The EU could block new paid music download services like Pressplay and Musicnet because they would be anti-competitive and would unfairly dominate the market.
Pressplay and MusicNet - owned by the five major record labels plus other media companies - hope to meet the demand for tunes stored on computer files, which is seen as a key area of future music sales. |
But their planned autumn launches have now been postponed, the paper reports.
The industry says it will not put a stranglehold on the market
"These record companies do not throw money into black holes and the commission fears that if they come together, it could make them into a cartel and make it virtually impossible for a rival model to compete," European competition lawyer Peter Alexiadis told the paper.
Source: BBC.co.uk
