Warner Music Group Research
History:
1958: Jack Warner founds Warner Bros. Records as a soundtrack factory for Warner Bros. movie studios.
1960: Warner Bros. gets its first No. 1 hit, Bob Newhart's Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart.
Frank Sinatra founds Reprise Records and names Mo Ostin to lead it.
1963: Warner Bros. and Reprise merge.
1964: Jac Holzman sounds Nonesuch Records as a licensee of classical music.
1966: Seymour Stein and Richard Gotterher found Sire Productions, which is later renamed Sire Records.
1967: Seven Arts buys Warner Bros. Studios, renames itself Warner-Seven Arts acquires Atlantic Records.
Seven Arts Records of Canada established.
1969: Steve Ross' Kinney National Co. acquires Warner Seven Arts.
1970: Elektra and Nonesuch become part of Kinney National.
Kinney National becomes Warner Communications and forms Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (WEA Corp.), the first major music distribution company in the U.S., marking the origins of the Warner Music Group.
1971: Nesuhi Ertegun forms WEA International, forming the basis of WMG's international division; WEA Australia and WEA Japan are created followed by WEA Germany, WEA France and WEA Canada.
David Geffen founds Asylum Records.
1973: Warner purchases Asylum Records.
WEA International opens offices in New Zealand.
1976:WEA International enters Latin America.
1978: WWG acquires half of Sire Records.
WEA International opens offices in Southeast Asia.
1980: Roadrunner Records is launched in the Netherlands.
WMG acquires Site Records in full.
1981: Randy Thornton and Mike Dowdle form Non-Stop Music, a music production library business, in Salt Lake City.
1983: Rykodisc founded by Arthur Mann , Rob Simmonds, Doug Lexa and Done Rose.
1986: WEA creates WEA Manufacturing, its first CD manufacturing plant.
1987: Warner Communications acquires Chappell and Co., creates Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, at the time the world's largest music publisher.
Warner Communications merge with Time Inc. to from Time Warner.
WEA Latina renamed Warner Music Latina.
1992: Rhino and Atlantic form worldwide distribution agreement.
1993: Alternative Distribution Alliance founded.
1998: Rhino acquired by WMG.
2000: WMG offers a library of digital downloads in the U.S. and Canada for the first time.
2001: WMG acquires Word Entertainment.
WMG begins selling its music through iTunes.
2002: WMG becomes the first major music company to deliver a comprehensive wireless music service using a leading wireless provider platform.
WMG sell its first MP3 downloads through AOL.
2003: Time Warner announces the sale of WMG to a private investment team led by Edgar Bronfman , Jr.
WMG partners with Sprint to create comprehensiveness streaming music service.
WMG sells WEA Manufacturing to Cinram International.
Warner Music offered a library of digital downloads in the UK.
2004: WMG launches industry-leading environmental initiatives, which were rebranded "WMGreen" in 2008.
WMG acquisition closes.
WEA became Warner Bros. UK.
Warner Music began selling its recorded music through iTunes in the UK.
2005: WMG listed in the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker WMG.
Elektra founder Jac Holzman forms Cordless Recordings, one of industry's first online-only labels, and rejoins EMG as a special advisor to the Chariman.
2006: WMG purchases Ryko Corporation and forms Independent Label Group with the mission of empowering labels and artists in the independent music community.
ADA has its first release in the UK.
2007: WMG announces it will be selling DRM-free music through Amazon.com's MP3 music store.
WMG enters joint venture with Sinatra family to form Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
WMG purchases majority stake in Japanese management firm Taisuke.
WMG acquires a majority stake in Roadrunner Records. Warner/Chappell acquires production music production library company, Non-Stop Music.
Fortuna Magazine names WMG one of Americas "Most Admired Companies."
2008: Atlanta Records recognised in the New York Times as the first records label to achieve more than 50% of its music sales in the U.S. from digital products.
WMG partners with two other major labels and MySpace to form the MySpace Music joint venture.
Warner Music makes its complete music catalogue available DRM-free through 7digital. Other major retailers followed.
2009: Fast Company magazine names WMG one of the worlds "50 Most Innovative Companies."
Warner Music makes Vodafone customers the first to have 100% major label coverage for DRM-free over-the-air downloads.
2010: WMG celebrates the 60th anniversary of Elektra Records.
In Q4 2010, WMG announces that new revenue streams (digital and non-traditional businesses) made up 40% of company revenue, up from essentially zero in 2004.
The percentage of expanded rights deals for WMG's active global recorded music roster passes 50% for the first time.
2011: Access Industries Inc, acquires WMG for $3.3 billion. As a result WMG becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Access and is no longer publicly traded on the NYSE.
2013: WMG acquired the Parolophone Label Group, which is comprised of the historic Parolophone, Chrysalis and Ensign labels in the UK, EMI Classics and Virgin Classics and the EMI operating companies in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
1958: Jack Warner founds Warner Bros. Records as a soundtrack factory for Warner Bros. movie studios.
1960: Warner Bros. gets its first No. 1 hit, Bob Newhart's Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart.
Frank Sinatra founds Reprise Records and names Mo Ostin to lead it.
1963: Warner Bros. and Reprise merge.
1964: Jac Holzman sounds Nonesuch Records as a licensee of classical music.
1966: Seymour Stein and Richard Gotterher found Sire Productions, which is later renamed Sire Records.
1967: Seven Arts buys Warner Bros. Studios, renames itself Warner-Seven Arts acquires Atlantic Records.
Seven Arts Records of Canada established.
1969: Steve Ross' Kinney National Co. acquires Warner Seven Arts.
1970: Elektra and Nonesuch become part of Kinney National.
Kinney National becomes Warner Communications and forms Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (WEA Corp.), the first major music distribution company in the U.S., marking the origins of the Warner Music Group.
1971: Nesuhi Ertegun forms WEA International, forming the basis of WMG's international division; WEA Australia and WEA Japan are created followed by WEA Germany, WEA France and WEA Canada.
David Geffen founds Asylum Records.
1973: Warner purchases Asylum Records.
WEA International opens offices in New Zealand.
1976:WEA International enters Latin America.
1978: WWG acquires half of Sire Records.
WEA International opens offices in Southeast Asia.
1980: Roadrunner Records is launched in the Netherlands.
WMG acquires Site Records in full.
1981: Randy Thornton and Mike Dowdle form Non-Stop Music, a music production library business, in Salt Lake City.
1983: Rykodisc founded by Arthur Mann , Rob Simmonds, Doug Lexa and Done Rose.
1986: WEA creates WEA Manufacturing, its first CD manufacturing plant.
1987: Warner Communications acquires Chappell and Co., creates Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, at the time the world's largest music publisher.
Warner Communications merge with Time Inc. to from Time Warner.
WEA Latina renamed Warner Music Latina.
1992: Rhino and Atlantic form worldwide distribution agreement.
1993: Alternative Distribution Alliance founded.
1998: Rhino acquired by WMG.
2000: WMG offers a library of digital downloads in the U.S. and Canada for the first time.
2001: WMG acquires Word Entertainment.
WMG begins selling its music through iTunes.
2002: WMG becomes the first major music company to deliver a comprehensive wireless music service using a leading wireless provider platform.
WMG sell its first MP3 downloads through AOL.
2003: Time Warner announces the sale of WMG to a private investment team led by Edgar Bronfman , Jr.
WMG partners with Sprint to create comprehensiveness streaming music service.
WMG sells WEA Manufacturing to Cinram International.
Warner Music offered a library of digital downloads in the UK.
2004: WMG launches industry-leading environmental initiatives, which were rebranded "WMGreen" in 2008.
WMG acquisition closes.
WEA became Warner Bros. UK.
Warner Music began selling its recorded music through iTunes in the UK.
2005: WMG listed in the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker WMG.
Elektra founder Jac Holzman forms Cordless Recordings, one of industry's first online-only labels, and rejoins EMG as a special advisor to the Chariman.
2006: WMG purchases Ryko Corporation and forms Independent Label Group with the mission of empowering labels and artists in the independent music community.
ADA has its first release in the UK.
2007: WMG announces it will be selling DRM-free music through Amazon.com's MP3 music store.
WMG enters joint venture with Sinatra family to form Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
WMG purchases majority stake in Japanese management firm Taisuke.
WMG acquires a majority stake in Roadrunner Records. Warner/Chappell acquires production music production library company, Non-Stop Music.
Fortuna Magazine names WMG one of Americas "Most Admired Companies."
2008: Atlanta Records recognised in the New York Times as the first records label to achieve more than 50% of its music sales in the U.S. from digital products.
WMG partners with two other major labels and MySpace to form the MySpace Music joint venture.
Warner Music makes its complete music catalogue available DRM-free through 7digital. Other major retailers followed.
2009: Fast Company magazine names WMG one of the worlds "50 Most Innovative Companies."
Warner Music makes Vodafone customers the first to have 100% major label coverage for DRM-free over-the-air downloads.
2010: WMG celebrates the 60th anniversary of Elektra Records.
In Q4 2010, WMG announces that new revenue streams (digital and non-traditional businesses) made up 40% of company revenue, up from essentially zero in 2004.
The percentage of expanded rights deals for WMG's active global recorded music roster passes 50% for the first time.
2011: Access Industries Inc, acquires WMG for $3.3 billion. As a result WMG becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Access and is no longer publicly traded on the NYSE.
2013: WMG acquired the Parolophone Label Group, which is comprised of the historic Parolophone, Chrysalis and Ensign labels in the UK, EMI Classics and Virgin Classics and the EMI operating companies in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
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