The European Commission isn’t due to announce its decision on a Sony-led consortium’s purchase of EMI’s publishing division until today, but the Financial Times claimed yesterday that approval of the $2.2bn deal has already been secured. “To allay the European Commission’s competition concerns, Sony will sell EMI Music Publishing catalogues generating about €25m in revenues annually from songwriters such as Ozzy Osbourne, Culture Club and Tears for Fears,” claims its report, which contrasts the approval with the more detailed investigation of Universal Music’s proposed acquisition of EMI’s recorded music business. Indie body Impala isn’t happy with approval of the publishing deal. “It sounds like the worst possible result for European writers and publishers as well as anyone who needs to rely on fair terms to access music,” says executive chair Helen Smith.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…