Division (30)

The Commission notes that the market for legal online music is currently in a state of infancy as most of the sites for online music have only recently started operations in the EEA. It is therefore difficult to definitively conclude on the market positions of the major record companies, particularly in relation to national markets. In addition, the information on actually downloaded or streamed songs does not appear to give a clear picture of the different players’ market positions and no public industry data is available. However, on the basis of the information received by the Commission, it can be concluded that the market position of the major record companies on the wholesale market for licences for online music appears to be by and large similar to their position on the markets for recorded music.