Public Knowledge, a campaigning group that lobbies on internet and intellectual property issues, has submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in the USA arguing that an expanded Universal and Sony after acquiring the recorded music and publishing divisions of EMI respectively would be very bad news for the emerging digital music market. PK urges FTC officials to consider how the deals will "impede investment, innovation, and therefore competition" and affect "the development of music distribution and other services that ultimately benefit musicians and their fans everywhere. Public Knowledge claims that even in today's market place a major label can wield sufficient power to demand that potential new digital music services pay the label hefty advances and a high percentage of future revenue, or give the record label an equity stake and it will be impossible to enter the digital music market without Sony & UMG board (with only two majors left, Warners a mini-major). Indie labels trade body Impala and Warners have already raised opposition to the sales.
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