Commission again clears music giants' merger

Addressing Journalists in Brussels on 3 October 2007, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "In its investigation, the Commission looked in detail at the arguments raised by third parties, and the points made by the Court. It analysed all retail net prices, discounts and wholesale prices for all CD chart albums sold by all major record companies to all of their customers in the European Economic Area between 2002 and 2006." 

Independent record companies, among others, had made the point that anti-competitive behaviour on the music market works in more subtle ways. Kroes added, however: "We looked hard at the market for the licensing of recorded music in digital format. The Commission investigated all the various theories of price and non-price-related coordination between major record companies provided by third parties and market observers. These theories included alleged coordination on budgets, on the pricing of each title, on pricing policy, on chart album prices, on access to retailers, on access to airplay, on chart rules, on release date, on coordination at the level of publishing activities."

The competition commissioner concluded: "This has been a long and very thorough investigation. I am confident in the conclusion reached: this merger poses no competition problems."

Impala President Patrick Zelnik said, however: "The EC has ignored the simple fact that four companies control 95% of the music most citizens hear on the radio throughout the world. What kind of a message does this send to European citizens? That the EU's prioritisation of cultural diversity, creative SMEs and pluralism is purely rhetoric?"