Some large indie record labels, including Beggars Group, announced the formation of Merlin, which will be a non-profit licensing collective composed of indie labels and act as a '5th' major label by aggregating the clout of its members. In conjunction with their formation, they announced a deal with Snocap to sell MP3 tracks on MySpace (via Snocap's MySpace integration).
Indie labels have felt slighted at getting a lower share from online sales than their major label brethren, which tend to have parity amongst themselves via controversial MFN clauses in their licensing deals. Merlin represents their attempt to fix this by banding together. They timed it well, although it sounds like they rushed the announcement to make it during Midem as they don't yet have a staff or website.
If they do get any traction, they could affect existing online distributors like IODA, the Orchard and the Digital Music Group, all of which aggregate digital rights from many indie labels and license them to retail platforms. Merlin could also compete with the distribution arms of major labels, such as Warner Music's ADA, that work with indie labels to distribute and monetize their content through physical and digital means.
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