A decision is now expected imminently from the European Commission regarding the 2004 merger of Sony and BMG's recorded music companies. The Commission has until 10 Oct to make a ruling, but a decision is expected sooner.
The EC have, of course, been reviewing the merger ever since the European Court Of First Instance ruled that EC competition commission officials should never have given the merger the go ahead back in 2004, a ruling made after pan-European indies body, IMPALA, appealed the EC's original decision.
In theory the Commission could, this time, decide the merger should not go ahead, which in theory would force Sony and BMG to demerge SonyBMG back into two separate companies. However, it is expected the EC will again approve the merger, though with certain conditions which, EC competition officials hope, will placate IMPALA and others who say the creation of a second 'major major' similar in size to the Universal Music Group was bad for the wider music and creative industries.
It is unclear what those conditions will be or how Sony and BMG, who have been quietly hoping for a unconditional approval that would enable SonyBMG to continue to trade unaffected, will respond.