Som Livre to Remain Stand-Alone Creative Center

Agreement Expands SME’s Investment in Brazilian Creative Community, Provides Enhanced Global Reach Opportunities for Local Artists

New York, NY – April 1, 2021– Sony Music Entertainment (SME) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Globo Comunicação E Participações S.A. to acquire Brazilian independent music company Som Livre. 

Home to many of Brazil’s most popular artists including Marilia Mendonça, Jorge & Mateus, Wesley Safadão, Lexa and rising stars such as Israel & Rodolffo, Dudu MC, Filipe Ret and Grupo Menos é Mais, Som Livre will become a new stand-alone creative center within Sony Music that will continue to sign, develop and market its own roster of talent and provide a wide range of label and diversified service offerings to the Brazilian music community. Marcelo Soares will remain CEO of Som Livre. 

A multifaceted music entertainment company, Som Livre is a long-established developer of repertoire across key Brazilian genres such as Sertanejo, Pagode, Funk-BR, Forro and MPB, with additional operations in music publishing, live events and distribution. It is a producer of multiple festivals in Brazil, including Festeja, Brazil’s largest Sertanejo music festival, and also is the operator of Fluve, a music distribution platform servicing Brazil’s independent labels and artists. 

Bringing Som Livre into the Sony Music family of companies builds on a long-running successful relationship between Som Livre and The Orchard, Sony Music’s independent music distribution company, and further enhances SME’s robust support for artists and labels in Brazil and across the Latin music landscape.

By joining SME, Som Livre’s acclaimed roster of artists and songwriters will have access to SME’s global network of resources and partnerships offering greater worldwide reach for Brazil’s creative community. Sony Music also will invest in Som Livre’s continued growth, creating expanded opportunities for Brazilian artists. 

Rob Stringer, Chairman, Sony Music Group said, “We are delighted to be investing in Som Livre and expanding our existing relationship with this special company. Brazil is one of the most dynamic and competitive growing music markets in the world and we will provide huge opportunities for creators through our shared vision.”

Marcelo Soares, CEO of Som Livre said, “Som Livre has had a great 50-year run as a Globo company. Globo’s support was key to the growth of Som Livre, especially during the last decade when we built the business to what it is today. When facing the future now and seeing all the opportunities ahead, it is very exciting to know that we’ll have Sony Music with us. We are once again in the right place to allow the best possibilities of career development for our artists and employees. I’m very grateful for all that we accomplished with Globo, and look forward to beginning this new era with Sony Music.”

Afo Verde, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia said, “Som Livre is a home for some of the most creative Brazilian artists and has a decade-long track record of important local language music development. We both believe in artist friendly strategies and collectively we will provide an innovative approach to the Brazilian market and the whole Latin region.”

Brad Navin, CEO, The Orchard said, “The Orchard and Som Livre have worked together for many years, introducing their seminal artists to music fans worldwide. We’re excited to continue and expand our partnership as we further the Company’s commitment to investing in the vibrant Brazilian music market.”

Jorge Nóbrega, CEO of Globo said, “We are very happy to have found at Sony Music a new home for Som Livre, a business that was born and raised inside Globo, and that has always been so dear for us all. Som Livre has produced and put out music with Globo for the last half a century, it was an important chapter of Globo’s history. We wanted to make sure that this deal would preserve everything that Som Livre represents for the Brazilian people. Since the beginning of the talks we noticed a high level of professionalism, interest, and respect coming from Sony Music that made it a perfect match for Som Livre. I wish Sony Music and Som Livre many more years of success.”

This acquisition is subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions, including approval from CADE (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica).

About Sony Music Entertainment
At Sony Music Entertainment, we fuel the creative journey. We’ve played a pioneering role in music history, from the first-ever music label to the invention of the flat disc record. We’ve nurtured some of music’s most iconic artists and produced some of the most influential recordings of all time. Today, we work in more than 60 countries, supporting a diverse roster of international superstars, developing and independent artists, and visionary creators. From our position at the intersection of music, entertainment, and technology, we bring imagination and expertise to the newest products and platforms, embrace new business models, employ breakthrough tools, and provide powerful insights that help our artists push creative boundaries and reach new audiences. In everything we do, we’re committed to artistic integrity, transparency, and entrepreneurship. Sony Music Entertainment is a member of the Sony family of global companies. Learn more about our artists, creators, and labels here.

About Som Livre
Brazilian music label Som Livre was founded by Globo in 1969 for the release and promotion of soundtracks of TV shows. With all the transformations on the music market, Som Livre grew into a cutting-edge label with a pulse of Brazil’s music taste. With its unique capacity to understand and anticipate Brazilian preferences, aspirations, and behaviors, Som Livre is a fully integrated digital music label with a proven model to identify, develop and promote the music and artists that the fans will continue to embrace for decades to come. Som Livre has a strong play in live events, being a producer of festivals in the country through various brands, such as Festeja and Samba D+. It also has its music distribution platform, Fluve, and additional operations in music publishing.

About Globo
The largest communication company in Latin America, Globo is made up of the integration of TV Globo, Globosat, Som Livre, Globo.com and DGCORP (Corporate Management). It brings together open TV and pay TV channels, in addition to music and digital products and services. Its linear channels speak to more than 100 million people every day in Brazil. And, thanks to its extensive network of partner affiliates that covers the entire country, it is able to be local, regional and national at the same time. In 2018, the company started its transformation journey for a mediatech company, strongly supported by technology, focused on direct relationship with the consumer. It offers a complete experience to the public, combining the ability to produce quality content with technological expertise, with distribution on various platforms, such as TV Globo, an open TV channel; its 26 pay TV channels; Globoplay in streaming; its digitals products, such as G1; sport GE.globo; and Gshow entertainment, among others