Short answers, pulled from the story.
Warner Music Group traces its origins to 1958, when Warner Bros. Records was created after actor Tab Hunter scored a No. 1 hit for a rival label. Warner Bros. established the record division to prevent its contracted artists from recording for competitors and to capitalize on the music business. Its original office was located above the film studio's machine shop at 3701 Warner Boulevard in Burbank, California.
As of 2025, Access Industries, a conglomerate controlled by Len Blavatnik, is Warner Music Group's largest shareholder, owning 72% of the equity and controlling 98% of the voting power. Access Industries purchased WMG for $3.3 billion in cash in 2011 and took the company private, before WMG completed a second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020.
Warner Music Group owns several major record labels including Atlantic, Elektra, Reprise, Sire, Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and Parlophone (previously owned by EMI). The company also owns Warner Chappell Music, one of the world's largest music publishers. Atlantic Records was founded in 1947 and is WMG's oldest label.
In 1992, Warner Bros. Records released the song "Cop Killer" by Body Count, a heavy metal and rap fusion band led by Ice-T. The song attracted national controversy after the acquittal of officers charged with beating Rodney King sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. President George H. W. Bush denounced the label, police associations called for a boycott of Time Warner products, and stockholders threatened to withdraw. In January 1993, Warner made an undisclosed deal releasing Ice-T from his contract and returning the Body Count master tapes to him.
Warner Music Group acquired Parlophone from Universal Music Group in 2013 for £487 million (approximately $764.54 million US). The European Commission approved the sale in May 2013 and Warner closed the acquisition on the 1st of July 2013. In November 2013, WMG paid Universal an additional €30 million for Parlophone following an arbitration process regarding the original sale price.
Warner Chappell Music is one of the world's largest music publishers, owned by Warner Music Group. Its origins date to 1811 with the creation of Chappell and Company, a sheet music and instrument merchant in London. In 1987, Warner Communications acquired Chappell and Company from PolyGram for $275 million. Among the historic compositions whose publishing rights it controls are the works of Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.