Wolydor? Record Majors Merge

Rip It Up, Issue 72, 1 July 1983, Page 4

Wolydor? Record Majors Merge

A merger between two of the world's largest record companies, WEA and Polygram, seems unlikely to significantly affect the record buyer in this country. The "restructuring" of the two companies was officially announced on June 29. The Dutch-German Philips/Siemens group (Polydor, Mercury, Philips, Deutsche Grammaphon, London labels) has agreed to alter shareholdings with New York's WCI group (Warner Bros, Elektra/Asylum and Atlantic in the USA, represented by WEA international elsewhere). There will be a Warner/Polygram company for territories outside the USA of which WCI will own 50 per cent and a US company, of which WCI will own 80 per cent. Philips will be WCl's principal partner in the new companies, with Siemens substantially decreasing its shareholding in the recorded music field. "It will affect distribution and manufacturing of our product in that we will discuss rationalisation. But it will not impact on competitive areas creative, marketing and sales," said Nigel Sandiford, General Manager of Polygram New Zealand. "If we combine in those areas we will only lose business, we'd rather have two bites of the apple." Sandiford expects the two companies to operate as separate label groups possibly retaining their existing names separate in the sense that Polygram-owned labels London, Polydor and Phonogram operate competitively from separate locations in London.

He sees the situation in New Zealand as quite dissimilar to the United States or Europe where one particular partner is clearly bigger (Warners in USA and Polygram in Europe) and large parallel systems of manufacture and distribution exist.