Universal EMI Merger (Approved)
Sept 20, 2012 8:39:11 GMT -5
Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Sept 20, 2012 8:39:11 GMT -5
Here
WASHINGTON -- Today, music lovers have more ways than ever before to access their favorite songs and discover artists they've never heard of. Can't live another minute without "Call Me Maybe"? Download it on iTunes for just $1.29, or stream it over your smartphone with Spotify. Want to hear something different? Let Pandora Internet radio pick something for you, or turn to Grooveshark, a sonic Facebook, to see what other music nerds are listening to.
The digital revolution that Napster heralded at the turn of the millenium finally seems to be bearing fruit. At the time, record labels decried the file-sharing program as an existential threat to the industry. To protect record sales, they sued everyone from tech startups to children, and lobbied Congress for new laws to curb piracy.
Now, though, digital music services have gone mainstream, promising listeners a world of perfectly legal possibilities and an end to the major labels' vice grip.
If only it were so.
Far from becoming obsolete, the four largest record labels -- Universal, Sony, Warner Brothers and EMI -- now control almost 90 percent of the music market. And if the Federal Trade Commission signs off this week on Universal Music's controversial $2 billion takeover of EMI, the new behemoth would control over 40 percent of the market alone -- enough to make the company the gatekeeper for all sonic innovation, from Silicon Valley to Sweden.
Artists are also worried about the merger's consequences. "It's all totally stacked against the creator," said Casey Rae-Hunter, who heads the Future of Music Coalition, an organization representing independent and unsigned musicians. "And the Universal-EMI merger gives them even more leverage to do really scary things."
WASHINGTON -- Today, music lovers have more ways than ever before to access their favorite songs and discover artists they've never heard of. Can't live another minute without "Call Me Maybe"? Download it on iTunes for just $1.29, or stream it over your smartphone with Spotify. Want to hear something different? Let Pandora Internet radio pick something for you, or turn to Grooveshark, a sonic Facebook, to see what other music nerds are listening to.
The digital revolution that Napster heralded at the turn of the millenium finally seems to be bearing fruit. At the time, record labels decried the file-sharing program as an existential threat to the industry. To protect record sales, they sued everyone from tech startups to children, and lobbied Congress for new laws to curb piracy.
Now, though, digital music services have gone mainstream, promising listeners a world of perfectly legal possibilities and an end to the major labels' vice grip.
If only it were so.
Far from becoming obsolete, the four largest record labels -- Universal, Sony, Warner Brothers and EMI -- now control almost 90 percent of the music market. And if the Federal Trade Commission signs off this week on Universal Music's controversial $2 billion takeover of EMI, the new behemoth would control over 40 percent of the market alone -- enough to make the company the gatekeeper for all sonic innovation, from Silicon Valley to Sweden.
Artists are also worried about the merger's consequences. "It's all totally stacked against the creator," said Casey Rae-Hunter, who heads the Future of Music Coalition, an organization representing independent and unsigned musicians. "And the Universal-EMI merger gives them even more leverage to do really scary things."
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