Music at Bertelsmann In the 1950s, Bertelsmann entered the music business when it added music to its book club.
Ariola, a record label, was launched and
Sonopress, a pressing plant, was established. In 1975, Ariola opened an office in the United States. Bertelsmann acquired
Arista Records in 1979 and half ownership of
RCA Records in 1985, thereby becoming one of the world's largest music companies. After the full acquisition of RCA Records in 1987, Bertelsmann's various subsidiaries were brought together to form
Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), which covered a number of genres, including
folk,
pop, and especially
classical music. In response to declining sales in the overall music market, Bertelsmann agreed to merge its record label interests with
Sony in 2003; the company was called Sony BMG. Furthermore, in 2006, Bertelsmann sold its subsidiary BMG Music Publishing to
Universal Music Group. Having reached the conclusion that established music publishing companies and record labels were not appropriate for an increasingly digital music business, Bertelsmann sold its stake in the Sony BMG joint venture in 2008. The company was subsequently renamed
Sony Music Entertainment.
Launch of the new BMG In October 2008, Bertelsmann launched the new BMG with a small portfolio of recorded music rights of around 200 artists it retained from Sony BMG. It declared it would pursue a business model focused on fairness, service and transparency. The launch of the new BMG came amidst the 2008 financial crisis, and within two weeks of the collapse of
Lehman Brothers. Since Bertelsmann could not supply the required funds on its own, a 51% stake was sold to financial investor
KKR in 2009. Bertelsmann retained 49% and the right to appoint the company's management. The transaction allowed BMG to increase its equity ratio. A key step towards achieving this goal was acquiring
Cherry Lane Music Publishing in 2009, which provided BMG with its first foothold in the United States. BMG made several other purchases in 2010, including
Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions. In 2011,
Bug Music was bought by BMG, followed by music publisher R2M Music in 2012. Bertelsmann was also reported to be interested in buying
EMI, but EMI was ultimately acquired by
Universal Music Group and
Warner Music Group (record labels) and
Sony/ATV Music Publishing (songwriters). The regulatory authorities approved the deal subject to some conditions, including the sale of several labels. BMG was thus able to acquire
Mute Records (2012) and
Sanctuary Records (2013), as well as the publishing catalogues of EMI Virgin Music and
Famous Music UK from Sony/ATV. On 28 April 2026, BMG and
Concord announced they would combine, operating under the BMG name. The combined company will call its publishing division BMG Publishing and its recorded music division Concord Records.
Becoming a group division In 2013, KKR sold its stake in BMG to Bertelsmann, making it the sole shareholder of the company. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Rabe, who had been a key driver of BMG's expansion during his time as Chief Financial Officer, In 2013, the company began to represent rights to songs by
Robbie Williams and the
Rolling Stones. Record labels were also added to the portfolio including Union Square Music (distributor of
Universal Music's
ZTT Records and
Stiff Records), Vagrant Music and Infectious Music (2014), as well as
S-Curve Records and
Rise Records (2015). Other acquisitions followed in 2016, including the label
ARC Music and the catalog of
The End Records. By acquiring Basement, BMG entered the market in Brazil, one of Bertelsmann's growth regions. In 2016, the company also signed an agreement with Warner Music's
Alternative Distribution Alliance for the physical and digital distribution of music, allowing BMG to consolidate its longstanding sales structures. BMG further expanded by entering the Chinese market in cooperation with
Alibaba, allowing the online company to distribute the work of musicians and composers via its web channels while securing copyrights. In the 2015 financial year, BMG was part of the Corporate Investments division at Bertelsmann. In 2016, the media group turned the subsidiary into a stand-alone division.
Acquisition of BBR Music, new labels and the merger with Concord In 2017, BMG announced the purchase of
BBR Music Group, including the labels Broken Bow Records, Red Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records, Wheelhouse Records and the music publisher Magic Mustang Music. With a value of more than 100 million
dollars, the transaction was the largest recorded music acquisition in the company's history. BMG thus improved its position in the
country music segment and ensured its long-term presence in the
Nashville music industry and its overall impact on the United States market. This label was set up in association with ex-Bros member
Craig Logan and his management company Logan Media Entertainment, with Tag8 Music featuring established acts such as Pixie Lott, Roachford, and Louise Redknapp as part of its roster. On the Official Albums Chart of 4 November 2022, the label charted its first hit album in the form of Blue's
Heart & Soul. In October 2023, BMG signed with
Universal Music Group for physical distribution, and started self-distributing its own catalog on digital platforms, thus ending their partnership with Warner Music. The transition of physical distribution to Universal took place over the course of 2024, and the change was completed later on October 2024. In April 2026, BMG announced that the company will merge with
Concord to create the fourth major music company in the world. The new firm, subject to regulatory approval, is scheduled to operate under the BMG name, with Bertelsmann owning a 67% stake in the new company, with the remainder owned by Great Mountain Partners. ==Corporate structure==