Sony becomes world's biggest music publisher

TOKYO (Reuters) : Sony Corp said on Tuesday it would pay about $2.3 billion to gain control of EMI, becoming the world's largest music publisher in an industry that has found new life on the back of streaming services.

The acquisition is the biggest strategic move yet by new CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and gives Sony a catalogue of more than 2 million songs from artists such as Kanye West, Sam Smith and Sia.

The deal is part of Yoshida's mission to make revenue streams more stable with rights to entertainment content - a strategy that follows a major revamp by his predecessor which shifted Sony's focus away from low-margin consumer electronics.

"This investment in content intellectual property is a key stepping stone for our long-term growth," he told a news conference.