Bertelsmann Music Group (
BMG) was a division of
Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to
Japan's
Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann. It consisted of the
BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher, and the 50% share of the joint venture with
Sony Music Entertainment,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Sony BMG).