IMPALA co-president gives conditional approval to UMG-EMI deal

In a surprise move, one of the key players in Europe's independent label sector, Naïve Records' Patrick Zelnik, has come out in support of Universal's bid to buy the EMI record company, subject to certain provisions. Zelnik cautions against outright war within the record industry, between Warner and the indies on the one side, and the two big acquisitive players, Sony and Universal, on the other. Zelnik fears private equity groups asset stripping the music industry more than UMG, and says that Universal should commit "first, to transparent, non-discriminatory, easy licensing to new platforms. This should encompass Universal, EMI and independents, representing the majority of the market - the rest would soon follow". Second, Universal should make targeted, surgical divestitures to independents instead of to hedge funds, private equity or pension funds. As co-president of IMPALA, its an interesting opinion!