Merlin Network
Merlin Network is a digital rights agency for independent record labels. It was started in 2007 with Charles Caldas as the chief executive. The agency reportedly has a membership of over 20,000 independent record labels and distributors from approximately 62 countries.History
Merlin was launched in early 2007 at the Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale in Cannes; Charles Caldas was the first chief executive. The organisation had already reached a distribution agreement with Snocap, through which music from its artists would be available for download from MySpace.
The agency has negotiated settlements for copyright infringement with distributors such as Grooveshark, Limewire and XM Satellite Radio. Its content has been distributed through Deezer, Pandora Music, SoundCloud, Spotify, Vevo, YouTube Premium and other services.
In February 2013, Merlin and IMPALA signed an agreement with Warner Music Group after it acquired Parlophone, to transfer 30% of that label's value to Merlin and IMPALA members. The divestment ended on 30 September 2017.
In March 2018 the company entered into agreements with three major Chinese streaming services – NetEase, Xiami Music and Tencent – for digital music distribution in China.
