2. Basics..
• The company, which evolved into Sony Music, was
founded in 1929 as the American Record
Corporation (ARC) through the merger of several
smaller record companies.
• Sony Music Entertainment is part of the ‘Big Four’, it
is the second largest music record label.
• It also owns many record labels such as, Columbia
Records, roc nation, Legacy Recordings, plus many
more.
3. Want more details?
• Sony renamed the record company Sony Music
Entertainment (SME) on January 1, 1991, fulfilling the terms
set under the 1988 buyout, which granted only a transitional
license to the CBS trademark.
• Also on January 1, 1991, to replace the CBS label, Sony
reintroduced the Columbia label worldwide, which it
previously held in the United States and Canada only.
• Japan is the only country where Sony does not have rights to
the Columbia name as it is controlled by Nippon Columbia.
• In August 2004, Sony entered into a 50-50 joint venture
with Bertelsmann by merging Sony Music and Bertelsmann
Music Group (BMG) to form Sony BMG Music Entertainment
