Reacting to the European Commission’s decision to allow Universal’s acquisition of EMI, albeit subject to extensive divestments, Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin has issued a statement as follows:
“Merlin is disappointed that Universal has been allowed to enhance its market leading position – even to a limited degree. That said, the concessions Universal has had to make to get this deal through are significant, and must make this a very different deal to the one Universal originally envisioned.
“Merlin’s concerns remain as they have from the start – to ensure the development of a healthy and competitive digital music sector. In that context, we now have to face the possibility that the digital market could be dictated and controlled by two super majors (Universal and Sony), which would not be a healthy outcome. Therefore, Universal’
About Merlin:
Merlin is the global rights agency representing the world’s most significant set of independent music companies. Merlin commenced operations in May 2008. Since then it has struck deals with a large number of digital services including Spotify, YouTube, Google Music, Rdio and Simfy and reached a number of copyright infringement settlements on behalf of its members with amongst others Limewire, XM Satellite Radio and Grooveshark. Merlin acts to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.
A list of Merlin’s board members and further information on Merlin is available at: http://www.merlinnetwork.org/
