Sony to sell Gracenote to Tribune for $170 million

Sony Corp. of America has agreed to sell its Gracenote music metadata business to the Tribune media conglomerate for $170 million. Gracenote maintains a database of music data that’s used by streaming media services, mobile apps and in-car entertainment systems for finding and recommending tracks and providing information about them to listeners.

Sony Corp. (6758) agreed to sell its Gracenote audio-recognition software business to Tribune Co. (TRBAA) for $170 million, part of the consumer-electronics maker’s effort to shed units as it focuses on fewer products. Tribune will combine Gracenote with its media-services division, which provides digital data on TV shows and movies, the Chicago-based broadcasting and publishing company said today in a statement. Sony acquired Gracenote in 2008 for about $260 million. The unit has annual sales of $100 million to $200 million, a person with knowledge of the business said last week.