SESAC sold, Sony and Syco profits up

Investment firm Rizvi Traverse Management, which has various existing interests in the entertainment industry (including co-ownership of the Playboy empire), has acquired a 75% majority stake in the smaller of the American publishing rights collecting organisations, SESAC, which (unlike ASCAP and BMI) is a commercial entity rather than a not-for-profit organisation.

Sony Music have filed accounts in the UK which show that in the financial year that ended during 2012, Sony's UK record company saw revenues fall 2.4% year-on-year to £191 million, but pre-tax profits nevertheless grew 128%, from £6.6 million to £15.2 million. In the 

financial year ended 31 Mar 2012, Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment (in which Sony has a 50% stake) saw turnover nearly double, shifting from £28.1 million to £54.7 million, with profits up from £3.2 million to £22.9 million. Much of the boost came from the growth of Syco's US interests, in particular the launch of 'X-Factor' in America, with US operations now accounting for nearly 42% of total turnover.