Sony/ATV and SOLAR have extended their pan-European digital licence administration agreement. The deal will see SOLAR will continue to provide administration services in connection with licences that cover the exploitation of the combined Anglo-American catalogs of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing for digital services across Europe and other territories.

SOLAR is a jointly-owned subsidiary of PRS for Music and GEMA and the administration of the licences will be carried out in partnership with ICE, the joint venture between PRS, GEMA and Swedish society STIM.  ICE is a pioneer in multi-territory online licensing and administration of music copyright and has evolved into an integrated processing hub.  It is also responsible for the documentation of works in the shared ICE database – the most authoritative in the world – which services not only multi-territory online licences but also copyright database solutions for several national collection societies.

The launch of SOLAR in 2014 followed the 2012 acquisition of EMI Music Publishing led by Sony Corporation of America. This transaction brought the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing catalogues together and SOLAR represents a consolidation of the prior arrangements that were in place for the administration of licences for their respective Anglo-American catalogues for pan-European digital exploitation.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said the agreement will “continue to make the licensing of our Anglo-American catalogue across Europe as efficient as possible while ensuring that our songwriters receive first-class administration services in the European digital market.”

SOLAR Music Rights Management Ltd is a joint venture between GEMA and PRS for Music and administers the Anglo-American catalogues of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing for online and mobile use in the EU and other regions. SOLAR offers licensees a one-stop-shop for the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing repertoire – which includes many music genres and works which can be associated with a range of internationally renowned composers and artists. GEMA has supported licensing and administration of the Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing catalogues since 2007, initially through PAECOL and CELAS, and since 2014 through SOLAR.

GEMA, meanwhile, represents the copyright of more than 72,000 members (composers, lyricists and music publishers) in Germany, and more than two million copyright owners globally. It is one of the largest societies for authors and musical works in the world

SOLAR Music Rights Management Managing Director Dr. Till Evert touted the 10-year relationship with Sony/ATV. “Long-term and stable partnerships such as this are rare and of great value in today’s complex and highly dynamic music market,” Evert said. “Sony/ATV Music Publishing is an ambitious partner who has time and time again set standards for the music market with its innovative technical solutions. Together with our strong partner ICE, we are ideally positioned to meet the challenges of digital use and licensing of music for the next three years.”

Sony/ATV Music Publishing was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Michael Jackson, and is now one of the world’s leading music publishers, administering more than 3 million copyrights. It’s content includes the of EMI Music Publishing catalog (and the iconic repertoires of Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music). Sony/ATV controls many of the best known songs ever written; to name a few: “New York, New York”, “Hallelujah”, “All You Need Is Love”, “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Moon River”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “The Mission Impossible Theme”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Over the Rainbow”, “Stand By Me”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Singin’ in the Rain”. In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Kraftwerk, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Richie Sambora, Sting, The Supremes, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists, writers and producers includes Cardi B, The Chainsmokers, Drake, Calvin Harris, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Sam Smith, Stargate, Taylor Swift, Walk The Moon, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

PRS for Music represents the rights of songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK and around the world. As a membership organisation it works to ensure that creators are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. With over 100 representation agreements in place globally, PRS for Music’s network represents over two million music creators worldwide. In 2017, 6.6 trillion performances of music were reported to PRS for Music with £717m collected on behalf of its members, making it one of the world’s leading music collective management organisations. PRS for Music’s public performance licensing is now carried out on PRS for Music’s behalf by PPL PRS Ltd, the new joint venture between PPL and PRS for Music.

ICE is a flexible suite of services for Publishers, Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) and Rightsholders. Services include; copyright administration, multi-territorial online processing and licensing solutions. ICE was created by PRS, STIM and GEMA and represents over 290,000 rightsholders alone through this partnership. The ICE copyright database holds over 32 million musical works. ICE is based in the UK, Germany and Sweden.