Brussels - The European Commission has approved the merger of major record labels Sony Music and BMG, concluding its second review of the deal found no threat to competition.

The Commission's first approval of the 2004 merger was annulled by Europe's Court of First Instance, which found "manifest errors of assessment."

The Commission said its second review also examined the marketplace from 2004 to today, including "alleged coordination on budgets, on the pricing of each title, on pricing policy, on chart album prices, on access to retailers, on access to airplay, on chart rules, on release date, on coordination at the level of publishing activities" of physical CDs and the digital market between 2002 and 2006.

"We found no evidence to support any theory of actual or likely anti-competitive effects of this merger," said Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition Policy.

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