Sony Group Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, owns Sony Entertainment which encompasses Sony’s film, television, and music businesses. Originally founded in 1946 under the name Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, the company later launched into consumer electronics and entertainment, changing its name to Sony Corporation in 1958. Over the ensuing decades, Sony grew into a multinational conglomerate with ownership stakes spanning a broad range of industries from electronics to entertainment to financial services.
Sony’s Entertainment Divisions
A key element of Sony’s business is Sony Entertainment which houses Sony’s major entertainment operations across three main divisions:
Sony Pictures Entertainment – This division encompasses Sony’s film and television production and distribution businesses. Major units include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Animation, and Sony Pictures Television.
Sony Music Entertainment – This division represents Sony’s global recorded music business including labels like Arista Records and RCA Records and artists such as Beyoncé, AC/DC, and Harry Styles among others.
Sony Interactive Entertainment – This division oversees PlayStation, Sony’s leading video game console brand. It also develops, publishes, markets, and distributes games for PlayStation and other platforms.
Ownership Structure
As the parent company, Sony Group Corporation retains majority ownership and managerial control across the main Sony Entertainment divisions and is the largest single shareholder. However, each division also has other investors and maintains its executive leadership teams.
For example, Sony Pictures Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group. Sony Music Entertainment was formerly a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and the Estate of Michael Jackson, but Sony has since acquired full ownership. And Sony Interactive Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary with Sony Group owning 95% of shares specifically.
Business Strategy
Owning a diverse array of entertainment assets across film, TV, music, and gaming allows Sony to leverage synergies and integrate intellectual properties across divisions to maximize reach and return on investment. This includes adapting successful games into movies, having music artists contribute soundtracks to films, and developing franchises that span different entertainment mediums over time.
Additionally, owning the leading PlayStation console and gaming ecosystem provides Sony with a key distribution channel to push its entertainment content and services out to millions of consumers worldwide.
FAQs
Does Sony own any movie studios?
Yes, Sony Pictures Entertainment owns well-known movie studios including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Animation that have produced major film releases over the years from Spider-Man to The Da Vinci Code.
What record labels does Sony own?
Sony Music Entertainment owns many of the largest record labels in the music industry such as Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, RCA Records, Sony Music Nashville, and Sony Masterworks handling major artists across genres from pop and rock to Latin, classical, and more.
Who owns what percentage of Sony?
Sony Group Corporation owns the substantial majority of Sony Corporation at roughly 58% of outstanding shares while the remainder is public float. Across Sony’s entertainment units, Sony Group retains full or majority ownership including 95% specifically of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
In Conclusion
While electronics and financial services make up sizable pieces of Sony’s total business, entertainment remains a crown jewel set of assets for the Japanese conglomerate. With continued technological convergence across gaming, film, TV, and music, Sony is positioned to capitalize on emerging growth opportunities through strategic integration across its entertainment divisions plus leverage key hardware products like PlayStation to transform entertainment delivery for the next decade and beyond.
