Pan-European Indie Label Group Attacks EC’s Decision to Allow Sony Corporation Buyout of Sony BMG (Because In Other Parts of the World, People Actually Freak Out When This Shit Happens)

Thanks to the European Commission's decision to let Sony Corporation gobble up Sony BMG, we're one step closer to a multi-headed monster that will be known as Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The EC's 2007 decision to allow the merger means that Sony Corporation of America is now free to acquire the 50% share held by Bertelsmann AG of Germany in Sony BMG. Yikes.

Pan-European indie labels body Impala has gone public with its outrage, and co-president Michel Lambot says: "The commission needs to completely reassess its view of the music market. They have just let the world's largest consumer electronics company merge with the second largest music company without any detailed investigation." Yeah, no shit, but no one else was gonna say it, because... oh right, this kind of thing happens all the time.

The European Commission insists that the merger will not have an effect on local market competition, stating that "the transaction would not lead to any horizontal overlaps in the music recording markets, examined at the creation of Sony BMG, as Sony has no other music recording activities in the EEA [European Economic Area]." That's kind of like saying "Yeah, we kind of let Bigfoot have free reign of the village, but, uh, don't worry, he won't do anything."

Impala led independent sector protests against the merger in 2004 and again in 2007, when it went up for approval a second time. Bertelsmann has declined to comment, except to say that the EC's approval is only one step of many, so, of course, we shouldn't get our panties in a bunch yet. See? Everything's going to be juuust fine.

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