Merlin Honoured By Spanish Government

MERLIN, the global rights agency representing independent labels and artists and virtual fifth major, has been honoured at the International Forum on Digital Content (FICOD) in Madrid. The award for "Improving Competition For Independent Music Companies", presented to Merlin board member Mark Kitcatt by Sr. D. Miguel Sebastian, Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, recognises the work that Merlin is doing to enhance the ability of independents to access the online space, and to develop the digital market.Speaking from London, Charles Caldas, Merlin CEO said “We are delighted to have received this award and that the tremendous efficiency and global reach that Merlin provides those wishing to license the world’s most exciting and commercially valuable independent repertoire has been recognised.” “This is an important validation of the work we are doing and hopefully the start of a broader recognition of the importance of Merlin at the highest levels of government.”Announced at MIDEM in 2007, Merlin was officially launched in May 2008 when it received its members’ mandate. Since then Merlin has been actively involved in negotiations with a number of digital services and in October 2008 announced its first deal with the newly launched music streaming service Spotify. With over 12,000 members Merlin represents the largest and most important collection of independent music rights in the world, with a US market share of over 9%, equivalent to that of the smaller majors.Now in its second year FICOD has quickly established itself as a meeting point for professionals in the fields of television, advertising, film, music, video games, digital publishing, online training, user-generated content (UGC), digital journalism and interactive advertising.Download a PDF of this press release from here.