U.K. STREAMING STUDY SETS SAIL

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially launched its study into music streaming.

As announced in October, the study will scrutinize whether competition within the music-streaming sector is “working well.” Further information revealed today indicates that it will explore a “range of factors,” including:

• The nature of competition at different levels of the value chain, including the extent to which music companies and music-streaming services may have market power
• The extent to which the publishing arms of recorded-music companies strengthen any market power of such music companies
• Possible barriers to entry and expansion that may be faced by smaller and newer music companies and music-streaming services, particularly those seeking to introduce disruptive business models or services
• The relationships and agreements among music companies and music-streaming services and whether they impact competition, innovation and consumer outcomes
• The range of music-streaming business models, including ad-funded music streaming, premium subscriptions and user-uploaded content platforms such as YouTube and how they compete with one another
• How sector developments could change competitive dynamics
• Whether business practices adopted by music-streaming services (how they collect and use consumer data, for example) harm consumers, especially as more adopt music streaming

If the CMA identifies competition concerns or consumer issues, it will consider further action.

The study will be conducted over the next year by gathering evidence from a “wide range” of stakeholders. An update will be provided in six months, with the final report in 12.