Sony Music Entertainment acquires Paul Simon's publishing catalogue

By Emmanuel Legrand

Paul Simon has joined the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young who have recently sold their music publishing assets. Simon's song catalogue has been acquired by Sony Music Entertainment's division Sony Music Publishing. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, but observers put it around $100-200 million. 

  The deal includes works from the past six decades, such as 'The Sound of Silence', 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover', 'Still Crazy After All These Years', and 'Graceland', among others. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

 A natural extension

  Simon's recorded music catalogue, with Simon & Garfunkel and some of his early albums as a solo artist, is signed to Sony Music Entertainment's label Columbia. The remainder of his recordings are with Warner Music and Hear Music/Concord.

  “I’m pleased to have Sony Music Publishing be the custodian of my songs for the coming decades," said Simon. "I began my career at Columbia/Sony Records and it feels like a natural extension to be working with the Publishing side as well."

 

An enduring influence

 

  For Jon Platt, Chairman & CEO of Sony Music Publishing, Paul Simon is "a masterful, once-in-a-lifetime songwriter whose remarkable body of work has generated an enduring influence on our culture and consciousness." He added: "To represent his indelible songs is an incredible honor for Sony Music Publishing.”
 

  Paul Simon was represented in the transaction by Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks and Sony Music Publishing was assisted by Davis Shapiro Lewit & Grabel.