Sony/ATV Introduces Pan-European Licensing Endeavor Solar

sonyatv11Sony/ATV Music Publishing, UK collection society PRS for Music, and German society GEMA have partnered for the joint venture, SOLAR, which will administer licenses for Sony/ATV and EMI’s pan-European digital rights for Anglo-American catalogs. SOLAR will exploit the catalogs of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing, and will provide administration services online and mobile licensing in Europe and other regions.

The move, in addition to previous licensing processes CELAS and PAECOL, aims to offer a one-stop shop for licensees to obtain access to both repertoires. The new arrangement replaces existing processes, where Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing’s Anglo-American catalogs have operated under separate arrangements for pan-European digital use. Sony/ATV’s Anglo-American catalog has been managed by PAECOL (a subsidiary of GEMA), while digital licensing for EMI Music Publishing’s Anglo-American catalog has been managed by CELAS, a joint venture between GEMA and PRS for Music.

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 has pan-European deals with many services including Amazon, Deezer, Google, iTunes and Spotify.

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Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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