EU Commission: Competition - 30/12/08

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT QUESTIONS SONYBMG APPROVALS
"The elected European Parliament has challenged the European Commission about it's speedy decision earlier this year to allow Sony Music to buy Bertelsmann out of the two companies' joint venture record company, SonyBMG, which put the second biggest music firm in the world into the ownership of one organisation, Sony Corp.

They also question the Commission's wider policy regarding allowing such big companies to be created in the music and cultural industries without safeguards to protect smaller independent firms - in essence questioning the approval of the SonyBMG merger in the first place." [CMUDaily]

Sony BMG Merger Still Under Scrutiny December 23, 2008
"The European Parliament continues to seek further scrutiny of the Sony BMG merger, although the major has since demerged and will officially be renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 2009. EC Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes has six weeks to provide a written explanation regarding competition in the music market." [Billboard]

The standard of proof in EC merger control: the implications of the Sony BMG saga
"One of the most important developments in EC competition policy during 2006 was the Court of First Instance’s (CFI) Impala v. Commission judgment annulling the European Commission’s approval of the merger between the music units of Sony and Bertelsmann. It harshly criticized the Commission’s Decision because it found that the evidence relied on was not capable of substantiating the conclusion. This was the first time that a merger decision was annulled for not meeting the requisite legal standard for authorizing the merger. Consequently, the CFI raised fundamental questions about the standard of proof incumbent on the Commission in its merger review procedures. On July 10, 2008, the European Court of Justice overturned Impala, yet it did not resolve the fundamental question underlying the judicial review of the Sony BMG Decision; does the Commission have the necessary resources and expertise to meet the Community Court’s standard of proof? This paper addresses the wider implications of the Sony BMG saga for the Commission’s future handling of complex merger investigations. It argues that the Commission may have set itself an impossible precedent in the second approval of the merger. While the Commission has made a substantial attempt to meet the high standard of proof imposed by the Community Courts, it is doubtful that it will be able to jump the fence again in a similar fashion under normal procedural circumstances." [IES]

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." [TinyMixTapes]

Music News Bulletin - 11/09/08

The Great Circular Award Ceremony 10/09/08
"What a strange world it is, the world of "digital rights" activism. Campaigners pause only to pat each other on the back. Last week, anti-copyright campaigners Public Knowledge held their annual awards. The group's president Gigi B Sohn proudly announced the winners: fellow campaigner Carl Malamud of PublicResource.org, fellow campaigner Ben Scott of FreePress... and fellow campaigner Fred Von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the EFF." [TheRegister]

Sony Ericsson apes Nokia's 'Saw You Coming': Bundles music with phones 09/09/08
"Sony Ericsson is imitating market leader Nokia and will bundle "free" music with its handsets, the FT claims today. As with Nokia's "Comes With Music" program, selected Sony Ericsson handsets will come with a year's worth of unlimited liability downloads. Apart from suggesting a launch date of next month, no further details were disclosed by the FT." [TheRegister]

Classical downloads service hits right note on DRM 11/09/08
"If you prefer Bach to the Beastie Boys and Mozart to Madonna, then you’ll be pleased to hear that an iTunes rival’s been created that panders only to the desires of classical music fans."[RegHardware]

Google bulges old time news archive: More papers, more ads 08/09/08
"Google is redoubling efforts to offer a digital archive of the world's newspapers. Two years ago, the search giant began indexing the existing digital archives of papers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and today, with a post to The Official Google Blog, the company said it's now working with other publishers to bring a much broader range of old newsprint into the project." [TheRegister]