Warner Music Group has started the process of divesting some of its artist and catalogue in order to satisfy the deal it made with Impala and Merlin after acquiring Parlophone Records last year.

The agreement was created to ensure that independent labels can leverage Warner assets to claim more market share in future - and close the gap between themselves and the majors.

Less than one-third of the value of the Parlophone deal (£487m) will be sold, according to Billboard ...