New York - Merlin, a new trade body founded a year ago with the aim of representing the rights of independent labels worldwide, announced on Wednesday that its membership has grown to over 12,000 labels, representing over 8% of the U.S. market -- equal to that of major label EMI Music. The group claims to now be in essence a "fifth major label," and said it is currently in discussions with Last.fm (NYSE: CBS) and MySpace (NYSE: NWS), as well as other major digital companies, to ensure competitive remuneration for independents worldwide.

Los Angeles - Merlin, a newly-created trade group that will represent independent record labels in online negotiations worldwide, on Monday announced its official launch and the appointment of a 15-member board.

LATV, a bilingual music and entertainment network distributed via digital multicast, announced today the appointment of Bill Jenkins as Vice President of Advertising Sales. Jenkins will roll out the network's nationwide sales program as well as oversee the local sales at LATV Los Angeles affiliate KJLA.
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Cannes, France - A consortium of the world's independent record labels have joined to form Merlin, a new licensing agency that will release music from the labels that represent 30% of the world's music market to digital services.