Looks like its the Big Four: EU Approves Sony-BMG Merger (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

Late word from Continental Europe:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news...ews&tkr=SNE:US

25% market share. Wow! This might help expand hirez production.

 

[Rachael B]

Burrito grande, si?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Looks like we are approaching a possible decision on the MGM bid with Time Warner possibly in the lead at the moment.

 

[Michael K Hill]

This is good news - right?

 

[Sathyan]

BMG is RCA Living Stereo right?

Between Sony's Columbia and BMG's RCA that's pretty much the catalogue of American classical recordings.

 

[Seth--L]

Too bad both of these labels are totally incompetent when it comes to properly reusing their back catalogue. Both labels have fallen into a rut of simply repackaging the same recordings over and over again since the late 90s instead of reissuing OOP recordings (though recently Sony France and Japan and BMG Japan have been doing a good job of bring recordings back into print, giving many their first ever CD release).

It would be spiffy if this new mega label took advantage of the fact that they now control nearly Eugene Ormandy's entire vast discography. For instance, they could package all of his Shostakovich recordings that he made for RCA and Columbia/CBS into a single box (as SACD hybrids of course). But that’s never going to happen.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Eugene who?

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Guess that also means only one record club now...

 

[Sathyan]

Does this mean anything for XRCDs? Many RCA Living stereos have been reissued by JVC but I don't know if Sony participates.

 

[Rachael B]

Reducing market control down to fewer hands is proably bad for consumers in the long run, IMO. It's not like Sony has been at all consumer friendly. I keep reading how they're cheaping out on DVD transfers as of late and of course it seems the same to me with recorded music.

I don't think this is going to lead to more music releases, proably less...? As far as hi-rez goes, Sony has been poor to mostly poor. How does this change that?

 

[Seth--L]

Yep. There is no doubt that Decca/London, Philips, and DG were all better labels before UMG ate them up.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Normally I would agree but in this case it may serve to make the overall music business healthier.

Unfortunately, the critical process of artist development may forever be lost compared to what it was historically. That may create an advantage for artists centric labels like Chesky Records, etc.

 

[Rachael B]

Lee, I don't see how the music business can be considered a healthy olgiopoly until Sony and Warner quit feuding. All the indie labels combined make about 25% of the market. Chesky is just a little bleep, like a starling would look on a doppler radar. Efecto nada, es mi pensar por Chesky...