Sony Music buys Ceremony of Roses as new merch arm

CoR will now serve as Sony Music’s branding, design, media and events company. Sony’s various merch platforms around the globe will now be integrated into CoR, while its New York-based Thread Shop will remain as a standalone brand under CoR. Thread Shop represents big names including The Beatles, Camila Cabello, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Lil Nas X.

“The CoR and Thread Shop teams will jointly leverage their capabilities to drive new business opportunities around the world,” Sony said.

The merch arm will be helmed by Scoffern and his partner and chief business officer, Mary Healy. It will focus on a broad range of artist merch and manufacturing including the development of artist-backed brands such as Macklemore’s Bogey Boys and Kehlani’s TSNMI. CoR will also continue to support festival partners like Live Nation and maintain a roster of management clients.

“Brad and his team at Ceremony of Roses have proven to be an incredibly creative force in developing futuristic branding and merchandising services for artists,” Sony Music Group chairperson Rob Stringer said. “We’ve been huge fans of his work with Golf Wang and what Ceremony of Roses has developed for its cutting-edge roster of frontline talent.”

Scoffern said: “I’m beyond excited and truly honoured to be working with Rob Stringer and the entire Sony Music Team. By joining Ceremony of Roses’ expertise in merchandising with SME’s global reach, roster and resources, we are set up for an exciting new chapter of growth.

“CoR was founded with the goal of enabling and expanding authentic fan-artist connections beyond a tour tee, and through working with incredible artists and mentors, especially Tyler, the Creator and Christian Clancy, I have learnt the value of fan engagement and the unique role merchandise and branding plays in this relationship.

“I look forward to helping the artists we work with build on the amazing advancements happening in the space today to deliver incredible experiences and products across all touchpoints with their fan base, regardless of where they are or how they buy.”

Founded by Scoffern in 2016, CoR works with international suprstars such as Adele, Olivia Rodrigo, A$AP Rocky and more. Before starting CoR, Scoffern was the general manager at 4 Strikes management. He has also operated as a director for Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.

Healy, meanwhile, served as the senior vice-president of strategy and growth at Scooter Braun Projects where she led the consumer ventures team, which was responsible for developing talent-backed brands including Justin Bieber’s Drewhouse. Healy also served at Google and YouTube for about 10 years, occupying various positions within the media and branded content space.