BMG Music Publishing

BMG Rights Management is the youngest major international company in the music industry. BMG opened for business in October 2008 as a subsidiary of one of Europe’s biggest media companies, Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann has been associated with music for more than 50 years, ever since the foundation of the Ariola label in 1959. After several acquisitions - including Arista (1979) and RCA (1986) - Bertelsmann consolidated its music interests under the BMG – Bertelsmann Music Group – name to become one of the top five music industry players in the world. In response to declining sales, Bertelsmann agreed to merge the BMG recorded music division with Sony Music in 2004 to form Sony BMG. Bertelsmann kept the BMG music publishing division separate. By 2006, BMG was the third largest music publisher worldwide. Bertelsmann sold BMG Music Publishing to Vivendi in late 2006 in order to refinance a major share repurchase of the Group. Following its exit from music publishing, Bertelsmann mounted a strategic review of the business options for Sony BMG, and decided to sell its JV shareholding. In late 2008, Bertelsmann completed the sale of its JV shareholding to Sony Corporation.