Sony Corp. is putting both Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music Publishing under the new umbrella of Sony Music Group, which Sony Music’s CEO Rob Stringer will helm as chairman.
The move is effective Aug. 1, according to an internal Sony memo obtained by Billboard, and represents a significant structural change for the Tokyo-based conglomerate. For years, Sony/ATV has been separate from Sony Music Entertainment, with their respective leaders until now reporting into corporate management separately. This new structure puts Sony more in line with the way the other two major labels, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, are constructed.
Under this new structure, Jon Platt, Chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, will report to Stringer. Platt will retain the authority and responsibility he currently has with respect to the operation of the music publishing business, according to the memo from Sony Corp. president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. Until November of last year, Sony/ATV had been owned as a joint venture with other financials equity stake holders, but Sony Corp. acquired the 70% it didn’t own in a deal valued at $4.75 billion.