Who Owns Epic Records?

What does Sony Music Entertainment own?
Sony Music Entertainment owns dozens of record labels including Columbia Records, Epic Records, RCA Records, Arista Records, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, and Alamo Records. Through Sony Music Publishing, it owns or administers the world's largest music publishing catalog, which includes the Beatles song catalog and the former EMI Music Publishing catalog. SME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and operates as part of Sony's Music segment alongside Sony Music Entertainment Japan and the Visual Media and Platform division.

Is Sony Music Entertainment publicly traded?
No. Sony Music Entertainment is not independently publicly traded. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 6758 and on the NYSE as an ADR under ticker SONY. SME's financial results are reported as part of Sony Group's Music segment in its consolidated financial statements. Investors cannot buy shares in SME directly.

Who founded Sony Music Entertainment?
SME traces its origins to the American Record Corporation, founded in 1929 through the merger of several early record labels. CBS Inc. acquired the company in 1938 and renamed it CBS Records. Sony Corporation acquired CBS Records in 1988 for approximately $2 billion and renamed it Sony Music Entertainment. The company's current form was further shaped by the 2004 merger with BMG Music and Sony's 2008 buyout of Bertelsmann's 50% stake for approximately $1.2 billion.

Where is Sony Music Entertainment headquartered?
Sony Music Entertainment is headquartered in New York City, New York, USA. The company has major operational centers in Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Tokyo, and Berlin, among other cities. Sony Music Publishing is also headquartered in New York City. Sony Music Entertainment Japan, which is part of the same Music segment, is headquartered in Tokyo.

How many record labels does Sony Music Entertainment own?
Sony Music Entertainment owns dozens of record labels and imprints globally. The major U.S. labels are Columbia Records, Epic Records, RCA Records, Arista Records, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, and Alamo Records. Each major label operates multiple sub-labels and imprints. The company also operates country-specific labels in Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Latin America, and other markets. Sony Music Publishing administers the world's largest catalog of music compositions.

Who owns Sony Music Entertainment?
Sony Music Entertainment is wholly owned by Sony Group Corporation, a publicly traded Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Sony Group trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 6758 and on the NYSE as an ADR under ticker SONY. Sony Group has a broad institutional and retail shareholder base with no single controlling shareholder, which is typical for large Japanese public corporations.

What is Sony Music Entertainment's revenue?
For fiscal year 2025 (the year ended March 31, 2026), Sony Group's Music segment, which includes Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and Visual Media and Platform, reported total revenue of 2.12 trillion yen (approximately $13.3 billion), up 15% from the prior fiscal year. Operating income was 447 billion yen (approximately $2.8 billion), a record high. SME does not report standalone financial results separate from Sony Group.

Has Sony Music Entertainment made major acquisitions recently?
Sony has been one of the most active acquirers of music catalogs in recent years, spending approximately 550 billion yen ($3.4 billion) on catalog acquisitions funded with cash, long-term debt, and third-party contributions. The most notable publishing acquisitions include the 2016 purchase of the Michael Jackson estate's 50% stake in Sony/ATV for approximately $750 million and the 2019 acquisition of EMI Music Publishing for approximately $2.3 billion. In 2025, Sony acquired additional equity in Peanuts Holdings LLC.