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| Sony Masterworks | |
|---|---|
 Sony Music Masterworks logo | |
| Parent company | Sony Music Entertainment (SME) |
| Founded | 2006 (2006) |
| Genre | Classical Classical crossover Broadway Jazz |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Official website | www |
Sony Music Masterworks (also known simply asSony Masterworks) is arecord label, the result of a restructuring ofSony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition ofBertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known asSony BMG Masterworks.
The label was formed from the merger of the product lines ofSony Classical and BMG Classics (includingRCA Red Seal) Its first president was Gilbert Hetherwick, from January 2005 through November 2006, displacingPeter Gelb who was the head of Sony Classical before the merger. Hetherwick claimed (as of 2005) the label may reissue between one hundred and two hundred historical recordings per year. Hetherwick left in November 2006, to be replaced by Alex Miller, a former BMG Employee.
The label owns rights to famous recordings originally issued by theVictor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor dating from the early to mid 20th century, by artists such asEnrico Caruso,Arturo Toscanini,Sergei Rachmaninoff,Leopold Stokowski,Mario Lanza,Fritz Reiner,Artur Rubinstein,Fritz Kreisler,Jascha Heifetz,Vladimir Horowitz,Eugene Ormandy andVan Cliburn as well as from more recent performers such asYo-Yo Ma, andJoshua Bell. It is also responsible for Sony BMG's immense archives of film scores (includingStar Wars,The Phantom of the Opera,Memoirs of a Geisha among others). Sony Masterworks maintains the archive of theater soundtracks, via itsMasterworks Broadway imprint. It issues jazz recordings through itsOkeh Records imprint. Sony Masterworks also handles thePortrait Records and Flying Buddha Records imprints. In July 2019, Masterworks acquired the soundtrack labelMilan Records.[1]
The merged label's name echoes the moniker used by Sony Classical's predecessor,Columbia Masterworks (later CBS Masterworks). The name was changed whenCBS sold its records division to Sony in 1988. Sony Masterworks has several imprints, used for newer recordings on its own imprints, and compilations and reissues for releases in conjunction withLegacy Recordings.
In November 2022, it was announced Sony Music Masterworks had acquired a majority stake in theDubai-based concert promotion, talent management, events and production company MAC Global.[2]
