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Sony Music Entertainment: Difference between revisions
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CBS Music Video Enterprises was founded in October 1985 as a division of CBS Records, owned at the time by CBS Inc. It was a vehicle for home video distribution of titles related to acts on the various labels owned or distributed by CBS Records, such as Columbia, Epic, Portrait, and CBS Masterworks (now known as Sony Classical). Prior to 1988, all titles produced by CBS Music Video Enterprises were distributed by [[The CBS/Fox Company]] which released them under the CBS/Fox Video Music banner. On January 5, 1988, Sony Corporation acquired CBS Records; the CBS Music Video Enterprises division was spun off into its own label afterward. The company began issuing titles on its own in August 1988. On January 1, 1991, Sony, which acquired most international rights to the Columbia trademarks from EMI in 1990, renamed its music subsidiary to '''Sony Music Entertainment'''; the video arm subsequently adopted the name Sony Music Video Enterprises.
Although it initially released music-related titles exclusively, it soon began to release titles unrelated to music, particularly after generating three distinct division labels that it would operate alongside its own company: Columbia Music Video, Epic Music Video and Sony Kids' Video (which soon merged with Sony Kids' Music to become better known as Sony Wonder). In May 1993, Sony Music secured an agreement with Viacom-owned MTV Networks, which gave Sony Music the video and music rights to programs from Nickelodeon. As a result of the agreement, video and music labels were formed: [[Nickelodeon Home Video]] and Nickelodeon Audio, respectively. A year later, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications (formerly known as Gulf and Western Industries), which owned Paramount Pictures at the time, but continued to license MTV Networks content to Sony Music for a few years following the acquisition. Another agreement with MTV Networks was secured in
On March 13, 2007, Sony BMG announced an intention to focus on its core music business. All of its non-music video distribution contracts were canceled or transferred to other companies, such as Genius Entertainment and Vivendi Entertainment. The remainder of Sony Wonder's operations were transferred to [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]], which subsequently operated it as a family entertainment label; SPHE renamed Sony Wonder to Sony Pictures Kids Zone in 2020. In 2008, Sony purchased Bertelsmann AG's stake in the music arm, readopting the Sony Music Entertainment name for it.
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