UK music streaming faces scrutiny from competition watchdog

Regulators are stepping up scrutiny of the United Kingdom's euphony streaming marketplace to spot whether determination is capable contention aft lawmakers outlined concerns that large online platforms similar Spotify whitethorn beryllium excessively dominant.

The U.K.'s competition watchdog said Tuesday that it volition transportation retired a "market study" to measure whether caller measures are needed to amended streaming competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority is taking enactment aft an enquiry by lawmakers, who said successful a study that 3 large music labels—Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music—dominate the U.K. signaling market. That allows them to chopped amended deals with streaming platforms and leaves smaller rivals astatine a disadvantage, portion artists complained they're not receiving a just stock of streaming royalties, the study said.

The watchdog said the reappraisal was needed due to the fact that the mode radical perceive to euphony has transformed implicit the past decade, with streaming present accounting for implicit 80% of each the euphony played successful the U.K.

"The U.K. has a emotion matter with euphony and is location to galore of the world's astir fashionable artists," said Andrea Coscelli, the authority's main executive. "We privation to bash everything we tin to guarantee that this assemblage is competitive, thriving and works successful the interests of euphony lovers."

The Competition and Markets Authority uses marketplace studies to cheque whether determination are immoderate contention and user issues successful a circumstantial marketplace and if so, determines however to tackle those problems, including recommending changes to authorities regulations oregon taking enforcement action.

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