#3 Bertelsmann
You wouldn’t think a European giant would control U.S. media but Bertlesmann controls the books you read and the music you listen to. The German giant owns almost every celebrated book publisher in the United States including the famed Random House, Penguin, Doubleday, Alfred A. Knopf and Everyman’s Library. In total it owns over 45 book publishers. It isn’t just publishing that makes Bertlesmann powerful: It also owns distribution, through its 35 Book Of The Month clubs, which target nearly every genre from children’s literature to country homes and gardens to the scientific american book club. It also owns the powerful BMG music label and distributor.
If you want a book or an album published in America, you must go through Bertlesmann.
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