Division (32)
United Kingdom
Third parties have raised concerns that, as a result of the transaction, Sony could obtain a position of single dominance on the national markets for distribution of online music via its Sony Connect music downloading service. It has been submitted that Sony could use the control of the joint venture to foreclose competitors in the downstream market for distribution of online music, in particular by denying competing online platforms access to the joint venture’s library or by engaging in discriminatory behaviour vis-à-vis its competitors, e.g. by means of usage rules, time of release of new songs and the track format.