Hey, it's not often you find music publishing stories this high up the Daily. But people tell me publishing is where all the money is these days, so I figure we should start giving it more kudos. And this is quite a big story. Marty Bandier, the co-CEO of EMI Music Publishing, who announced last year that he would be leaving the major publishing house somewhat sooner than original anticipated, has now announced he will be taking on the job of CEO at rival publishing major Sony/ATV. Bandier will also become a shareholder in Sony Corp's publishing outfit, and part of his remit will be to help the conglom expand its publishing catalogue.
Insiders say Bandier was attracted to Sony/ATV because it is completely separate from its parent company's recorded music business (because Sony and Bertelsmann's publishing operations were not part of the SonyBMG merger back in 2004). It is not clear what his appointment means for Sony/ATV's current CEO David Hockman, though the two are known to have much mutual respect for each other, so some reckon a Bandier/Hockman partnership may not be unrealistic, perhaps with Hockman overseeing day to day operations with Bandier concentrating on expansion.