2. Ownership Sony Corporation (Electronics/ Hardware) -Sony Electronics, Sony Optiarc, S-LCD (50% minus 1 share with Samsung Electronics), Sony Creative Software Sony Pictures Entertainment, (Movies) -Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Sony Pictures Television, Syco TV/Film, Metro Goldwin Mayer (20%) Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony pictures Home Entertainment. Sony Music Entertainment, (Music) -Sony ATV Music Publishing (50% shared with the Michael Jackson Family Trust), Columbia/Epic Label Group, Syco Music, RED Distribution, Sony Masterworks, Provident Label Group. Gracenote, RCA Records Sony Computer Entertainment (Video games) -Sony Online Entertainment, Cellius (51% owned, shared with Namco Bandai) Naughty Dog, Evolution studios, Bigbig Studios, Sony Financial Holdings (Finance services 60% owned) -Sony Bank( a Japanese online bank), Sony Life insurance
3. The Sony Corporation is very large and based in Tokyo, Japan, It started as a hardware company that made electronic devices, It has several main branches covering Music, Film, Games, Finance and of course electronic hardware. I’ve mapped out some of the subsidiaries above, I tried to include the most varied an relevant ones. Sony is well spread across many different forms of media. For example Sony creative Software designs video and audio editing software- this can be sold onto other companies, or even used by Sony itself to minimise production cost. Sony Demonstrates both forward and backwards vertical integration by owning companies such as Sony Optiarc which makes Optical Disc drives, this technology is relevant for other electronic devices made by Sony, It also owns RED Distribution a company which distributes music for independent record labels, Owning this is an advantage as not only can it offer distribution services to artists on Sony owned labels if required but also as a distributor for other labels not owned by Sony but still make profit. . Also owning part of Sony ATV Publishing makes it easy for Sony to publish any music made on any of the many record labels it owns. This is also relevant to other parts of Sony, for example Sony Pictures entertainment has the subsidiaries Sony Pictures Imageworks and Animation 2 companies which can be used without extra cost by Sony for releases by (for example) Columbia Pictures. A look into the history of Sony reveals it tends to vertically integrate companies gradually- tending to start off as a joint venture, allowing for instant benefits and profit, before they buy out their partners share several years later when it can afford to allowing Sony to take full advantage of the company and take all the profit.
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6. Below: Sony music entertainment website homepage. Above: Scouting for girls MySpace, this is a typical example of a MySpace for a band signed to a major label (highly decorated covered with adverts and with a blog for the band)
7. Distribution and Exchange CD’s are distributed by a distribution company, Sony owns one called RED Distribution, which also distributes a lot of independent labels records. They send the CD’s out to shops such as HMV, which then sells them to the public. They also distribute the songs online, this works in one of two ways, either making the songs available to stream directly off the internet-this is usually free, or allowing people to buy the song and download it which is most commonly done through iTunes. Online distribution is effective as it does not cost a record much to put songs up for download, and in the case of a major record label they can afford to pay for bandwidth, so they can allow a much wider library of music online as they do not have to pay for physical packaging and distribution, also by doing this they directly reach their audience rather than going through a high street distributor. Currently Sony have several artists in the album sales chart for example: Scouting for girls (Everybody wants to be on TV) -26,000 Susan Boyle (I dreamed a dream) 26,000 MGMT (Congratulations) 54,000 The Glee Cast (The Power of Madonna) 110,000 These artist are spread throughout the UK top 40 chart and they are also in the download chart however not in the same positions-notably Scouting for girls is number 5 in the top ten UK download chart, whereas in the album charts it is number 37.
