Business News Deals Digital

Tribune buys Gracenote from Sony for $170 million

By | Published on Tuesday 24 December 2013

Gracenote

Media firm Tribune has purchase music metadata company Gracenote outright from the Sony Corporation Of America for $170 million, it has been announced.

Gracenote is the largest provider of music data in the world, currently holding information on over 180 million tracks and videos, which it provides to services such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Xbox Music and various net-connected car dashboards. It also provides movie and TV show information for listings in over 30 countries, and overall its database is accessed over sixteen billion times a month. Under the deal, the company will merge with Tribune’s existing metadata company, Tribune Media Services.

Announcing the deal, President of Tribune Digital Ventures Shashi Set said: “Gracenote and TMS are an ideal fit. Both companies have substantial digital footprints and are well-respected leaders in their areas globally. Together we will become an even greater force in the global entertainment data business by servicing new and existing customers with better data, new products, and new services to help an evolving entertainment industry”.

Gracenote President Stephen White added: “Given the breadth of the Tribune Company and its commitment to revolutionising digital media, I firmly believe that we have found the right home to grow our business and realise Gracenote’s long-term vision. The marriage of these world-class music and video data platforms, from TMS and Gracenote, will help us reimagine how people discover and connect with music, movies and TV shows across all devices”.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, pending regulator approvals. If all goes ahead as planned, Sony said in a statement that it expected to record a gain of $60 million in operating income, above its earlier forecast for the year to 31 Mar.



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