Viacom to sell Famous Music to Sony/ATV
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc. said on Wednesday it will sell its Famous Music publishing unit to Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song-music catalog co-owned by pop star Michael Jackson.
The deal is estimated to be worth $370 million in cash, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Famous Music's catalog of more than 125,000 songs and sound cues includes music by Eminem and Shakira as well as movie soundtracks from "The Godfather" and "Mission: Impossible." Famous was founded as a unit to publish songs from movies.
The deal is the first major move by recently appointed Sony/ATV Chief Executive Martin Bandier, the former head of EMI Music Publishing, who left EMI earlier this year.
As part of the deal, Sony/ATV will be entering the production music business through the Famous Extreme division.
Sony/ATV is jointly owned by Sony Corp. and Jackson. Its catalog includes songs by The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, making it the fourth-largest music publisher.
Bandier, who oversaw the growth of EMI Music Publishing from No. 4 publisher to the largest when he left, said he was appointed to expand the business through a mix of acquisitions and the addition of songwriters.
"We're in the hunt for great artists and people to build the team," said Bandier in an interview with Reuters.
"This deal announces that we're in the game. Our strategy is to become one of the more meaningful players in the publishing business," he added.
Sony/ATV bought the Leiber Stoller songs catalog last month in a deal industry experts valued at around $50 million. The songs, by iconic songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, include "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," Stand By Me" and Love Potion #9."
Music publishing has become one of the more coveted segments of the music industry as recorded music has been severely hit by piracy. It has been affected by the relatively slow transition of consumers to buying digital songs to make up for the downturn in sales of CDs.
Publishing is less vulnerable to the vagaries of music retailing as it generates revenue by licensing songs to a variety of sources, including television, advertising, radio and live performances.
Earlier this month, French media giant Vivendi SA's Universal Music Publishing Group unit became the world's largest music publisher after it bought BMG Music Publishing in a $2.19 billion deal.
Other music companies have also said they intend to expand their publishing catalog, including Warner Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Reuters/Nielsen
