Sony/ATV Nashville is the largest country music publisher in the world, boasting the catalogs of Tree, EMI, Acuff-Rose, Pamper, and many more.
It also includes many Hall of Famers and songwriting legends. Sony/ATV Music Publishing is the largest music publishing company in the world and is co-owned by Sony Corporation and the Estate of Michael Jackson. The company was originally founded as Associated Television (ATV) in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1985, ATV Music Publishing was sold to Michael Jackson for $47.5 million. Paul McCartney, who had
told Jackson about the importance of owning publishing, admitted he felt somewhat undercut by the acquisition because Sony/ATV Music Publishing owned the publishing rights to most of The Beatles' songs, although he did not enter bidding when it came up for sale in 1984. In December 1995, Michael Jackson agreed to merge ATV Music Publishing with Sony Music Publishing, a division of Sony Corporation, to form Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In 2012, an investor consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Michael Jackson Estate acquired EMI Music Publishing for approximately $2.2 billion. Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing now operate as one company, with the former entity administering the catalog of the latter under a complex business structure. Following the acquisition, Sony/ATV Music Publishing is now the largest music publishing company in the world with over 2 million songs under management.
