Universal Music has added another asset to the list of publishing catalogues it is willing to sell in order to win regulator approval for its proposed acquisition of Bertelsmann's BMG Music Publishing.
As previously reported, despite initial indications from both major music firms that they were confident of getting approval from the European Commission for the merger of BMG Publishing with Universal Music Publishing, as EC officials continued to investigate the proposals Universal chiefs indicated that they would be willing to sell off certain BMG catalogues in order to secure approval - among those that may be sold were Zomba Music and 19 Songs. Yesterday, in another gesture designed to alleviate regulator concerns, Universal indicated it might be willing to sell one of its own publishing assets - Rondor Music - a considerable catalogue originally founded in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss and which includes hit songs like Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', Aretha Franklin's 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T', Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' and The Beach Boys' 'California Girls'. Universal acquired the company for $211 million in 2000.
It remains to be seen if such proposals do convince EU officials to give the merger the go ahead despite ongoing concerns in Europe over further consolidation of the major music firms. The EU are expected to rule one way or the other on 1 Jun.