David Balfour examines the reasons why Ministry may have chosen to enter the Sony family

12 August 2016 - Editorial

Sony Music UK yesterday continued its recent acquisitive streak by making a really big announcement: that it has acquired in its entirety the label business of Ministry of Sound. That delivers Jason Iley’s Sony not just Ministry’s iconic compilations businesses but its increasingly successful label business, home to acts including London Grammar and Sigala.

We have to confess that we didn’t see this particular marriage coming, not least because Ministry has always seemed so determinedly independent. Not perhaps in the same way as most other indies but independent nevertheless. On reflection however, the deal makes loads of sense for both parties. Sony continues its aggressive UK expansion which already this year saw it acquire label service and distribution company Essential Music. It gets a market-leading compilations brand, serious curatorial talent from Ministry’s team, plus an established and successful A&R team, alongside a significant roster of owned catalogue including proven hits.

For Ministry, a no doubt bumper payday is backed by a likelihood that it might be able to operate on a business as usual basis. Sony already showed through its Essential acquisition that this is not a pure marketshare game for the major, it’s far more strategic than that. Although Ministry’s boss Lohan Presencer has not shied away from criticising the majors in the past, he is far too canny a businessman to pass up a massive cash injection, with at least a strong chance that not much changes on a day-to-day basis. Besides, Presencer’s complaints around the majors have usually centred on their deal-making power, which if you become part of a major is no longer a problem.

More interesting perhaps is the question of whether Presencer’s prior dislike of free streaming, and such of Spotify’s influence on the market in particular, can survive incorporation into a major with different priorities from his own. Also worthy of examination is just what this deal might mean for an independent sector already weakened from the loss of Essential earlier this year. Not that Ministry has exactly played the sector solidarity game since its dispute with AIM in 2007. However, regardless of that dispute, the fact is that the sector has been able to date to claim Ministry’s share within its own, something which will no longer be possible, leaving all other indies weakened as a result. 

We would never seek to portray this deal as being a case of Ministry having thrown in the towel in the face of insurmountable advantage. It’s just not the company’s style. For others in the sector however, the temptation to do similar must only be growing, that’s if there are even offers on the table. These are tough times for the independent music sector.