Regulators OK Universal-EMI merger - latimes.com Regulators in the U.S. and Europe on Friday approved Universal Music Group's $1.9-billion acquisition of EMI Group Ltd.'s music division, giving the Los Angeles-based music company control of the Beatles music catalog and the iconic Abbey Road studios in London, but forcing it to divest interest in the music of Coldplay. The merger will create an even larger global music conglomerate and put the vast majority of commercially released music into the hands of three international giants: the Universal, Sony and Warner music groups. Nevertheless, Universal Music Group officials hailed a double victory that "will allow us, I hope, to do our bit to return the industry to growth," Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge told The Times on Friday. The deal puts UMG in a clear leadership position in terms of overall market share, even if a precise calculation of that share will be difficult under the complexities of the divestiture requirements. In 2011, UMG tallied 29.9% of total album sales in the U.S., according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. That was slightly ahead of Sony Music Entertainment's 29.3%, and well in front of Warner Music Group's 19.1% share. EMI accounted for 9.6% of the market, with the remaining 12.1% going to various smaller companies. "Big isn't necessarily bad," Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, a nonprofit, nonpartisan technology policy think tank, said in a statement. Combinations like this one can benefit consumers. Not everyone, however, agreed with the FTC and EU decisions. "This merger gives Universal increased incentive and ability to discriminate against digital music services that challenge their business models," said Jodie Griffin, a staff attorney for Public Knowledge, a nonprofit consumers rights group that also opposed the AT&T and T-Mobile merger. We think that the FTC should have done more to protect competition in the U.S. Universal is also required to part with recording artists currently on the Parlophone label, such as Coldplay and Gorillaz, but it was not required to part with the gold mine of Parlophone catalog recordings of the Beatles. Universal also will assume and maintain EMI's lease on the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, which houses Capitol offices as well as its famed recording studios. The building was sold in 2006 to Argent Ventures of New York, which leases the facilities back to EMI under a long-term deal. Grainge said Universal will take ownership of the EMI properties "in approximately a week. It also means Universal may have a harder time recouping its investment after spinning off numerous revenue-generating assets. "The independents welcome the [European Commission's] conclusion that Universal's power is a problem across the whole market, both digital and physical, including access to media," said an IMPALA statement. I only hope that UMG sees the value in EMI music execs such as Mark Piibe, Pat Shah and Tricia Tranquillo, who have been moving things forward in the digital/mobile space, where our futures are going to be made. The consolidation of Universal and EMI appears to be the last such move on the horizon for the foreseeable future. "The music industry is now static," said Needham & Co. managing director Laura Martin. I don't think the regulators will allow any more mergers after this. This means we know what the competitive landscape looks like now and in the future. You'll have two really big guys [Sony and Universal] and a little guy [Warner].