Personally, I believe the DRM(Digital Rights Management) software fiasco for SonyBMG might have been completely avoided-but only if U.S. anti-trust law had been much more vigorously applied. In fact, applied to the point that the merger between Sony and BMG would not have been allowed. Why some industries are not permitted mergers while other industry mergers are disallowed has always perplexed me. To me, there isn't much difference, if any at all, between the Sony merger with BMG and the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot. Yet, the proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot was disallowed, while the merger of Sony and BMG was permitted. These things seem to either be decided on a whim sometimes...or much more likely, "payola" of the political variety instead of the "music payola" variety.
A link to SonyBMG's proposed settlement to class action lawsuits over the "stealth" rootkit installation to music consumer's computers from SonyBMG music CDs
http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_3354881
Explanation of an oligopoly link
http://www.oligopolywatch.com
Three-webpage article on the music industry as an oligopoly before the merger of Sony and BMG.
http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2003/06/28.html
Record producer Steve Albini's essay, "The Problem with Music" on how the business end of the music biz currently operates
http://www.negativland.com/albini.html



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