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Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Hostess confirm deal with Sony Japan
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 3 April 2009
Hostess Entertainment, the independent music company that represents various international artists and labels in Japan, including Domino and PIAS, has announced a deal with Sony Music Japan which will see the major provide distribution, logistical and other support for some of the releases being handled by Hostess.
I’m not entirely sure what this means for Hostess’ previously reported distribution deal with BMG Japan, which was first announced at the start of last year. You might be thinking that Sony Japan and BMG Japan would be the same thing, what, with all former BMG labels now owned by Sony Music and all. But that would be a far too simplistic view of the world.
Sony Music Japan was never part of the SonyBMG joint venture, and bosses their report directly to the Sony Corp parent company, and not the Sony Music (formerly SonyBMG) HQ in New York. BMG Japan, though, was part of the SonyBMG joint venture, so is now a subsidiary of Sony Music and does report into the Sony Music HQ in the US. So, in Japan, Sony Music isn’t part of Sony Music but BMG is.
Anyway, enough of that, here’s what Hostess top man Andrew Lazonby has to say about his new distribution and whatnot deal with Sony Japan: “The feeling that there’s a strong potential for success by the two companies working together, fusing our different strengths, was mutual”. Hostess, you should all note, remains totally independent in terms of ownership.
