Record label mergers

Property in the “Global” Music Market by Jack Bishop
The merger of the recorded music divisions of Sony and BMG, finalized on August 5, 2004, created the world’s largest music company while reducing the “Big Five” labels to the “Big Four.” The new goliath Sony BMG Music Entertainment will now control over 30% of the global music market. As power and resources were being consolidated in the music industry, regular amendments to the length of copyright terms were extending private ownership of creative works, delaying their passage into the public domain. This study analyzes how the world’s media giants use their power and property to influence national and international laws in order to lock down culture and control creativity. Since 1980, the rate at which record labels merge has increased dramatically due in part to horizontal integration. Horizontal integration allows record labels to control a larger market share by acquiring publishing companies, manufacturing facilities, distribution companies, and retailers. When it comes to the music business, the model is integration, control as many things as you possibly can. This is the reason why every label today is fighting for the largest possible share in the market. Through buyouts and mergers, labels are ruthlessly taking what they need to in order to secure their own future in this turbulent industry. Merger after merger has resulted in four major labels that together control over 85 percent of the market. Universal, Sony/BMG, Warner, and EMI sit with a heavy responsibility on their shoulders. The responsibility to pull an industry from its declining trend and set it in a path that is favorable first and foremost for the artist and the consumer. Whether or not this solution means further mergers or possible separations is unknown. Either way, I can guarantee that in 50 years from now the labels that hold the titles now will no longer be there. This is an industry where labels come and go, mediums come and go, and artists come and go, but the passion for making and listening to music will always survive.

Works Cited:
Bishop, Jack. “What Does ‘World Music’ Sound Like? Identity and Authenticity in ‘World Beat’.” Pop sounds: Klangtexturen in der Pop- und Rockmusik. Ed. Thomas Phelps and Ralf von Appen. Bielefeld: Transcriipt Verlag, 2003. 78-161