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Brands & Merch Business News Deals
Sony expands its merchandise business via deal with theatre firm
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 7 August 2019
Sony Music in the US is further expanding its interests in merch by acquiring the music merchandising division of theatre company The Araca Group.
The deal is being done via Sony’s own merch business The Thread Shop, which already provides merch production, e-commerce, retail partnership and trademark licensing services to a range of artists.
The Araca Group first got into merchandise via its theatre productions, and by then working on merch products with other theatre producers too. It then moved into music merchandise working with the likes of Led Zeppelin, P!nk, Shania Twain, Sugarland and Zayn. That roster and some of the Araca team will move over to The Thread Shop as part of the new deal.
Confirming the purchase, the President of Sony’s Commercial Music Group, Richard Story, said: “As artists continue to seek out merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding and marketing, Sony Music is significantly expanding its presence in this growing area of the business. The acquisition of The Araca Group’s music merchandise division will further strengthen The Thread Shop’s artist roster and infrastructure and the competitive capabilities we offer to the music community”.
Speaking for the theatre firm, Araca’s CEO Michael Rego added: “We are THRILLED at the opportunity this acquisition provides for our music merchandise division. The team at The Thread Shop is artist-focused, passionate and well positioned to build upon the merchandising programmes that Araca has created for our music clients”.
