UMG-EMI Merger: Deja Vu All Over Again
UMG-EMI Merger: Deja Vu All Over Again
UMG-EMI Merger: Deja Vu All Over Again

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    Tomorrow I’ll be testifying against the merger of Universal
    Music Group (UMG) and EMI Music.  A merger
    between the 1st and 4th largest record companies, in our
    opinion, would result in a “super-major” label with a 41% market share that
    would be able to dictate the future of new digital music services. The combined entity could deny licenses
    to new services, charge them enormous licensing rates, or even take an equity stake in the
    service.  

    This would be bad for consumers, who benefit from lower
    prices and more choice in a world with more new services and fewer
    middlemen.  And as our friends at the
    Future of Music Coalition have so artfully said, these new services also benefit
    both independent music labels and unsigned artists.

    Sound familiar? 
    Indeed, the merger looks a lot like the failed merger of AT&T and
    T-Mobile.  A 4-3 merger, this time with
    the #1 company (rather than the #2), seeking to devour the #4.  And, like T-Mobile, EMI is a maverick firm. Among
    other things, EMI was the first major label to sell a digital download (a David
    Bowie single in 1996), the first to sell DRM-less MP3s on iTunes (2007), and the first to
    license to a digital music service in which it did not have an ownership
    interest (Pressplay in 2001). 

    Why does Public Knowledge care?  As we’ve said time and time again, we believe
    the best way to limit piracy is to provide consumers with reasonably priced,
    timely and flexible access to music and movies. 

    New digital services provide that kind of access and as a
    result have been wildly popular – in 2011 alone, consumers bought 1.3 billion
    singles and 100 million albums at a cost of nearly $2.5 billion.  A combined UMG-EMI is a threat not only to
    the current services that exist (and there aren’t that many to begin with), but
    especially to any future ones that might arise.

    But supporters of the merger say that UMG already licenses to new services, and would have no
    incentive not to.   Unfortunately, the
    company’s history suggests otherwise:  

    • Universal
      sued the video site Veoh early in its
      creation for copyright infringement. 
      Despite the fact that Veoh’s legality was ultimately upheld court, the
      litigation bankrupted the company and hamstrung its potential.
    • Last
      year Universal was the first of the major labels to sue the streaming music
      service Grooveshark, and Universal
      sued the streaming service Deezer in
      France after the company refused Universal’s demand that it limit its freemium
      tier to five consecutive songs. Luckily, the French courts agreed with Deezer,
      holding that Universal’s behavior was “an abuse of a dominant position.” 
    • And
      back in 2006, UMG sued MySpace for
      its users’ copyright infringement, and even brought a suit against Grouper.com, which was owned by fellow
      major label Sony. 

    As music
    industry revenues from digital music services continue to explode and piracy
    continues to drop, now is not the time to permit one company to return the
    industry to the days of top-down, command-and-control music distribution.  It is now up to the Federal Trade Commission
    to ensure that consumers and musicians continue to benefit from the digital
    revolution.  If you want to sign our
    petition telling them to do so, you can do so here.

    My testimony is available here. Or watch it below: