EMI Music Publishing owns or administers over two million songs that include classics by Queen, Carole King and the Motown catalog along with contemporary songs from Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Drake, Sam Smith, Pink, Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris, Fetty Wap, Hozier and Sia. Related: Inside the war between Spotify and Apple

“The music business has enjoyed a resurgence over the past couple of years, driven largely by the rise of paid subscription-based streaming services,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in a statement. Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO, Sony Corporation said: "We are thrilled to bring EMI Music Publishing into the Sony family and maintain our number one position in the music publishing industry. TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Mubadala Investment Company and Sony Corp. (SON.L, SNE) said that they have signed a legally binding memorandum of understanding for the sale of the Mubadala consortium's approximately 60% equity interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony Corporation of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony, based on an enterprise value of $4.75 billion. While the final purchase price to be paid by Sony for all of Mubadala's equity interest in EMI Music Publishing is subject to customary closing adjustments, the total cash consideration Sony expects to pay to consolidate EMI Music Publishing is approximately $2.3 billion. As for Sony, it already owns 2.3 million copyrights including the Beatles catalogue, as well as being a massive player in IT, communications, film and gaming.
Sony agrees to a $2.3 billion deal where they will buy a controlling interest in EMI Music Publishing. The deal will mean that Sony would indirectly own 90% of the music publisher and its two million songs.