Sony/ATV Launches Pan-European Licensing Venture SOLAR
SOLAR will handle both the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing anglo-American catalogs for Europe and other regions. The move creates digital service one-stop.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is launching SOLAR, a new pan-European licensing venture which will handle both the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing anglo-American catalogs for Europe and other regions.
In putting together SOLAR, Sony/ATV will partner with PRS for Music, the U.K. collection society, and GEMA, the German collection society. The move creates digital service one-stop shopping in the form of a single license that ensures easy assess to both catalogs. Previously, European digital services had to license EMI Music Publishing’s anglo catalog from CELAS, which was a joint-venture between EMI, PRS and GEMA; and Sony/ATV’s anglo catalog from PAECOL, a joint-venture between Sony/ATV and GEMA.
“This agreement not only builds on our already successful relationships with PRS for Music and GEMA, but makes the licensing process in Europe more straight-forward as services will now have only one place to go for both Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing repertoire,” Sony/ATV chairman/CEO Martin Bandier said in a statement. “It is also great news for our songwriters as we look to continue to facilitate licensing in this rapidly-evolving and expanding sector.”
Sony/ATV executive VP of digital & society relations Antony Bebawi noted that GEMA and PRS for Music “are two societies with which we share a strong belief in and commitment to providing the highest level of administration to support the pan-European licensing of digital services and to deliver improved services to our songwriters.”
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GEMA has been involved in administering both the Sony/ATV and EMI catalog for some years, noted GEMA chairman of the executive board Dr. Harald Heker, who promised that SOLAR will strive for administration excellence to the benefit of all authors. PRS for Music chief executive Robert Ashcroft noted that SOLAR will “support the pioneering development of Sony/ATV and EMI Publishing’s online business in Europe.”