Business News Labels & Publishers

Sony/ATV not for sale, says Sony/ATV boss

By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 12 January 2015

The world’s biggest music publishing powerhouse is not for sale, which is a shame. I was planning a whip round, buying it up and doing all kinds of crazy shit with The Beatles catalogue before Paul McCartney exercises his reversion rights under US copyright law later this decade.

As you may recall, if you didn’t sleep through the entirety of the Christmas break, amongst the flood of private Sony emails that spilled onto the internet late last year after the big ‘The Interview’-motivated server hack were messages between execs at the firm’s Japanese HQ and bosses of its US-headquartered entertainment business about the future of the Sony/ATV music publishing company.

Concerns were expressed from the top of Sony Corp about the state of the music publishing sector, and the complicated ownership structure of its market-leading music publishing business, which is a joint venture with the Michael Jackson estate, while the EMI Music Publishing side of the business has other co-owners too. Although discussions were clearly very speculative, there were indications a sale of Sony/ATV was being considered.

But not anymore, according to a memo from Sony/ATV chief Marty Bandier to his staff last week responding to the Christmas break rumours. According to the New York Post, Bandier told his employees: “I have been advised by Sony Corp that Sony/ATV is not for sale”.

Noting his company’s recent successes, he added: “Who wouldn’t want to own a company like that, including Sony Corp?”