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Sony Music Publishing

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Sony Music Publishing

Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over six million songs owned or administered as of end March 2025, it is part of Sony Music Group, which is itself owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. The company was formed as Sony/ATV in 1995 by the merger of the original incarnation of Sony Music Publishing and ATV Music, which was owned by late entertainer Michael Jackson. Jackson had purchased ATV Music, which included the Lennon–McCartney song catalog, in 1985.

In 2012, an investor consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired EMI Music Publishing to become the largest music publishing administrator in the world, with a library of over three million songs.

In April 2019, Jon Platt became CEO/Chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing after the contract of longtime CEO/Chairman Martin Bandier expired. In August 2019, management of Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Music Entertainment were merged under the newly formed Sony Music Group.

Associated Television (ATV) was a British television broadcasting company founded in 1955 by Lew Grade. Over the next two decades, ATV expanded through acquisitions to become an entertainment conglomerate with business lines in the record industry, music publishing and film production.

ATV entered the music industry in 1958 when it acquired 50% of Pye Records, a British record company. ATV expanded into music publishing in 1966 when it acquired 50% of New World Music and Jubilee Music, subsidiaries of Chappell & Co. ATV also acquired the other 50% of Pye Records, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of ATV, including Pye Record's publishing subsidiary Welbeck Music.

ATV acquired Northern Songs, publisher of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue, in 1969. The catalog featured almost every song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Northern Songs was co-owned by Lennon, McCartney, Brian Epstein and Dick James, who owned a controlling interest. In 1969, James offered to sell his shares to ATV. Lennon and McCartney then attempted to gain a controlling interest in the company. Their bid to gain control, part of a long and acrimonious fight, failed. The financial clout of Grade, their adversary in the bidding war, ensured that the songs written by the two Beatles passed into the control of ATV.

In 1970, ATV formed a joint publishing venture with Kirshner Entertainment, called ATV-Kirshner Music. The partnership agreement expired at the end of 1972 at which time ATV Music was formed to manage all of ATV's publishing interests, including Northern Songs. ATV Music remained a successful organization in the music industry throughout the 1970s, largely due to the performance of Northern Songs. ATV Music also entered into co-publishing agreements with Lennon and McCartney, whose contract with Northern Songs expired in 1973.

While ATV Music was successful, its parent company, now known as Associated Communications Corporation (ACC) began experiencing financial difficulties. From 1978 to 1981, ACC's profits declined due to losses in its film division, and share prices dropped dramatically. The main television arm of ATV lost its government-granted license in its then-current form and was restructured into Central Independent Television. In 1981, Grade entertained offers for Northern Songs, drawing interest from several bidders. McCartney, with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, offered £21 million but the offer was declined by Grade who decided not to sell Northern Songs separately after other suitors, including CBS Songs, EMI Music Publishing, Warner Communications, Paramount Pictures and the Entertainment Co. showed interest in buying ATV Music as a whole.

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