As businesses merge and grow to these kinds of sizes, competition becomes irrelevant and quality isn't a prime concern.
"Right now we can tell you a report was filed by the family of a 12 year old boy yesterday afternoon alleging Mr. Michael Jackson of criminal activity. A search warrant has been filed and that search is currently taking place. Mr. Jackson has not been charged with any crime. We cannot specifically address the content of the police report as it is confidential information at the present time, however, we can confirm that Mr. Jackson forced the boy to listen to the Howard Stern show and watch the movie Private Parts over and over again."
I dont know much about the music industry but consolodations usually end up meaning higher costs for the customer and layoffs for employees. Nothing to be happy about. The only case when they are good is when there isnt enough customer base to keep two companies alive.
Sony + BMG = ......well I don't know. From the looks of it, it seems only the music aspect of Sony is getting affected. And I don't really use Sony products anyway.
Sony and BMG are already both members of the RIAA. Since it's the RIAA that's doing all the pricefixing and whatnot, I don't see this having much impact--for now.
If the RIAA is broken up, Sony-BMG will be the biggest record company left, which I don't see as a good thing.