Sony-BMG merger protest
p2pnet.net News:- European performing artists, independent music companies and entertainment retailers are again voicing their concerns over the "fundamentally flawed" Sony-BMG merger and say they’ll resort to legal action unless the European Commission steps in.
“Performers have almost no bargaining clout with the major labels and are already made to sign the most unfair contractual conditions,” declares Dominick Luquer, general secretary, FIA.
“We cannot accept this merger and are astonished that the European Commission may be about to green-light it as if it was in the interests of the industry as a whole. Allowing the merger to go through would irremediably compromise performers and be prejudicial to the cultural diversity that the EU is struggling so hard to preserve at world level.”
The EC has twice said further concentration would pose severe horizontal and vertical problems, including in the development of the online market, and yet the EC now seems likely to authorise the merger with no conditions attached to the approval, say the five organizations in a joint statement, continuing:.
“Highly frustrated with a process which has failed to take legitimate grounds for concern on board, the groups most likely to be affected by this Commission decision have asked the European Commissioners to review their options.
“In a letter sent yesterday, the groups point out that they provided the Commission with ample reasons as to why, at the very least, conditions should accompany any clearance of the merger. They provided evidence and indicated essential concerns that required full investigation by the Commission. Given this, they cannot understand how the Commission could possibly contemplate such an ‘easy’ clearance when conditions could have dealt effectively with the problems.”
The answer is more competition, not more concentration, says the five organizations.
“Already, the collective power and conduct of the major record companies imposes unfair terms across the whole of the music business, from developing the careers of artists and composers, to licensing, to retail, to on-line,” their statement goes on. “This stifles innovation and competition in music, price, new formats and the internet. A reduction in the number of majors and an increase in their relative size will severely aggravate this problem. Imbalances of negotiating power would be significantly and unfairly accentuated.”
The group says it’s seriously concerned that the EC doesn’t appear to have properly considered the impact of the merger in the development of online services, worsening of artists’ contractual terms, distortion of the market in the publishing, licensing, promotion and marketing of music, and reduction of the variety and volume of music available commercially, especially from European artists.
“Should the merger be authorized without reasonable safeguards and related conditions, considering the extraordinary damage that this will cause to their interests, the group will be forced to consider all available options, including legal action,” adds the statement.
The group includes:
FIA (International Federation of Actors); FIM (International Federation of Musicians); GERA-Europe (Global Entertainment Retail Association-Europe); IMMF (International Music Managers’ Forum); and, IMPALA (Independent Music Companies).
July 16th, 2004 at 1:18 pm
Soon, All Music Will Be Sony Music.