Rdio: A Statement by Merlin CEO Charles Caldas
Said Merlin CEO Charles Caldas, in response to this morning’s launch of Rdio across North America:
“It is incredibly disappointing that Rdio have launched their new service across North America without having finalized a deal for the world’s most important independent labels and artists.
“We are surprised that a service, whose success would seem dependent on offering its consumers a comprehensive choice of repertoire, would launch without giving those consumers access to the leading global independent labels we represent, and their artists.”
Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world's most important set of independent recorded music rights, equivalent to that of the smaller majors. Members include Rough Trade, Warp Records, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Kontor New Media, Beggars Group, [PIAS] Entertainment Group, !K7, Merge, Domino and Koch/E1. Their artists include Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The XX, Neko Case, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, The National, Tom Waits, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Tiësto and many many more.
About Merlin
Merlin, the virtual fifth major, represents the world's most important set of independent music rights. Merlin commenced operations in May 2008. Since then it has struck deals with a number of digital services including Spotify, MySpace Music, Sky Songs, Catch Media and Simfy. Merlin seeks to ensure its members have effective access to new and emerging revenue streams and that their rights are appropriately valued and protected.
Merlin represents by far the largest and most compelling basket of global
independent rights in the world, and so offers the most efficient means of licensing this repertoire. Members include Rough Trade, Warp Records, Epitaph, Naïve, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Yep Roc/Red Eye, Kontor New Media, Beggars Group, Merge, !K7, PIAS, Domino and Koch/E1, whose artists include Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The XX, Neko Case, The National, Tom Waits, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, DJ Khaled, Dorrough, Tiësto and many many more.
A global organization, its members’ market share in the US alone is reported at around 10%, equivalent to that of the smaller major labels, whilst in Europe member labels released 72% of the top 60 independent albums released in the past three years and commanded a 11% digital UK market share in 2009. Most recently, streaming service Spotify publicly announced that Merlin repertoire represented over 10% of the usage on its service.
www.merlinnetwork.org