Brussels, 30/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a formal letter sent on 18 October, an MEP questioned the Commission about several aspects of the joint venture combining the recorded music businesses of Sony and BMG, the subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, the German-based branch of the international media company. In the letter, Guy Bono (PES, France) questions the compatibility of the Commission's authorisation of this concentration with the objectives in the European agenda for culture. The “independent” labels are already dominated on the market and feel threatened by this merger, explained Bono. The MEP explained that the “independents” were crucial to diversity and innovation in the cultural sector.
This controversial merger had already been approved then annulled by the Court of First Instance in 2006, following an appeal by the Independent Music Companies Association, (European association - IMPALA). On 3 October, the acquisition received a second green light from the Commission, this time backed up by a more detailed economic analysis. Bono, a member of the EP culture committee, was not convinced and in a press release declared: “Like many cultural sectors, music suffers from chronic concentration. Artists and cultural SMEs need to be supported as they play a key role in fostering creativity and innovation as well as growth and employment in Europe”. According to IMPALA, by allowing further concentration in a market where 95% of the music broadcast is controlled by four companies alone, the Commission failed in its obligations to promote innovation and culture, as laid down in the UNESCO Convention on culture and in its own culture agenda of May 2007. Furthermore, Article 151 of the EC Treaty includes an obligation for cultural diversity to be taken into account in all Commission decisions. The Commission has three weeks from reception of the letter to respond. (C.D.)