UMG’s Downtown Deal: European Commission Launches Bigger Investigation – Billboard

The EC said its preliminary review raised concerns that the deal would give UMG access to Downtown’s “commercially sensitive data of third-party record labels.” Universal Music Group corporate offices on December 22, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. AaronP/Getty Images The European Union’s antitrust regulator said on Monday (July 21) that it opened an “in-depth,” second phase of its investigation into whether Universal Music Group’s plan to acquire Downtown Music Holdings would hurt competition for music distribution and artist and label services there. The commission’s preliminary review of UMG’s $775 million deal with Downtown concluded that the merger could give UMG commercially sensitive data about its rival record labels and “remove Downtown as an important competitive force in the market for [artist and label] services.” The regulator, which has the authority to review the transaction because UMG is headquartered in the Netherlands, now has until Nov. 26 to issue a decision. “By acquiring Downtown, UMG would purchase a large provider of services for labels that compete with UMG and for artists. Opening an in-depth investigation will allow us to assess more carefully whether this acquisition would have a negative impact on artists, labels and, ultimately, European consumers,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the group’s
Read More