RESEARCH INTO COMPANIES

SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Music Entertainment Sony music was founded in 1929 when several individual record companies fused together to develop one company, the company started under the name American Record Corporation it went through many different name changes, merging and being bought out by different companies and labels, it eventually became Sony Music Entertainment on January 1st 1991. In 2004 Sony entered in a joint venture with BMG becoming the newly named Sony BMG but after four years on October 1st 2008 Sony bought out BMG’s 50% share in the company to once again become Sony Music Entertainment as they are known today. Sony Music is part of one of the biggest music and entertainment companies in the world. It has a vast variety of acts signed to the label, many of which have achieved world wide fame.

It has over 200 artists signed to the label covering a wide range of style and genre. Some of the top acts include Beyoncé, Kings of Leon, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Usher.

Vevo is an online music video and entertainment website set up by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media Company. It hosts music from three of the four major record labels; Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI. Vevo was launched on 8th December 2009 and has become a well used website by music fans everywhere.

Sony Music Entertainment UK is known for it’s partnership with other labels and people in the music industry. One of these partnerships include Simon Cowell's label Syco which accounts for over 75% of Sony Music UK's profits. Sony owns many other music labels. Three of the main are Columbia, RCA and Sony CMG. Sony RED distribution company are owned by Sony Music Entertainment and handle releases for 50+ independent record labels.

UNIVERSAL

Universal Music Group is the largest music corporation in the world. An American-based, French-owned multinational music corporation, it currently operates as a subsidiary of Paris-based media conglomerate Vivendi. Universal Music Group's global corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California.

The company discovers, develops, markets and distributes recorded music through a network of subsidiaries, joint businesses and licensees in 77countries and represents 98% of the music market.

Akon, Black Eyes Peas, Mary J. Blige, Bon Jovi, Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Nelly Furtado, Kanye West are all successful artists signed to Universal.

Along with Sony, they own the online entertainment website Vevo. The website is highly popular with music fans.

WARNER MUSIC GROUP

• Warner Music Group is an American major global record company headquartered in New York City. The largest American-owned music conglomerate worldwide, it is the last of the 'big three' recording companies.

• The company operates some of the largest and most successful recording labels in the world, including its flagship labels Warner Bros. Records, Parlophone Records and Atlantic Records.

• WMG also owns Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's largest music-publishing companies.• The artists that are signed to WMG typically headline and play music festivals such as

Reading & Leeds Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Download Festival, Sonisphere Festival and V Festival.

• Artists that are signed to WMG include: Bruno Mars, Biffy Clyro, Michael Bublé, Coldplay, Jason Derulo, Flo Rida, Linkin Park, Paramore and Taylor Swift.