Indie artist services company has released
music by acts including Nick Cave and Finneas
Britain’s competition watchdog has raised concerns over Sony Music Entertainment’s $430m (£312m) deal to buy AWAL, the artist services company that has released music by artists including Little Simz, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the distribution of recorded music in the
UK was dominated by three big groups – Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music – and the deal could lead to worse deals for musicians. Had the deal not gone ahead, AWAL could have continued to grow into a significant alternative competitor, the CMA said.