Med 6: Issues & Debates

SONY BMG


WHO OWNS IT....
Key people
Andrew Lack - Chairman of the Board of Directors Rolf Schmidt-Holtz - Chief Executive Officer Tim Bowen - Chief Operating Officer Kevin Kelleher - Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer

Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc. is the result of a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (part of Sony) and BMG Entertainment (part of Bertelsmann) completed on August 5, 2004. It is one of the Big Four music companies, and includes ownership and distribution of recording labels such as Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, RCA Victor Records, RCA Records, Legacy Recordings, Sonic Wave America, and others.

Film
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Columbia TriStar
Sony Pictures Classics
Screen Gems


Television
Sony Pictures Television
AXN
Animax Japan
SoapCity
GAME SHOW NETWORK (50% with Liberty Media)
Movielink (jointly owned with Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios)


Music
Sony BMG Music Entertainment (50% with Bertelsmann)Labels include: Arista Records, BMG Classics, BMG Heritage, BMG International Companies, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, RCA Records, RCA Victor Group, RLG - Nashville, Sony Classical, Sony Music International, Sony Music Nashville, Sony Wonder, So So Def Records, Verity Records
Sony/ATV Music Publishing (joint venture with Michael Jackson)
Music Choice (venture with Time Warner, EMI, Motorola, Microsoft, and several cable companies: Cox, Comcast, Adelphia, Time Warner Cable)

HISTORY OF SONY BMG....
During the 1990s, Sony transformed itself from electronics manufacturer to global entertainment company, establishing a leading position in music, movies and computer gaming.

Sony BMG was created in 2004 from the merger of the US-based music arm of Sony Corporation with Bertelsmann's BMG Music Entertainment

the world's second largest music group (after Universal), with a huge portfolio of artists and labels worldwide

SONY BMG AND NEW MEDIA

they have created a new sysytem were fans can communicate with their favourite artists-

He says Mozes only sends messages to people who have opted into the program. If you're a hard-core fan of musician Teddy Geiger, Porter says, you'll want him texting you with his next concert date or leaving a voice message about an upcoming release (Geiger uses the service, Porter said).

For Sony BMG, this marketing method can offer a much more directed link to its target communities.

Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham 38 is number 22 on the Media top 100 2008, He was a special adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport during Tony Blair's first term in power, and is now the Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media & Sport since 25 Jan 2008.

He was an MP for 6 years working for labour, and he is a british politician.

In Burnham's in-tray is how to fund the future of public service broadcasting, including Channel 4, and how that will impact on the BBC's revenue from the licence fee. He has hailed the corporation as a "cornerstone" of UK broadcasting but refused to rule out part of the licence fee for other TV and radio outlets. There is the possibility of a new communications act, already hinted out by his predecessor(person who precedes another), that would frame media policy for the next decade.

Burnham has hinted at tougher controls of online content, and said the government would reject European Union moves to allow product placement on UK television.

Andy's speech to the Phonographic Performance Ltd. AGM, 4 June 2008

"I consider myself lucky to have the privilege to champion your cause, to champion the cause of the British music industry within Government for the time that I hold this job and can I say to you at the very beginning that it is something that I intend to do with urgency"

"It is possible today to try a whole range of music, to learn and find out more and that is a really positive thing."

"Firstly that the British music industry is precious and it needs protecting. Secondly that it plays a vital part in the promotion of our country overseas and that it is for me a personal priority to help us collectively, and I stress the word collectively, because it’s not just the Government in this equation."