Sony Corp. (6758)<\/span>\u2019s Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida raised questions about the future of music publishing in an Oct. 3 e-mail to his boss, CEO Kazuo Hirai, and Lynton, in a prelude to a meeting of the three, according to messages released by the hackers. <\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019d like to hear your thoughts on the Music Publishing business, which has a rather complex capital and governance structure and is impacted by the market shift to streaming,\u201d Yoshida wrote in the message.<\/p>\n
Sony\u2019s deliberations on the publishing business were included in a planning document sent to at least half a dozen Sony executives, according to the Nov. 21 e-mail. That included a presentation that outlined they were considering the sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very surprised that the attached listing includes the comment about the sale of Sony\/ATV,\u201d Kober wrote. \u201cAs you know quite well, this is a top-secret project that is being handled by me working directly with Michael and Nicole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The publishing division includes Sony\/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing.<\/p>\n
Sony\/ATV was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Jackson, who had acquired ATV 10 years earlier. Former Beatle Paul McCartney had also tried to purchase the catalog.<\/p>\n
In 2012, Sony paid $2.2 billion for the larger EMI Music Publishing, along with investors including Jackson\u2019s estate, Blackstone Group\u2019s GSO Capital Partners LP, Geffen and Mubadala Development Co. owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Sony\/ATV administers EMI on behalf of the investors. Messages left for Geffen, Mubadala and Blackstone weren\u2019t returned.<\/p>\n
Music publishers collect royalties from album sales, use on TV and other performances. The combined Sony publishing business represents stars from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Gaga and more than 2 million songs, including \u201cNew York, New York,\u201d \u201cJailhouse Rock\u201d and \u201cI Heard It Through the Grapevine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Japanese company and Jackson\u2019s estate each own half of Sony\/ATV, which owns more than 750,000 songs, according to a press release from 2012. EMI Music Publishing, in which Sony holds a 30 percent stake, has 1.3 million songs in its catalog.<\/p>\n
Together, Sony\/ATV and EMI represent the world\u2019s biggest music publishing business, with Sony estimating a global market share of more than 30 percent.<\/p>\n
The music publishing business generates about $500 million in annual revenue and $100 million in operating profit, according to a mid-range plan of Sony\u2019s music business in October that was released by the hackers. <\/p>\n
Sony\u2019s music-publishing business will probably see sales rise 13 percent over three years to $617 million by fiscal year 2018, according to the mid-range plan circulated internally. Operating profit may rise 23 percent to $123 million during that period.<\/p>\n
The e-mails were released as part of a devastating hack on Sony that the FBI said was committed by North Korea over the Hollywood studio\u2019s plan to release the satirical movie \u201cThe Interview,\u201d about an assassination plot against the nation\u2019s leader, Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n
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Source: Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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