Sony BMG Masterworks

infobox record label
parent = Sony Music Entertainment
founded = 2006
founder =
genre = Classical, Jazz
country = United States
url = http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com

Sony BMG Masterworks is a record label. It is the result of a "restructuring" of Sony BMG Music Entertainment's classical music division.

Its formation marked the merger of the Sony Classical and BMG Classics (including RCA Red Seal) product lines. Gilbert Hetherwick was the president of the label from January 2005 through November 2006, displacing Peter 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 recordings dating from the 20th century and late 19th century, including ones featuring Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Fritz Reiner, Arthur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, E. Power Biggs, and Plácido Domingo, as well as from more recent performers such as Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell. It is also responsible for SONY BMG's immense archives of film scores (including scores for such films as Star Wars, The Phantom of the Opera, Memoirs of a Geisha and many others. It also maintains the archive of theater soundtracks, via its Masterworks Broadway imprint.

The merged label's name echoes the moniker used by Sony Classical's predecessor, Columbia Masterworks (later CBS Masterworks). The label's name was changed after CBS sold its records division to Sony in the late 1980s. Sony BMG Masterworks has several imprints, used primarily for its reissues of Broadway cast recordings (Masterworks Broadway Records) and select jazz titles (Masterworks Jazz).

See also

* List of record labels

References

* [http://www.gramophone.co.uk/newsMainTemplate.asp?storyID=2333&newssectionID=1 Sony BMG announce new classical division]
* Kozinn, A. (2005, April 12). In restructuring, Sony BMG introduces classical label. In "The New York Times, CLIV", B1, B7.

External links

* [http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com Sony BMG Masterworks Official Site]
* [http://www.masterworksbroadway.com Sony BMG Masterworks Broadway Official Site]
* [http://blog.sonybmgmasterworks.com Sony BMG Masterworks Official Blog]
* [http://podcasts.sonybmgmasterworks.com The Music of Masterworks Podcast]
* [http://podcasts.sonybmgmasterworks.com/category/masterworks-broadway-podcast-theatre/ Masterworks Broadway Podcast Theatre]