Ministry Of Sound Publishing and Australian company remain independent after Sony sale

MBW broke the news yesterday that Ministry Of Sound Recordings had been fully acquired by Sony Music UK – but the story threw up a couple of key questions that need answering.

First: What’s happening to Ministry’s music publishing company?

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Ministry hired former BMG exec Ben Bodie (pictured inset) to run its publishing business in 2014, which is based in the same London location as its UK label operation.

MBW can confirm that Ministry Of Sound Publishing will remain fully owned by the Ministry Of Sound Group Ltd, which will also continue to operate the company’s successful nightclub business.

Ministry CEO Lohan Presencer (pictured, main) told us: “Ben has created a fantastic boutique publishing business with great talent like Mura Masa and KDA already on the books.

“We are totally committed to growing a small but focused roster of exceptional writers and artists that we can give proper support to and help develop.”

Other early signings made by Bodie at Ministry include Format B and MiAmigo.


Another important question: What’s the fate of the Ministry Of Sound Australia business?

That operation also remains outside of the Sony deal.

The Ministry Australia label business – in terms of domestic signings – will continue as an independent, but will be forced to change its name in due course.

However, Sony’s purchase of Ministry Of Sound Recordings (UK) will see the major gain global ownership of Ministry’s compilations brands.

Ministry Of Sound Australia has clarified that it will continue to release these compilations until June 2017.

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“We have developed into a full service music company.”

Tim McGee, Ministry Of Sound Australia

Helmed by CEO Tim McGee, Ministry of Sound Australia has sold more than seven million albums over 17 years.

McGee said, “We have been expanding the business for some time allowing us to focus our energies on the future – and that future is all about artists with an international footprint.

“We have had a brilliant run with Ministry of Sound compilations, however as music consumption has evolved, so too has our expertise.

“We have developed into a full service music company where compilations make up one of the many facets of our business.”


Ministry Of Sound Australia is home to a suite of music, management, touring and publishing services including labels Hussle, Downright, Astrx and etcetc; joint venture labels Central Station, Vicious and Bourne; touring and events agencies Nuffsaid, Soapbox and Eighty-Six Events; Crown Rights Management; content production company Joker Theory and 120 Publishing.

Added McGee: “We’ve never felt more confident in our A&R and our ability to exploit releases with a global outlook.

“In the past few years alone we have seen local artists such as Timmy Trumpet, Savage, Kilter, Set Mo, Joel Fletcher, Tommy Trash and Will Sparks not only achieve huge success in Australia, but also kick huge goals in international territories.

“We’ve achieved multiple gold and platinum selling records for international artists including Lost Frequencies, Duke Dumont, Cheat Codes & Kris Kross Amsterdam, Martin Garrix and Imany, and the next few months alone sees new releases from Armand Van Helden, Tommy Trash, New Zealand singles chart #1 Kings, Savage and album projects from PNAU, Timmy Trumpet and Kilter.”Music Business Worldwide

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