunn, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Enrique Iglesias, Kraftwerk, Maxwell, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Roy Orbison, Linda Perry, Little Richard, Richie Sambora, Savage Garden, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams, and Diane Warren, among others.
Its growing current roster of chart-topping artists includes Akon, Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, Kenny Chesney, Fall Out Boy, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Mike Posner, Shakira, Taylor Swift and KT Tunstall.
In 2009, Sony/ATV Music Publishing was named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Pop Publisher of the Year for the first time in the company’s history. Headquartered in New York City, Sony/ATV Music Publishing has 32 offices in 23 countries.
For more information, go to sonyatv.com.
Senior Management
Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Jody Gerson, Co-President, Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Los Angeles)
Danny Strick, Co-President, Sony/ATV Music Publishing (New York)
Peter Brodsky, Executive Vice President for Business & Legal Affairs, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Throughout the past two years, Sony/ATV Music Publishing has dramatically increased its market share, including being ranked number one in U.S. market share for two of the last three quarters (Billboard, 2/27/2010, Billboard, 5/22/2010, Billboard, 8/21/2010).
U.S. market share is based on the amount of airplay that Sony/ATV-controlled songs receive in a given quarter. Sony/ATV continues to be an industry leader as a result of the huge successes of writer-artists Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, John Mayer and Sara Bareilles. Sony/ATV also currently holds the number one spot as country music publisher in market share, garnering 12.8% of the country airplay chart (Billboard, 8/21/2010).
Sony/ATV acquired the Famous and the Leiber Stoller catalogues in 2007. The Famous catalogue, widely considered one of the most sought-after music catalogues in the world, comprises 125,000 songs, including film scores from “The Godfather,” “Braveheart” and “Mission Impossible, among others.” The Leiber Stoller catalogue includes one of the world’s best known songs, “Stand By Me,” andover 20 of the greatest songs ever recorded by Elvis Presley, including “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and “Treat Me Nice.”
Core Functions of Music Publishing
Music publishing is the ownership, management and exploitation of the words and music of songs. This right is an exclusive right, protected by statute, for which permission is required for the use of the words or music in songs. It is not the copyright in the master recordings, but in the songs.
Copyrights are typically acquired by either:
- The purchase of established catalogs (i.e., Famous and Leiber Stoller) or
- New talent deals with songwriters, writers/artists and writers/producers (i.e., Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa)
Music publishers earn revenue by licensing writers the right to use their songs. Some examples include radio airplay, the purchase of a CD and/or a digital song/album, and when music is heard in films, television shows, and TV commercials, as well as in other physical merchandise like greeting cards.
USA