NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 2020—The Thread Shop, the merchandising division of Sony Music Entertainment, today announced an agreement to acquire Probity Europe LTD, a leading UK-based independent music merchandising company offering worldwide tour, retail, e-commerce, and licensing services. 

Under the agreement, Probity will become a new entrepreneurial division of The Thread Shop and continue to be led by Probity founder Mark Stredwick. He and the existing Probity team based in London will continue to foster the ongoing relationships with their roster of iconic music artists such as Metallica, Noel Gallagher, Oasis, Paloma Faith, Rage Against The Machine, Robert Plant, Van Morrison and more.  

In addition The Thread Shop and Probity teams will jointly leverage their strong capabilities to drive new business opportunities around the world. Stredwick will report to Howard Lau, Head of The Thread Shop.  

With this agreement, Sony Music’s in-house merchandising business, home to artists including The Beatles, Camila Cabello, Jimi Hendrix, Maluma, Led Zeppelin, Lil Nas X, P!nk and Rosalia continues to strengthen the scope of its operations globally as part of the services and solutions it offers to the artist community. In addition to the ongoing organic growth of its business and roster over the last several years, The Thread Shop expanded its operations in 2019 with the acquisition of the music merchandise division of theatrical production and entertainment merchandising company The Araca Group.  

Howard Lau stated, “We are very pleased to be further enhancing the reach and competitive capabilities of The Thread Shop around the world with the welcome additions of Mark Stredwick and the Probity team. Probity is an established independent leader in the European merch market representing some of the world’s most iconic music artists. Together we can offer our artist clients and the music community an even more robust set of merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding, and marketing.” 

Mark Stredwick stated, “We are delighted to fully cement the organic relationship we had already developed with Howard and Sony Thread Shop. The deal with Sony allows our growing roster to tap into more opportunities globally and benefit from innovative and creatively driven merchandising programs that Thread Shop deliver with such passion.”

About The Thread Shop 
The Thread Shop is a leading music merchandising company from Sony Music Entertainment focused on enhancing artist revenue, branding and marketing through the development of high-quality products and compelling shopping experiences. The Thread Shop designs, manufactures and markets fashionable and functional merchandise and lifestyle goods that reflect the vision and aesthetic of its artist and brand partners. Combining experienced in-house apparel designers with Sony Music’s world class Creative Group to provide individualized design services, The Thread Shop offers artist-specific product lines, limited-edition customized merchandise and full-scale tour merchandising through a variety of online and physical retailers, as well as through artist e-commerce sites and pop-up retail environments in tour venues and stores. Its artist partners include A$AP Ferg, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Camila Cabello, DJ Khaled, Jimi Hendrix, Lil Nas X, Ozuna, Rosalia, Roger Waters, Shania Twain, and Zayn, among others. 

About Sony Music Entertainment 
At Sony Music Entertainment, we fuel the creative journey. We’ve played a pioneering role in music history, from the first-ever music label to the invention of the flat disc record. We’ve nurtured some of music’s most iconic artists and produced some of the most influential recordings of all time. Today, we work in more than 60 countries, supporting a diverse roster of international superstars, developing and independent artists, and visionary creators. From our position at the intersection of music, entertainment, and technology, we bring imagination and expertise to the newest products and platforms, embracenew business models, employ breakthrough tools, and provide powerful insights thathelp our artists push creative boundaries and reach new audiences.In everything we do, we’re committed to artistic integrity, transparency, and entrepreneurship.Sony Music Entertainment is a member of the Sony family of global companies. Learn more about our artists, creators, and labels here.