EMI

The origins of EMI Music Publishing date back to the EMI Group's entry into music publishing in 1958 through the formation of Ardmore and Beechwood.[3] In 1969, EMI greatly expanded its presence in music publishing through the acquisition of Keith Prowse Music for US$1.2 million in cash and 70,000 ordinary stock units.[3] In 1973, EMI acquired Affiliated Music Publishers for US$8.75 million.[3] In 1974, EMI renamed its music publishing division as EMI Music Publishing.[4] In 1976, EMI Music Publishing acquired the Screen Gems and Colgems music libraries from Columbia Pictures, making it a major publisher of film music.[4] In May 2011, EMI Music Publishing began bundling performance rights previously represented by ASCAP with mechanical and synchronization rights.[5]

In November 2011, a consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing agreed to acquire EMI Music Publishing from Citigroup, the owners of the EMI Group, for US$2.2 billion.[6][7] The acquisition was approved by the European Commission in April 2012,[8] conditional upon the divestiture of the worldwide publishing rights to four catalogues - Famous Music UK, Virgin Europe, Virgin Music Publishing UK and Virgin US - and the musical works of 12 contemporary authors, including Bullet For My Valentine, Gary Barlow, Ben Harper, the Kooks, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Placebo (Famous Music), and Robbie Williams. Those catalogues, collectively known as "Rosetta", were acquired by BMG Rights Management in December 2012; the deal was finalized in May 2013.[9][10] The acquisition was completed in June 2012 following receipt of necessary approvals from anti-trust regulators in the United States.