The one condition given is that the consortium must sell the worldwide publishing rights of some artists. Sony will have to sell four back catalogs that includes the works of 12 artists.
Besides Sony, the group includes Blackstone Group, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co., Raine Group and music and film mogul David Geffen.
Says the European Commission (Reuters): "Sony and Mubadala have offered to divest valuable and attractive catalogues containing bestselling titles as well as works of successful and promising authors. I am therefore satisfied that the competitive dynamics in the online music publishing business will be maintained so as to ensure consumer choice and cultural diversity."
The catalogs that must be sold are Virgin UK, Virgin Europe, Virgin U.S. and Famous Music UK which include popular artists like Gary Barlow, Ozzy Osbourne, Ben Harper, Placebo, The Kooks, Lenny Kravitz and Robbie Williams.
After the items are auctioned off and the deal closes, Sony will become the top player in music publishing, jumping ahead of Universal Music Group and Warner Music.
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Apr 2012 23:07
