Europe antitrust officials: regulators may need to impose new rules for online-music sales
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Sep 17, 2008 at 4:15pm
Europe’s top antitrust official told Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Mick Jagger, and other industry executives that regulators may need to impose new rules for online-music sales.
The European Union might have to “step in’’ unless artists, companies and consumer groups that have clashed over online sales find a better way to distribute digital music in Europe, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, said at a closed-door meeting in Brussels today.
“The music industry can reach sensible solutions, allowing simple, workable licensing systems to be created,’’ he added. “But if a solution to the problems we face today is not found, then the music industry can hardly complain if regulators or enforcers step in.’’
Also present were Alcatel-Lucent SA CEO Ben Verwaayen, who chaired the meeting. EBay CEO John Donahoe, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA Chairman Bernard Arnault, EMI Music Publishing CEO Roger Faxon and Thomas Houghton of U.K. consumer group Which?. Kroes said the group agreed that Europe-wide solutions are needed.
“Consumers see the Internet, and the borders that exist online, and feel that they are not getting a fair deal,’’ Kroes said. Read the complete report here.
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
