EC get more EMI time

The European Commissions review of Vivendi's Universal Music Group bid to buy British record label EMI's recorded music unit from Citigroup Inc has been extended for the second time to Sept 6th from Aug 8th after the Commission asked for more time.

Mega arrests in New Zealand

Reuters report that Kim Dotcom (Kim Schmitz, a 37 year old German national), the Megaupload boss, and three other senior members of his team have been arrested by police in New Zealand and that the US Government has shut down the content sharing website. It can hardly have escaped anyone’s notice that the actions come against the background of heated debate over the proposed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation in the USA but Reuters report that a US Justice Department official said the timing of the arrests was not related to the battle inside and outside Congress. Alongside these arrests, NZ police seized several million dollars worth of assets and NZ$10 million from financial institutions. The Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand said they would work with US Authorities to enable extradition proceedings to proceed. Those arrested have been remanded in custody after a court hearing in Auckland. In response hackers took down the US Justice Department's websites and the websites run by Universal Music and the websites run by music and film trade organisations the RIAA and the MPA

Universal announces new Indian alliance

Universal has replicated its recent tie up with Live Nation that enables artists and rights owners to more easily bundle tickets, content, merchandise and CDs with a similar deal in India with ticketing firm KyaZoonga.com. The new alliance will utilise KyaZoonga's direct-to-fan relationships in India, offering consumers physical and digital products from Universal artists as well as tickets.

Warner’s auction enters final phase

With the auction for Warner Music Group entering its final round it seems to be shaping up to be a two-way contest with he real competition between the billionaire Gores brothers and Russian-born businessman Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. The Gores have submitted a bid valued at $7.50 a share, or around $3 billion and Warner shares closed yesterday at $7.40, down about 1 percent. Blavatnik, a close ally of Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman and who already owns 2 percent of the company. has also bid around $3 billion for the music company according to the New York Post. The NYP also report that KKR-backed BMG Rights Management is said to be out of the Warner mix and has set its sights on acquiring EMI, possibly as a joint bid with Universal, although there is speculation that the they may re-enter the Warner’s battle with a joint bid. The UK’s Daily Telegraph reports that If either were successful it is thought BMG would take any publishing assets while Universal would take ownership of the record labels. EMI’s owners Citigroup is expected to start publicly taking bids for EMI in the next two months.

In other Warner’s news, Miami-based hip hop label DM Records, which boasts some Tupac, MC Breed and Prince tracks in its catalogue, is suing Warner Music in a dispute over digital distribution rights.

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