Some stories from CMU's European news desk now. Because we have one. No, really, we do. Well, London's in Europe, isn't it?
First of all, two industry associations that both represent the German record industry have announced they will merge next Spring. The respective general meetings of both labels body BPW and the German division of the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry approved the merger proposal on Monday.
Michael Haentjes, boss of Edel Music, and now chairman of both the BPW and German IFPI boards, said the merger would mean "we reach a more transparent and efficient representation of our interests and a homogeneous mouthpiece for the German music-industry".
In reality, the merger won't have too radical an impact on either organisation, as each one's agenda generally complements that of the other (BPW are mostly concerned with statistics and charts, IFPI Germany with lobbying, anti-piracy and international activity), and the two bodies were already based out of the same Berlin office.
The name of the new combined organisation will be announced in the Spring.