Warner Music Group (WMG) is one of the major music labels since 1988 and is part of the current

big three major music labels.

It was found in 1858 as Warner Bros. Records and its headquarters is in New York, United States.
One of its contracted actors Tab Hunter recorded a hit song for Dot Records which was a division
of its rival Paramount Pictures- so Warner Bros. Records was created to prevent its actors from
recording for rival companies.
It has many labels including: Atlantic Records Group, Warner Bros. Records Group, Rhino
Entertainment, Parlophone Label Group, Warner Music Nashville, Warner Classics etc.
Some of the artists in this label include: Jason Derulo, Paris Hilton, Idina Menzel, Lily Allen, Kylie
Minogue, Paramore, Red Hot Chilli Peppers etc.
There are around 3,550 employees as of 2012.
It had a revenue of $2.87 billion as of 2013.
In the year 2000, WMG offered a library of digital downloads in the US and Canada for the first
time.
In 2002, it became the first major music company to deliver a comprehensive wireless music
service using a leading wireless provider platform.
EMI is another major label in the music industry. It was named as one the
major music labels up until 2012 when it was acquired by Universal Music
Group. However Universal Music still operates EMI with its name.
It was found in 1931 and its headquarters is in London, England, United
Kingdom.
It has many labels including: Blue Note Label Group, Virgin Music Group,
Caroline Distribution etc.
There are around 5,500 employees as of January 2008.
Some of the artists in this label include: Queen, The Beatles, Pink Floyd,
David Bowie, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey etc.
It had a revenue of 1.072 billion as of 2009.
EMI owns EMI Music Publishing which was the largest music publisher in
the world. It administered the publishing rights of over 1.3 million songs.
In November 2011, it was announced that EMI would sell its recorded music
operations to UMG for 1.2 billion. In September 2012, UMG completed
their acquisition of EMI.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is part of the three major music labels since
1988.
It was founded in 1934 as Decca Records USA and its headquarters is in
Santa Monica, California, United States.
It has about 6,967 employees as of 2010.
Some of the artists in the company include: ABBA, Enrique Iglesias, Mika,
Owl City, Scissor Sisters, 50 Cent, Akon, Ariana Grande, Cheryl Cole, Demi
Lovato, etc.
Some of the labels in UMG include: Interscope-Geffen-A&M, Capitol Music
Group, Republic Records, Island Records, Def Jam Recordings etc.
The present organisation was formed when its parent company Seagram
purchased PolyGram and merged it with UMG in 1998.
In November 2011, it was announced that EMI would sell its recorded music
operations to UMG for 1.2 billion. In September 2012, UMG completed their
acquisition of EMI.
In 2014, UMG announced the disbandment of Island Def Jam Music and
they became separate record labels Island Records and Def Jam.
UMG co-developed Vevo, a site designed for music videos which allows free
ad-supported streaming of music videos and other music content.
Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is part of the current major big three music
labels (since 2012).
It was founded in 1929 and its headquarters is in New York City, United States.
It currently has a revenue of $4.89 billion (2014).
Some of the artists in the company include: Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera,
Jennifer Lopez, Kings of Leon, Labrinth, Little Mix, Oasis, One Direction etc.
Some of the labels in SME include: Columbia Records, RCA Records, Epic
Records.
It was renamed many times: in 1929 it was known as American Record
Corporation (ARC) then in 1938 it was called Columbia/CBS Records before it
was renamed to SME in 1991. In 2004, it was named Sony BMG and then it
was renamed to SME in 2008.
In 2008, SME and Bertelsmann Music Group merged as Sony BMG Music
Entertainment. Afterwards, Sony acquired BMGs half of the conglomerate and
it returned to the name SME.
In March 201, Sony Corporation partnered with The Michael Jackson Company
with a contract of more than $250 million the largest deal of all time.