A very long report on major mergers, or not
The EU Court of First Instance has ruled the European Commission failed to properly assess the SonyBMG merger, a win for IMPALA and the independent sector.…
European Commission
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EU court rules against SonyBMG merger, two years late
The EU Court of First Instance has ruled the European Commission should not have approved the SonyBMG merger, with implications still unclear.…
European court expected to rule on merger decision
The EU Court of First Instance will rule on Thursday whether the European Commission was right to approve the Sony BMG merger, a decision IMPALA has challenged.…
Spanish government introduce hardline anti-P2P laws
Spain has introduced legislation outlawing acquisition of copyright content via unauthorised P2P networks, adding a levy on storage devices and making ISP facilitation a criminal offence.…
Independents body to forcefully oppose EMI Warner merger
Independent trade body IMPALA says it will forcefully oppose any EMI takeover of Warner Music, arguing a combined EMI Warner would dominate recorded and publishing markets.…
More EMI Warner merger reports
The Sunday Times reports executives at EMI and Warner are working on merger structures, with banks approached, though an EMI-Warner deal faces possible European Commission scrutiny.…
MP3 man up for inventor award
MP3 inventor Karlheinz Brandenburg is nominated for a lifetime achievement award at the Inventor of the Year awards, to be presented on 3 May.…
Songwriters meet with EU man
Six songwriters and composers met EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy to argue against his proposals to overhaul European royalty collection.…
CISAC hits back at EC monopoly claims
CISAC has rejected claims of a de facto monopoly after the European Commission issued a Statement Of Objections over collection society licensing, which Music Choice has backed.…
EC to investigate collecting societies
The European Commission is formally investigating collecting societies' licensing agreements for online and satellite music, with CISAC given two months to respond.…
Publishers and collection societies unite to meet EC recommendations
MCPS-PRS and its Spanish counterpart are piloting a shared licensing model, while EMI Music Publishing has teamed up with MCPS-PRS and GEMA for a pan-European digital clearance hub.…
British music rights chief to keynote copyright event
Emma Pike of British Music Rights will give the keynote speech at MusicTank's copyright conference on 10 November.…