Global licensing deal sees world’s leading independent labels now available to Deezer subscribers

10 May 2012 London: –The global independent rights agency, Merlin today announced a comprehensive licensing agreement with Deezer, a leading streaming subscription service. The international breadth of Merlin’s membership and the global nature of its licensing made Merlin the perfect partner for Deezer’s global ambitions and, as a result of the deal, Deezer’s users across the globe will have access to some of the world’s top independent labels as represented by Merlin.

Deezer, a web-based music streaming service, is already available in more than 50 countries. It allows users to listen to music anytime and anywhere on various devices on- or offline thanks to a catalog of 18M tracks.

As a result of the global deal, Deezer’s users will now enjoy access to some of the world’s most important independent artists. Merlin’s members account for the largest set of rights outside of those held by the larger major record companies. This includes repertoire from labels and distributors such as Warp, Yep Roc/Redeye, Epitaph, Phonofile, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Kontor New Media, !K7, Merge, and Koch/E1.

Charles Caldas, Merlin’s CEO said:

“It is very encouraging to see innovative and ambitious services like Deezer broadening their scope and bringing wider choice to consumers across the many markets in which they operate. We are sure that Deezer’s users will enjoy the vast choice of amazing repertoire delivered to them via this deal”.

Julien Simon, Label Relations Director, said:

“We are pleased to count Merlin as one of our key global music partners, along with its independent label members across the world. Inclusion of the widest, deepest and best-selling independent repertoire to our service will help us provide the best musical experience to our customers”.

With its member’s repertoire representing an approx 10% share of digital services worldwide, Merlin provides an invaluable solution to digital music services looking to offer their users the world’s most important independent labels.

About Merlin:

Merlin represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin commenced operations in May 2008. Since then it has struck deals with a large number of digital services including Spotify, YouTube, Google Music, Rdio and Simfy and reached a number of copyright infringement settlements on behalf of its members with amongst others XM Satellite Radio, Grooveshark and Limewire. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world, and so offers the most efficient means of licensing this repertoire.

A global organisation, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums released in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2009.

www.merlinnetwork.org

About Deezer:

Deezer is a leading worldwide music streaming service reaching 20m users and with 1.5m paying subscribers. As well as offering access to more than 15m tracks, Deezer provides a unique solution for organising your music library, building and sharing playlists and expanding your musical scope through new discovery (e.g. genre-based editorial recommendations adapted to each country, and 10,000 smart radio channels).

Thanks to its exceptional partnerships with Facebook, Orange and Belgacom, Deezer is now available in more than 50 countries and will be accessible worldwide, excluding the US and Japan.

- Merlin settles copyright infringement claims over Sirius’ Stiletto Recording Devices

- Successful class action means Merlin members and entire independent label community have opportunity to benefit

• Global independent music rights agency Merlin agrees groundbreakingSettlement With LimeWire

• First time independents have participated in settlement of copyright infringement claims against a global peer-to-peer service

1^st March 2012:-The global independent music rights agency Merlin has settled a long running copyright infringement claim on behalf of its members against the now defunct peer-to-peer service LimeWire. The settlement was reached out-of-court subsequent to a lawsuit filed by Merlin in July 2011.

Merlin’s settlement follows the major record labels’ announcement that they reached a $105 million out-of-court settlement with LimeWire in May 2011.

Merlin’s members’ claims against LimeWire were settled for an amount commensurate with the major record labels’ settlement taking into account the aggregate market shares of the Merlin members relative to the major labels’ shares and costs of action. Merlin will pay out the proceeds of the settlement to its members shortly.

With its members’ market share in the US alone reported at around 10%, Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world. For services wishing to launch with the most complete musical offering for their consumers, Merlin represents enormous value in streamlining the licensing of this repertoire, which could otherwise involve hundreds of individual negotiations.This settlementis testament to both Merlin’s diligence in protecting its members’ rights and the value of its member labels’ repertoire.

Labels such as Epitaph,Merge,Warp, Yep Roc/Redeye, Naïve, Naxos, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Kontor, Secretly Canadian, Beggars Group, [PIAS] Group,!K7, Sub Pop, Domino and Koch/E1 are all members of Merlin.

Said Charles Caldas, Merlin CEO: “It is deeply satisfying to announce this settlement today. The exclusion of independents from past major settlements such as Kazaa was a key factor in the formation of Merlin, and I am proud to say that this time, via the actions of Merlin, our members’rights have been properly protected. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the labels we represent are never again left out in the cold”.

Said Charlie Lexton, Merlin Head of Business Affairs & General Counsel: “Whilst this is by no means the first settlement Merlin has delivered its members, it is clearly the most significant, representing as it does, thesuccessful conclusion ofa high profile, large scale, globalcopyright infringement claimon an equal footing with the major labels. An unprecedented moment for independents”.

Said Martin Mills, Merlin Chairman: “Following on the heels of what happened, or didn’t happen, with Kazaa, this is a brilliant and fair result for Merlin’s members collectively that could never have been achieved individually, and a great tribute to Merlin”.

–END—

Notes for Editors

About Kazaa

The Kazaa case and $115m settlement was characterized as an industry action/settlement – see: http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?id=46A7DBAB-CEFA-B6D5-F81A-BBB34C2A2581, yet it was in fact for the benefit of the major record companies only.

About Merlin

Merlin represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights.  Merlin commenced operations in May 2008. Since then it has struck deals with a large number of digital services including Spotify, YouTube, Google Music, Rdio and Simfyand reached a number of copyright infringement settlements on behalf of its members with amongst others XM Sirius and Grooveshark. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world, and so offers the most efficient means of licensing this repertoire. Members include Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc/Redeye, Kontor New Media, Beggars Group, Merge, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1. Their artists include Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The XX, Neko Case, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, The National, Tom Waits, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Tiësto, Scooterand many many more.

A global organization, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums released in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2009. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.

www.merlinnetwork.org

• Re-elected: Martin Mills, Michel Lambot, Florian Von Hoyer, Horst Weidenmueller, Colin Daniels& Hilton Roth
• Erik Brataas(Phonofile), OkeGöttlich(finetunes) and Luciana Pegorer (DeliraMusica) join as new additions
• Thomas Lorain returns as an observer
• Also returning: Alison Wenham

24th November 2011, London:-Global rights agency Merlinhas confirmed the results of its latest biennial board elections, welcoming two new European members and seeing the return of executives from the world’s key independent labels. The announcement follows news of Merlin’s North American board elections, revealed in June of this year.

Re-elected to the European bloc are Martin Mills, founder and chairman of Beggars Group in the UK, Michel Lambot, co-president [PIAS] Group in Belgium, Florian Von Hoyer, CEO and director of Spain’s Altafonte and Horst Weidenmuelle, CEO of !K7 Records in Germany.

Erik Brataas,CEO of Norway’s Phonofile, joins for the first time.  Phonofile represents a catalogue of more than 250,000 tracksfrom more than 600 labels in the Nordic region. Brataas has been CEO since the company’s inception in 1999.

To the Rest of World bloc, from outside Europe and North America,Luciana Pegorer, Executive Director of Brazil’s DeliraMusica and president of ABMI (Brazilian Independent Music Association) takes her seat as a further new addition. She joinsColin Daniels, Managing Director of Australian label Inertia, Hilton Roth, Founder & CEO of South Africa’s African Dope, whohave both been re-elected, and Alison Wenham, who remains by virtue of her position as chair of WIN.

OkeGöttlich , Founder and General Manager of digital service provider finetunes has been elected as a Merlin board observer.  He joins fellow observerThomas LorainofFrench label Naïve.

The announcement comes after a continued period of strong membership growth which has seen significant US  labels including Merge Records (Arcade Fire, Spoon, She & Him), Sub Pop(Fleet Foxes), Naxos of America, SecretlyCanadianDistribution, Jagjaguwar(Bon Iver), Thrill Jockey, Latin Cool Records, Righteous Babe and Music Media Mexico join the likes of Beggars/Matador, Saddlecreek, Victory and distributors Redeye/Yeproc, Virtual Label and United for Opportunity as Merlin members. Merlin’s global membership now includes over 14,000 of the world’s most prominent independents.

Charles Caldas, Merlin CEO said: “Merlin’s members are fortunate to have board representatives with a such a deep wealth of experience and knowledge, and I look forward to working with the board in the coming years to continue to deliver the maximum possible value to our members.”

The Election process is based upon the Merlin election rules (maximum 5 Voting seats per bloc, with no more than one voting candidate per territory).

The Merlin board will sit for a period of two years.

The Merlin board members are as follows:

Europe Bloc

Erik Brataas – Phonofile – Norway

Florian Von Hoyer – Altafonte – Spain

Horst Weidenmueller – !K7 Records – Germany

Martin Mills – Beggars Group – UK

Michel Lambot – [PIAS] Group – Belgium

North American Bloc

Bob Frank, Qello – USA

Dave Hansen – Epitaph Records – USA

Kris Gillespie – Domino USA – USA

Thomas Silverman – TOMMY BOY – USA

Geoff Kulawick – IDLA – Canadian seat

Rest of World Bloc

Colin Daniels – Inertia – Australia

Hilton Roth – African Dope – South Africa

Luciana Pegorer – DeliraMusica – Brazil

Alison Wenham – WIN, representing the balance of the ROW

Observer Members

Glenn Dicker – Redeye, Yeproc – USA , representing North American Bloc

William Crowley – E1/Koch – USA, representing North American Bloc

Thomas Lorain – Naïve – France, representing Europe Bloc

OkeGöttlich– Finetunes – Germany, representing Europe Bloc

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin offers the most efficient means for digital music services to license repertoire from the largest and most compelling basket of independent rights in the world.

Since commencing operations in May 2008, Merlin has struck deals with digital services including Spotify, Rdio, YouTube, Zvooq, MySpace Music, Grooveshark, Simfy, Muzu TV, AT&T, and Eircom. Merlin has also achieved settlements for its members with Grooveshark and XM Satellite radio.

Members include Rough Trade, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc, Redeye, Kontor New Media, Naxos, XL Recordings, Beggars Group, Merge, The Mushroom Group, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1.

Their artists include Adele, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The xx, Neko Case, The National, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Martin Solveig&Dragonette, Tiësto, Scooter and many, many more.

Merlin is not an aggregator. Its members may opt in or out of any deal that it brokers and it is a non-profit organization, with all dividends from its commercial investments being shared among its members.

A global organization, Merlin’s member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums issued 2008–2010, and commanded an 11% digital UK market share in 2009. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin’s repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.

“We’re pleased to welcome Merlin to the Muve Music family” said John Bolton, Sr. Director, Product Development for Muve Music. “With the addition of Merlin’s amazing roster, Muve Music will expand its catalog to bring an even richer content experience to our customers.”

Merlin represents the most commercially valuable basket of rights outside of that held by the major labels, including leading independents such as Koch/E1, XL, Rough Trade, Warp Records, Merge and Redeye, whose artists include chart-topping and award-winning artists such as Arcade Fire, Jim Jones Vampire Weekend and DJ Khaled, amongst thousands of other great music artists.

“Muve Music is a truly exciting development in the US digital music sphere, and we are excited to have our labels represented on the service,” said Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin. “With more than 200,000 customers signed up in such a short time, Muve Music has that independent spirit that our artists embody and we are sure that Muve’s users will enjoy the access they now have to the many amazing artists and labels that our members represent directly on their handheld device.”

How to Get Muve Music
Muve Music is available on the Samsung Vitality, ZTE Score and Samsung Suede at Cricket company-owned stores and at www.mycricket.com, as well as through select partner retail outlets such as Best Buy. Additional accessories are available for purchase including premium headphones, expandable memory an audio jack and Bluetooth adapter to connect to home and car stereos, either wired or wirelessly.

For more information about Muve Music, visit www.muvemusic.com, and for Cricket’s dynamic device lineup, visit www.mycricket.com. To follow Cricket’s latest news and updates online, go to Facebook at www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation. 

About Cricket

Cricket is the pioneer of simple and affordable unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required serving approximately 5.7 million customers. Cricket products are available nationwide. Cricket offers wireless voice and broadband Internet services over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Cricket’s nationwide wireless voice service plans include unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance, as well as a variety of calling features and feature-rich mobile applications such as popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif. For more information on Leap, visit www.leapwireless.com.

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin offers the most efficient means for digital music services to license repertoire from the largest and most compelling basket of independent rights in the world.

Since commencing operations in May 2008, Merlin has struck deals with digital services including Spotify, Rdio, Youtube, Zvooq, MySpace Music, Grooveshark, Simfy, Muzu TV, AT&T, and Eircom. Merlin has also achieved settlements for its members with Grooveshark and XM Satellite radio.

Members include Rough Trade, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc, Redeye, Kontor New Media, Naxos, XL Recordings, Beggars Group, Merge, The Mushroom Group, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1.

Their artists include Adele, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The xx, Neko Case, The National, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Martin Solveig & Dragonette, Tiësto, Scooter and many, many more.

Merlin is not an aggregator. Its members may opt in or out of any deal that it brokers and it is a non-profit organization, with all dividends from its commercial investments being shared among its members.

A global organization, Merlin’s member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums issued 2008–2010, and commanded an 11% digital UK market share in 2009. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin’s repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.

• Long-Awaited Deal is Music to Ears of YouTube Fans
• Antony and the Johnsons, The Prodigy, Yeasayer and Grizzly Bear Among Top Independent Acts Covered Under Deal

Independents’ global rights agency Merlin has agreed a global licensing deal with YouTube.  The agreement unlocks revenues to Merlin’s member labels whenever their official releases, or user-generated videos featuring their repertoire, are played via the YouTube service.

The deal, which commences immediately, gives music fans the green light to use repertoire spanning the best and brightest labels of the independent sector including Earache, Secretly Canadian, Ninja Tune, Cooking Vinyl, Warp, Phonofile, Pschent, Morr Music, !K7 and Inertia. Amongst the thousands of artists covered under the deal, Antony and the Johnsons, Aphex Twin, The Prodigy, Roots Manuva, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer, Suuns and Boards of Canada are some of the more prominent acts whose videos can now be accessed on the YouTube service.

Coming after a long negotiation, the agreement underscores YouTube’s commitment to the independent music sector as well as Merlin’s determination to secure competitive terms on behalf of its members.  It enables the virtual fifth major’s many member labels that have not yet licensed YouTube to harness revenues on what has become an important music destination.

The deal comes at a time when independent music is enjoying unprecedented success on digital services – illustrating that in a market with limitless choice and free of tightly controlled shop windows, fans are increasingly consuming independent music.[1][1]

Said Merlin CEO, Charles Caldas, “We are very pleased to reach an agreement which will allow YouTube’s users to enjoy access to the many amazing artists that our labels represent.”

Chris Maxcy, Head of Global Music Partnerships at YouTube, commented, “We’re continually looking for new ways to connect independent artists with their fans and we’re thrilled to have struck a deal with Merlin that will help us do just that, while compensating them for their efforts at the same time.”

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights, with a global membership including over 14,000 of the world’s most prominent independents.

Since commencing operations in May 2008 Merlin has struck deals with a number of digital services including Rdio, Spotify, MySpace Music, Catch Media, Simfy, and Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity.

Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world and so offers the most efficient means of licensing this repertoire. A global organization, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums issued in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2009. For more information please visit www.merlinnetwork.org.

[1][1] Nielsen statistics for both 2010and 2009 reveal that the US album market share for independents is 57% greater for digital as compared to physical sales. Furthermore, on streaming and subscription services, Merlin members’ usage shares are up to 25% higher on paid for tiers than on free or ad-funded ones. This suggests that users who pay for subscription  services – serious music fans by definition – are even more likely to be found listening to independent music.  Visit http://bit.ly/ldb5Wj for more information.

Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Grizzly Bear, Scooter, She & Him, Spoon, Talib Kweli, The Temper Trap, Tim McGraw among acts available to “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity(TM)” subscribers

LONDON, June 23, 2011

Global rights agency Merlin has partnered with Sony Corporation (“Sony”) to deliver Merlin’s top global artists’ music through Sony’s cloud-based digital music service “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity(TM)” across Sony’s network-enabled devices.

Through this partnership, service subscribers in the U.S., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand are able to enjoy music from Merlin’s top global indie artists including Arctic Monkeys, The Temper Trap, DJ Khaled, Villagers, Jim Jones, Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park, Four Tet, Tim McGraw, and Boards of Canada from independents including Domino, Curb, Merge, Warp, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Epitaph, Naxos, Inertia, Ninja Tune, !K7, Naive, One Little Indian, Kontor, and hundreds more. Merlin’s artists also have an exciting new music platform to reach and monetize music fans.

“We are very excited to see the evolution of innovative cloud-based digital music services like ‘Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity’ in the digital market bringing music to millions of people around the world on a wide range of connected devices,” said Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin. “With the addition of our members’ artists’ repertoire to the catalogue, and the global reach of the Sony service, we believe that the service is well placed to attract a large amount of consumers, generating legitimate revenue for rights holders and taking digital music consumption to the next level of mass market appeal.”

Omnifone provides its award-winning platform services to deliver the service across a range of device platforms, as well as licensing the service with rights holders for Sony in various global markets. Omnifone CEO Jeff Hughes commented, “Having Merlin within the ‘Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity’ global catalogue provides the independent repertoire that dominates the charts in several markets, making Merlin a valuable component of any global music service.”

Sony’s relationship with Merlin is for global distribution of Merlin artists on the Sony service, with Merlin member’s repertoire initially available in nine countries: U.S., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

With Merlin’s members’ digital market share reported at around 10 per cent of the global market, Merlin provides an invaluable solution to digital music services looking to offer their users the world’s most important independent labels.

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin commenced operations in May 2008 and since then has struck deals with a number of digital services including Rdio, Spotify, MySpace Music, Catch Media, Simfy, and Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world and so offers the most efficient means of licensing this repertoire. Members include, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naive, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Kontor New Media, Merge, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1. Their artists include, Arcade Fire, Neko Case, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Tiesto, Scooter and many, many more.

A global organization, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums issued in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2009. For more information please visit www.merlinnetwork.org.

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” Features

“Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is currently available to consumers via Sony’s 2010 and 2011 models of network-enabled BRAVIA® HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc(TM) players, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater systems, as well as the PlayStation®3, PSP(TM) (PlayStation®Portable), personal computers including VAIO® personal computers, Sony Ericsson’s Android-based mobile devices including Xperia(TM) arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia X10, Xperia X8 and Xperia neo, and Android-based third party devices.

With Basic and Premium monthly subscription plans(*1), “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” offers breadth of content, with currently over seven million songs, and easy music discovery features cited as most important by music enthusiasts.

The Basic plan works as an infinite ad-free radio station and subscribers can listen to dozens of personalized channels – categorized by genre, era as well as mood through SensMe(TM) (*2). Furthermore, users can also scan and match their owned music files and playlists from other media players including iTunes® to the “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” catalogue and enjoy their existing music at any time across all compatible devices(*3).

Additionally, the Premium subscription plan enables users to search and listen in full to every song on the catalogue on demand, create personal playlists of favorites, and gain access to premium Top 100 channels which are regularly updated with the latest hits.

By studying users’ listening habits, incorporating their ‘like/dislike’ song ratings, analyzing their existing music collections and more, “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” adapts to users’ music preferences and constantly tailors music channels to offer the most compatible and enjoyable list of songs. Therefore, the more you listen, the more uniquely personalized your music channels become.

(*1) Basic service offering is $3.99, 3.99 pounds Sterling, euro 3.99, AU$4.99, NZ$5.99 per month; Premium service is $9.99, 9.99 pounds Sterling, euro 9.99, AU$12.99, NZ$13.99 per month

(*2) SensMe(TM) is Sony’s proprietary 12 Tone Analysis technology to evaluate music tracks

(*3) Applies to DRM-free music files and to music which has been licensed for playback on “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity”

“Qriocity(TM),” “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity(TM),” “Bravia®,” “VAIO®,” “Music Sync(TM)” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation

“PlayStation®” and “PSP®” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

“SensMe(TM)” are trademarks of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB

“Blu-ray Disc(TM)” is a trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association

‘”iTunes®” is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.

SOURCE Merlin

Senior Executives at Epitaph, E1, Yep Roc/Redeye and Domino USA join US Board

New members including Sub Pop, Merge, Naxos of America add further weight to roster of over 14,000 labels

20th June 2011:- Global rights agency Merlin has voted four new US members to its board in a recent member election.  The appointments, from some of the leading US independents, are:

• Dave Hansen, General Manager, Epitaph (Weezer, New Found Glory)
• William Crowley, VP Digital & Mobile, E1 Entertainment (formerly Koch) (Moby, Joan Osborne, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)
• Kris Gillespie, General Manager, Domino USA (Arctic Monkeys, Animal Collective, Franz Ferdinand)
• Glenn Dicker, Co-owner, Yep Roc Records (Nick Lowe, Liam Finn) / Redeye Distribution (Acony, Daptone, Alive, Warp, Barsuk)

The four new board members join longstanding members Tom Silverman, founder of Tommy Boy Records and Bob Frank, President of syndication network Qello (former President of E1) on the US board, both of whom were re-elected in the recent ballot. The first meeting of the new board takes place today, Monday 20^th June, in New York.

The election comes after a period of strong membership growth which has seen significant US labels including Merge Records (Arcade Fire, Spoon, She & Him), Sup Pop (Fleet Foxes), Naxos of America, Secretly Canadian Distribution, Jagjaguwar (Bon Iver), Thrill Jockey, Latin Cool Records, Righteous Babe and Music Media Mexico join the likes of Beggars/Matador, Saddlecreek, Victory and distributors Redeye/Yeproc, Virtual Label and United for Opportunity as Merlin members. Merlin’s global membership now includes over 14,000 of the world’s most prominent independents.

Newly elected board member Dave Hansen will draw on his 25 years of experience in independent music, William Crowley meanwhile has managed Koch and E1’s digital music initiatives over the past decade leading to his current position.

Glenn Dicker helped lead Redeye to become the 2nd largest independent distributor in the US, meanwhile Kris Gillespie has been part of Domino’s US operations for eight of its ten years of existence, previously holding positions at Matador, Warp and Rough Trade labels.

Said Kris Gillespie “It is an honor to be joining Merlin, especially at this critical juncture in our industry’s history.  The organization has done a commendable job fighting for the independent sector and looking out for our rights while tackling the issues that are challenging every strata of the music business and I look forward to contributing to those efforts.”

Commented Glenn Dicker “I’m pleased to have the opportunity to dig deeper into the issues that face the independent community and participate in helping find equitable solutions for our important content holders.”

Bob Frank added “It’s been an honor to be a part of Merlin and watch it grow from an idea to a thriving and important part of the music business.  Equally rewarding is being a part of this passionate team of global executives.”

Martin Mills said, Chairman Merlin, Beggars Group “I am delighted that these elections have strengthened our representation in the front line of the campaign to have new digital services succeed through treating independent repertoire properly.”

Charles Caldas Merlin CEO commented “These new appointments from our US membership add an inestimable amount of knowledge, experience and value to the Merlin board. The growth in our membership underlines the growing importance of Merlin to the independent community and I look forward to continuing to work with this board as we face the challenges ahead.”

The board is split equally across Merlin’s three operational territories – with five each from North America, Europe, rest of the world – to ensure the company fully represents the varied geographical needs of the sector.

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin commenced operations in May 2008. Since then it has struck deals with a number of digital services including Spotify, Rdio, MySpace Music and Simfy. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global independent rights in the world. Members include Merge Records, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Kontor New Media, Beggars Group, Sub-Pop, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1. Their artists include Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The XX, Neko Case, The National, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Tiësto, Scooter and many many more.

A global organization, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums released in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2010. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.

www.merlinnetwork.org

In response to some media speculation that independent labels are being offered a discriminatory licensing rate for the new iCloud service, Charles Caldas, CEO independents’ rights agency Merlin says:

“Apple is the most experienced player in the digital music space and has long understood the value of independents to the success of iTunes. We have absolutely no reason to believe that Apple (unlike other services) has either not materially recognised the integral value of independents to their new service or does not plan to pay them fairly and equitably.”

Merlin is unable to comment on any aspect of the negotiations, which given Apple’s position running the world’s longest-standing digital music service, with existing direct deals with the vast majority of the world’s independent record labels, are a direct matter between Apple and its licensees.

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

• 22 artists represented by Merlin members score number 1s in at least one major territory – more than 50 Merlin member artists bag top 5 albums in 2010/2011
• US Albums market share for independents is 57% greater for digital than physical sales
• Paid tier usage of Merlin repertoire on streaming services outstrips free tier use by 20%

“Services that are serious about providing their customers a compelling product … would do well to take the time to understand the new dynamic for indies in the digital market.” –Charles Caldas

May 20^th 2011, London:- Global rights agency Merlin has announced the results of a member survey showing a bumper crop of mainstream chart success for its members worldwide.

The survey reflects a year which saw #1 US chart success and a Best Album Grammy win for Arcade Fire, Adele’s record breaking UK run and worldwide success, and chart topping performances by independent artists in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, and Norway.

Chart successes

In the period from January 2010 to March 2011, over 50 albums released on Merlin member labels reached top 5 chart positions (18 of those at #1) in charts1 across the world including in the USA, France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Australia, Norway, Spain, and Belgium. In all, more than 65 independent artists, including Adele, Arcade Fire, The National, Spoon, The Strokes, Social Distortion, and Vampire Weekend reached the top 5 in national album and single charts across the territories surveyed.

These figures shatter the myth that the independent sector represents “long-tail”, specialist repertoire that is somehow of inferior value in the market.

Digital market share

Nielsen statistics for both 2009 and 2010² reveal that the US album market share for independents is 57% greater for digital as compared to physical sales – underlining the fact that in a market with limitless shelf space and freedom of choice, and free of the tightly controlled store fronts of physical retail, mainstream music consumers are increasingly discovering and purchasing independent music. Merlin is seeing usage shares for its members’ repertoire on licensed streaming and subscription services at levels that reflect, at least, those reported in the Nielsen report.

Over-indexing on premium streams

Furthermore, on streaming and subscription services, Merlin members’ usage shares are significantly higher on paid for tiers than on free or ad-funded tiers. Specifically, in Q1 2011, Merlin members’ tracks were streamed over 750 million times across Rdio, Spotify, MySpace Music, Simfy, Eircom, and (all services with which Merlin has concluded deals). Merlin members’ combined share of streams on free/limited tiers on these services was 10.5% of all streams. However, moving to premium tiers, Merlin’s share rose from 10.5% to 12.25% – higher by 17% than on free/limited tiers. In some territories, the increase seen in Merlin member usage from free to premium tiers was as high as 27%. This illustrates that users who pay for subscription services – serious music fans by definition – are even more likely to be found listening to independent music.

Said Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin, “This survey once again highlights the value of Merlin members’ repertoire. The chart success of our members in these major markets underlines the fact that independent repertoire is absolutely as valuable to consumers as that of our major label competitors. Our data clearly indicates that consumers demonstrate higher levels of demand for this repertoire on digital services than in the physical world and higher levels of demand on paid for-tiers than on free. More than ever, these facts emphasize the vital importance of this repertoire to any service with serious ambitions in the digital realm.

“Services that are serious about providing their customers a compelling product that encourages them to pay, and stick around, would do well to take the time to understand the new dynamic for indies in the digital market, and analyze carefully what their customers are demanding.”

Notes for editors

¹ Merlin member official chart number 1s – Highlights:

• USA – Arcade Fire (also Canada), Vampire Weekend
• Germany – Martin Solveig & Dragonette, Die Atzen Frauenarzt & Manny Marc
• UK – Adele (Also USA, 15 other countries)
• Australia – Bliss N Eso
• Norway – Stella Mwangi, Kalzers Orchestra, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Vamp, Motorpsycho, John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen, Gitarkameratene
• Spain – Alexandra Stan, Yolanda Be Cool, Elena, Edward Maya
• Belgium – Regi, Tom Dice, Tim Berg

² The Nielsen Company & Billboard’s 2010 Music Industry Report, published on Jan 6 2011

About Merlin

Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world’s most important set of independent music rights. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.

Merlin offers the most efficient means for digital music services to license repertoire from the largest and most compelling basket of independent rights in the world.

Since commencing operations in May 2008, Merlin has struck deals with digital services including Spotify, Rdio, Zvooq, MySpace Music, Grooveshark, Simfy, Audiotube, Catch Media, Muzu TV, iMesh and Eircom. Merlin has also achieved settlements for its members with Grooveshark and XM Satellite radio.

Members include Rough Trade, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Kontor New Media, Naxos, XL Recordings, Beggars Group, Merge, The Mushroom Group, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1.

Their artists include Adele, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The XX, Neko Case, The National, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Martin Solveig & Dragonette, Tiësto, Scooter and many, many more.

Merlin is not an aggregator. Its members may opt in or out of any deal that it brokers and it is a non-profit organisation, with all dividends from its commercial investments being shared among its members.

A global organisation, Merlin’s member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums issued 2008–2010, and commanded an 11% digital UK market share in 2009. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin’s repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.