Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia has acquired the rights to Sound Pollution Songs‘ existing catalog of around 5,000 works.
The deal, announced on Tuesday (June 23), also includes a long-term administration agreement covering Sound Pollution Songs‘ future works.
The acquired catalog includes works performed by acts including Sabaton, Twilight Force, Wormwood, Bonafide, Elaine, Foredoom and Rexoria.
Sony Music Publishing and Sound Pollution did not disclose financial terms.
The acquisition ranks among the larger recent catalog sales by a Swedish independent publisher, according to the announcement.
“For our artists and authors, this means greater resources and better conditions going forward. Within our genre, artist and author are often the same person, and we continue to collaborate with most of them.”
Johan Hargeby, Sound Pollution
Johan Hargeby, Managing Director of Sound Pollution, said: “Sony Music Publishing has been an important part of building our rights catalog for a long time. This is a natural next step.
“For our artists and authors, this means greater resources and better conditions going forward. Within our genre, artist and author are often the same person, and we continue to collaborate with most of them.
“This deal gives us the financial capacity to make new investments and develop the business further.”
Johnny Tennander, Managing Director, Scandinavia and SVP International at Sony Music Publishing, said: “We have worked closely with Johan, Calle & Johan and the team at Sound Pollution for many years now, and as Johan says, this feels like a natural step for both parties.
“Sound Pollution has a very nice history and stands for something unique in the Swedish music industry, so this is something that we are very proud of, and it is a great honor to build on what they have created.”
“Sound Pollution has a very nice history and stands for something unique in the Swedish music industry, so this is something that we are very proud of, and it is a great honor to build on what they have created.”
Johnny Tennander, Sony Music Publishing
Sound Pollution Songs AB is a Stockholm-based publisher focused on hard rock, punk and metal, administering rights and catalogs for independent artists and labels.
It sits within the wider Sound Pollution business, which describes itself as one of Scandinavia‘s largest independent music distributors.
Founded and owned by Johan Hargeby, the Stockholm company has run a record store in the city’s Gamla Stan district since the early 1990s.
Alongside Sound Pollution Songs, the group runs in-house labels including Black Lodge Records and Wild Kingdom, a promotion department, a mail-order business and the retail store.
Several acts in the acquired catalog also have recording ties to the wider Sound Pollution operation.
Black Lodge Records, the group’s metal label, released Sabaton‘s early albums, counts Wormwood among its current roster, and has also issued music by Twilight Force.
Sabaton, the power metal band from Falun, released its debut album Primo Victoria through Black Lodge in 2005, before signing to Nuclear Blast.
Its 2014 album Heroes topped Sweden‘s album chart.
The band has released 11 studio albums and draws more than 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Tennander has led Sony Music Publishing‘s Scandinavian operation since 2016.
He joined EMI Music Publishing Scandinavia in 2002 and moved to Sony/ATV in 2012, following Sony‘s acquisition of EMI.
Songwriters he has worked with include Avicii, Lykke Li and Noonie Bao.
The deal extends Sony Music Publishing‘s recent activity in the Nordics.
In October 2025, the company acquired a significant stake in Finland‘s Elements Music, a publisher with a catalog of about 10,000 compositions.
Globally, Sony Music Publishing has continued to expand through catalog acquisitions.
In May 2026, it agreed to acquire Blackstone‘s Recognition Music Group catalog of more than 45,000 songs, in a deal Bloomberg reported could be worth up to $4 billion.Music Business Worldwide
