The joint venture with Sony Music was set up in August 2004. It reduced the Big Five record companies to the Big Four record companies. At that time, the company had a 21.5% share in the global music market. Sony Music and BMG remained separate in Japan, although BMG Music Japan was wholly owned by Sony BMG.

On March 27, 2006, the New York Times reported that Bertelsmann was looking to raise money by leveraging some of its media assets, and that executives from both companies were in talks about possibly altering the current venture. Bertelsmann sold its 50% share of Sony BMG to Sony Corporation of America for a total of $1.5 billion, and the company was renamed back to Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

While officially withdrawing from the business of recorded music, Bertelsmann continued its strong presence in other areas of the music industry by establishing BMG Rights Management, which specializes in music rights management and by representing artists and authors. It is focused mainly in BMG's European stronghold markets. The basis of the company was formed through BMG's decision to withhold selected European music catalogues from the former Sony BMG joint venture and the BMG Publishing businesses.

Also kept separate from the acquisition by Sony Corporation of America was Sony BMG's wholly owned and operated BMG Japan. Sony Music Japan remained independent from the Sony BMG joint venture, therefore BMG and Sony labelling were kept separate in Japan under the venture. During Sony BMG's buyout, BMG Japan was instead picked up by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It briefly continued to operate as a distinct entity until a reorganization in early 2009 folded the company into Sony Music Japan.

Executive Management Bertelsmann Music Group, BMG

Office of the Chairman
Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Creative Officer and Member of the Management Board of Bertelsmann AG

Michael Smellie, Chief Operating Officer COO

Tim Prescott, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer CMO

Joe Gorman, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer CFO

Patrick Reilly, Vice President, Corporate Communications

Ira Sallen, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Company Leaders
Tim Bowen, Chairman, UK and Ireland, Australia/New Zealand/South Africa

Clive Davis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BMG North America CEO

Nicholas Firth, Chairman, BMG Music Publishing Worldwide, Chairman, BMG Classics, Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations

Charles Goldstuck, President and Chief Operating Officer, BMG North America COO

Jordan Katz, Executive Vice President and General Manager, BMG Distribution

Maarten Steinkamp, President, BMG International and Germany/Switzerland/Austria

Hidehiko Tashiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMG Japan CEO

Barry Weiss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Zomba Label Group CEO

Artists
BMG Music publishing controlled over one million copyrights. Writers/artists signed to the company included Jaguares, Diana Yukawa, Alcazar, Gloria Trevi, Angélica María, Dido, Avril Lavigne, Lee Ryan, Ai Uemura, Coldplay, The Troubadours, Shakira, Powderfinger, Nelly, Britney Spears, Rammstein, Modern Talking, R. Kelly, Shania Twain, Nikki Webster, Ville Valo, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Clannad, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Mayra Verónica, Backyard Babies, Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades, Keane, HARD-Fi, Justin Timberlake, Joss Stone, Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, Sara Evans, Ne-Yo, Take That (1991-1996), Chad Hugo, Westlife, The Wanted, D-Pryde and Hayden Tsui

The company's songwriters have written chart-topping hits for Mariah Carey, The Black Eyed Peas, Kenny Chesney, The Game, Mario, Rascal Flatts, No Doubt, Thomas Anders, Jessica Simpson and 50 Cent as well as legends like Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Roselyn Sánchez.

BMG Music Publishing was the global leader in Classical music and was number one in Contemporary Christian music.