LOS ANGELES ¨C Sony Corp. triggered a contract clause that would allow the Japanese electronics maker to to sell its half of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing venture it co-owns with Michael Jackson¡¯s estate, according to people familiar with the situation.
The move means Sony can either sell its half of the music-publishing business or buy the other half, said the people, who asked not to be named because the agreement is private. Documents leaked by hackers who broke into Sony Entertainment¡¯s computers last year revealed that executives at the company had discussed such a sale.
A sale would bring Sony cash and reap a payday for a business it merged with Jackson¡¯s in 1995 to establish Sony/ATV. Jackson, who had earlier purchased rights to The Beatles song library, died in 2009. In 2012, Sony, the executors of Jackson¡¯s estate and other investors purchased the larger EMI song catalog, to form the world¡¯s biggest music-publishing business.
Music publishers collect songwriting royalties from album sales, use on TV and other performances. Sony/ATV also has rights to songs from several Motown artists, and administers the catalog for EMI.
Sony/ATV has a value of around $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported on Wednesday that Sony had triggered the clause. It wasn¡¯t clear whether Sony would include its share of EMI in a sale, the newspaper said.
Sony Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Michael Lynton told Bloomberg News in January that the company had no plans to sell the music publishing business. Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said the same in a memo to staff.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.