Bertelsmann AG
Type	Private
Founded	1835
Headquarters	Gütersloh, Germany
Key people	Carl Bertelsmann, founder Reinhard Mohn, owner
Industry	Media
Products	Broadcasting Publishing Music Media edtiting
Revenue	€17.89 billion (2005)
Net income	€1.041 billion (2005)
Website	www.bertelsmann.com

Bertelsmann AG is a transnational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs over 75,000 workers. In 2004 the company reported a € 17 billion revenue. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1063x279, 73 KB) This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. ... A private company is a company that is independently owned. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Gütersloh is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of the Gütersloh district. ... Reinhard Mohn (born June 29, 1921). ... Revenue is a U.S. business term for the amount of money that a company earns from its activities in a given period, mostly from sales of products and/or services to customers. ... Image File history File links Green_Arrow_Up. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Net income is equal to the income that a firm has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. ... Image File history File links Red_Arrow_Down. ... This page as shown in the AOL 9. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Gütersloh is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of the Gütersloh district. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Businesses

Bertelsmann consists of 6 corporate divisions:

• RTL Group, a European broadcaster
• Gruner & Jahr (officially Gruner + Jahr, a magazine publisher (biggest in Europe and second biggest world wide)
• Prisma
• BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group)
  • BMG Music Publishing
• Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher (popular literature)
• Direct Group, the world's largest book and music club group
• arvato, an international media service provider and editing house
• Doubleday Canada

In August 2004, BMG and Sony entered a 50-50 joint venture, reducing the Big Five of music companies to the Big Four. BMG Music Publishing, the world's third largest music publisher, stayed wholly owned by Bertelsmann and became the world's largest independent music publisher. As of 2005, Sony BMG's share of the music market stands at 21.5%. RTL Group is Europes largest TV, radio and production company. ... BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) is one of the six divisions of Bertelsmann. ... Established in 1987, BMG Music Publishing, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, is the world’s leading independent music publisher and the worlds third largest music publisher. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... August 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: August 2004 in sports Deaths in August 2004 • 30 Fred Whipple • 26 Laura Branigan • 24 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross • 18 Elmer Bernstein • 15 Amarsinh Chaudhary • 14 CzesÅ‚aw MiÅ‚osz • 13 Julia Child • 8... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The RIAA Logo. ... // Big Four may refer to: Accounting Firms The Big Four auditors, the four largest international public accountancy firms, Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young (E&Y) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). ... Established in 1987, BMG Music Publishing, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, is the world’s leading independent music publisher and the worlds third largest music publisher. ... The Sony BMG Music Entertainment logo. ...

Bertelsmann made headlines on May 17, 2002, when it announced it would acquire the assets of Napster for $8 million. Bertelsman first established a relationship with Napster in the fall of 2000 when it formed an alliance with them to develop a secure file-sharing music service. With the alliance Bertelsmann separated itself from the other major labels who saw Napsters closure as the only option^[1]. They also have close links with Springer Science+Business Media, which was created from its majority purchase of Springer-Verlag in 1999 and then a merger with Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2003. May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Second version (revised 2001) of Napster logo: Cat wearing headphones. ... Springer Science+Business Media or Springer (IPA: ) is a worldwide publishing company based in Germany which focuses on academic journals and books in the fields of science, technology and medicine. ... Springer Science+Business Media or Springer (IPA: ) is a worldwide publishing company based in Germany which focuses on academic journals and books in the fields of science, technology and medicine. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... A Dutch STM publishing company now known as Springer. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

The C. Bertelsmann Verlag was founded as a print shop cum publishing house in July, 1835 by Carl Bertelsmann. At first Bertelsmann concentrated on Christian songs and books. In 1851 led by Carl Bertelsmann's son, Heinrich, the publishing programme was extended into the area of novels. During the following years Bertelsmann expanded steadily. By 1939 the publishing house employed 401 people. | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Nazi past

In 2002 Bertelsmann admitted that they lied about their involvement with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party which included making huge profits from Jewish slave labour and publishing propaganda aimed at harming European Jews. The revelations came to light during their takeover of US book publisher Random House in 1998, Bertelsmann used a revised account of their Nazi past to smooth the deal. [1] Hitler redirects here. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ...

After World War II, in which the publishing house was closed for some time, but nevertheless published books by Nazi authors like Will Vesper (who did the commemorative speech at the 1933 book burning) or Hans Grimm, the company was re-founded by Reinhard Mohn, fifth generation of the Bertelsmann family. In the 1950s, Bertelsmann expanded with the Bertelsmann Leserring (readers ring) and the founding of the LP label Ariola Records in 1958, which marks the entry in the music market. In 1964 Bertelsmann bought the Ufa Filmproduktionsgesellschaft as entry in the movie market. Ufa was sold in the 1970s. In 1969, Bertelsmann bought into the Gruner und Jahr publishing house (newspapers, magazines), in 1973 becoming majority owner. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... National Socialism redirects here. ... Book burning is the practice of ceremoniously destroying by fire one or more copies of a book or other written material. ... Reinhard Mohn (born June 29, 1921). ... The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... Ariola Records is a daughter of BMG. Acquires Arista Records at the end of the seventies. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Since the 1980s, Bertelsmann has expanded internationally: in 1979 it bought the American Arista label, in 1980 Bantam Books, in 1986 the label RCA Victor and the publishing house Doubleday. It has distributed Windham Hill Records since 1989. In 1992 it acquired 50% of Windham Hill Records and in 1996 it took full control. The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Arista Records is an American record label that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony BMG, and operates under the RCA Records Group // After being fired from CBS Records, Columbia Pictures hired Clive Davis to be a consultant for the company’s record and music operations. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Bantam Books (established 1945), owned by Random House, is a member of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ... RCAs logo as seen today on many products. ... Doubleday is one of the largest book publishing companies in the world. ... Windham Hill Records is a record company, founded in the 1976 by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson . ...

During this period the activities in the music market were bundled into the label BMG. BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) is one of the six divisions of Bertelsmann. ...

In 1993, Reinhard Mohn as owner of Bertelsmann moved 68.8% of his Bertelsmann AG stock over to the Bertelsmann Foundation. As of 2006, the Mohn family still owns 74.9 of Bertelsman's capital, in addition of the Bertelsmann foundation. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Reinhard Mohn (born June 29, 1921). ...

From 1995 to 2000 Bertelsmann had a major Internet Service Provider (and associated content) joint venture with AOL that operated throughout Europe. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... An Internet service provider (abbr. ... AOL LLC (formerly America Online, Inc) is an American online service provider, bulletin board system, and media company operated by Time Warner. ...

In 1995 the Ufa Film- und Fernseh-GmbH merged with CLT, Luxembourg. The result was known as RTL Group, the biggest private radio and TV broadcaster in Europe. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... RTL Group is Europes largest TV, radio and production company. ... RTL Group is Europes largest TV, radio and production company. ...

In 1998 Thomas Middelhoff become CEO of Bertelsmann. He bought the Random House publishing house and concentrated book publishing in the USA under this label. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Thomas Middelhoff (born May 11, 1953) is a German corporate manager. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ...

In February 2001, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert purchased 25% of Bertelsmann AG. André Desmarais, President and Chief Executive Officer, Power Corporation of Canada, was named to the Board. In July 2002, the president Thomas Middelhoff goes away, because of disagreements concerning the company's strategy, in particular relating to its introduction in the Deutsche Börse. This article is about the year 2001. ... Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) (Euronext: GBL) is a Belgian industrial holding company. ... André Desmarais - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Deutsche Börse Group LSE: DHE is a marketplace organizer for the trading of shares and other securities. ...

2003, the new CEO Gunter Thielen expanded the music branch BMG with the buying of Zomba Records. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) is one of the six divisions of Bertelsmann. ... Zomba Records was started in 1977 by Clive Calder as a book publishing venture and moved into the recording business in 1981. ...

In 2004, BMG set up a joint-venture with Sony Music to create Sony BMG. BMG Music Publishing remained wholly owned by Bertelsmann. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... Bertelsmann is a transnational media corporation founded in 1835, based in G tersloh, Germany. ... Established in 1987, BMG Music Publishing, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, is the world’s leading independent music publisher and the worlds third largest music publisher. ...

Also in 2004, the London Borough of Camden, England brought anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) against Sony Music UK and BMG for alleged fly posting. Illegal fly posting by the two companies is thought to save them £8 million a year in advertising costs in Camden and cost the Borough £250,000 to clean up. Falling to comply with an ASBO can result in a jail sentence of up to 5 years. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The London Borough of Camden is an inner-London borough created in 1965 to replace the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, St Pancras. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... // In the United Kingdom an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO, pronounced az-bo) is a civil order made against a person who has been shown to have engaged in conduct which caused or was likely to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to one or more persons not of the same... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...    This article is a stub. ...

References

MP3 Newswire is one of the earliest news sites focused on digital media technology. ...

See also

• List of assets owned by Bertelsmann
• Media concentration

This is a List of assets owned by Bertelsmann. ... Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a commonly used term among media critics, policy makers, and others to characterize ownership structure of media industries. ...

External links

• Official site
• Ketupa - Bertelsmann extensive profile
• arvato
• RTL Group
• Sony BMG
• BMG Music Publishing