The Association of Independent Music Companies, Impala, has urged EU competition regulators to block Japanese company Sony Corp’s efforts to become the world’s largest music publisher through a bid to take control of EMI, Reuters reports.
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In May, Sony announced an agreement to acquire rights to 2.1 million songs from artists such as Drake, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, and Sia, which is seen as a bold strategic move by new CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
The Japanese conglomerate, which currently owns 30 percent of EMI, wants to buy an additional 60 percent stake in the company from Mubadala Investment Co., for which it is offering $2.3 billion. Last month, it also managed to acquire a small stake in EMI that was owned by Michael Jackson.
The growing popularity of fixed-price music streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, SoundCloud, and YouTube, has boosted the music industry.
Sony’s control over EMI would give it the power to do whatever it wants, said Impala’s executive director Helen Smith.
“The market needs large operators, but not so large that they are allowed to gain so much power that they start choking and discarding independents, who actually bear the risks,” she said, adding that 80 percent of new music releases come from independent labels.
