NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Sony Music’s merchandising division, The Thread Shop, has acquired the music merch division of The Araca Group.
New York-based The Araca Group was founded in 1997 by partners Matthew and Michael Rego, and Hank Unger. Its music merchandising roster has catered to artists such as Led Zeppelin, P!NK, Shania Twain, Sugarland and Zayn, and now migrates over to Sony’s The Thread Shop, which counts Bob Dylan, Maluma, Joan Jett and most recently Lil Nas X among its own artist partners.
Outside of its music merch division, The Araca Group is also a Tony Award-winning theatrical production company, as well as a leading Broadway, TV and film merchandising company.
Commenting on the deal, Richard Story, President, Commercial Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “As artists continue to seek out merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding, and marketing, Sony Music is significantly expanding its presence in this growing area of the business under the leadership of Howard Lau. The acquisition of The Araca Group’s music merchandise division will further strengthen The Thread Shop’s artist roster and infrastructure and the competitive capabilities we offer to the music community.”
Michael Rego, CEO of The Araca Group added: “We are thrilled at the opportunity this acquisition provides for our music merchandise division. The team at The Thread Shop is artist-focused, passionate and well positioned to build upon the merchandising programs that Araca has created for our music clients.”
With Sony’s acquisition, several members of The Araca Group’s music merch team will move over to The Thread Shop.
Sony’s move comes six months after Universal Music Group’s merchandising arm Bravado acquired its competitor Epic Rights, and three months earlier, Warner Music Group completed its acquisition of German merch company EMP.
