SONY/ATV, PRS FOR MUSIC AND GEMA LAUNCH JOINT VENTURE

25 September 2014 - Press release

New one-stop European licensing shop harnesses Sony/ATV and EMI publishing catalogues

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, UK collection society PRS for Music and German society GEMA have today announced that they have entered into a new agreement to administer licences for Sony/ATV and EMI’s pan-European digital rights for Anglo-American repertoire.  The move builds on the success of current licensing vehicles CELAS and PAECOL to provide a one-stop shop for licensees wishing to access both repertoires, which include some of the world’s most iconic songwriters and composers.

The joint venture called SOLAR will administer a single new licence to cover the exploitation of the combined Anglo-American catalogues of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing. SOLAR will provide administration services for online and mobile licensing across Europe and other regions.

The new arrangements will replace existing solutions where Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing’s respective Anglo-American catalogues have been subject to separate arrangements for pan-European digital exploitation. To date, the digital licensing of Sony/ATV’s Anglo-American catalogue has been managed by PAECOL, a subsidiary of GEMA, and the digital licensing of the EMI Music Publishing Anglo-American catalogue has been managed by CELAS, a joint venture between PRS for Music and GEMA.

The launch of SOLAR follows the 2012 acquisition of EMI Music Publishing led by Sony Corporation of America, which brought the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing catalogues together.  This consolidated offering ensures that licensees have easy access to both repertoires.

Martin Bandier, Chairman and CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said: “This agreement not only builds on our already successful relationships with PRS for Music and GEMA, but makes the licensing process in Europe more straight-forward as services will now have only one place to go for both Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing repertoire. It is also great news for our songwriters as we look to continue to facilitate licensing in this rapidly-evolving and expanding sector.”

Sony/ATV EVP Digital & Society Relations Antony Bebawi said: "We're delighted to be continuing our already strong partnership with GEMA and PRS for Music. They are two societies with which we share a strong belief in and commitment to providing the highest level of administration to support the pan-European licensing of digital services and to deliver improved services to our songwriters."

PRS for Music Chief Executive Robert Ashcroft said: “We’re delighted to launch this new one-stop licensing shop, and further support the pioneering development of Sony/ATV and EMI Publishing’s online business in Europe.  This agreement is a vote of confidence for the Hubs strategy and consolidation activities that we and GEMA are close to launching with our partner STIM.  SOLAR will ensure licensees have easier access to this exceptional combined repertoire.”

Dr. Harald Heker, Chairman of GEMA’s Executive Board, said: “GEMA has accompanied the licensing and administration of both catalogues – Sony in PAECOL and EMI in CELAS – since the year 2007. We are proud to continue this path with Sony and EMI in SOLAR, together with our partner PRS. Our focus in SOLAR will remain to strive for excellence in the field of administration to the benefit of all authors.”

Alexander Wolf, Executive Managing Director, SOLAR Music Rights Management, said: "We feel privileged to continue our long cooperation with Sony and EMI Publishing by combining the administration of both publishing catalogues in SOLAR Ltd. We look forward to a fruitful relationship in the challenging years to come."

CELAS and PAECOL pioneered pan-European digital licensing, allowing music services to license rights throughout Europe rather than having to make arrangements on a territory-by-territory basis. The launch of SOLAR will make this process even more efficient for licensees.

Bebawi said: "As well as delivering improved services to our songwriters, licensees will now benefit from the increased efficiency by offering one license and one administration process where there were previously two.  This will further simplify the licensing landscape and further increase the efficiency in the market."

Sony/ATV presently has pan-European deals with a large number of services including Amazon, Deezer, Google, iTunes and Spotify.