Sony Music Entertainment is the second largest of the big three record companies, as of 2020, falling short of Universal and following Warner music. Its music publishing division Sony/ATV which is now known as Sony Music Publishing and is the largest music publisher in the world. In 2019 the merger of Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV was completed to form Sony Music Group.
Sony Music Group represent a wide variety of different artists: Harry Styles, ASAP Rocky, Calvin Harris, Wu-Tang Clan, 50 Cent, Billy Joel, Beyonce, Shakira etc. These are only a few examples of some of the most famous artists that are signed to their label but they show the diverse range of music that comes out of the Sony Music Group.
Case Studies: This Is America (Childish Gambino)
This Is America is a performance based narrative music video which is rich with intertextuality (used to convey meaning in this video) and for the most part is filmed in one singular shot. It follows the main character Childish Gambino walking through what looks like an abandoned factory with background dancers and characters, with Gambino being the main focus and dancing. The narrative is created through the actions of Gambino and also the background, having actors fighting and being violent in the distance which get closer and larger in number as the video progresses, with the controversial topics of race and shootings being addressed in this narrative. In addition to this is provides a visual representations of some parts of the song where it talks about violence and also the tone of the video changes with the tone of the song. This video links quite well to Andrew Goodwin's Theory.
