The LA Times printed an op-ed yesterday that made a case in favor of a combined Sony BMG, saying the company has a stronger case now that it does two years ago. "Europeans' Same Old Tune on Mergers" comes as European regulators are giving the 2004 merger of Sony and BMG a second look.

The Times gets a bit carried away when it proclaims "the barriers to entering the music business and building an audience have all but evaporated" and has a stronger case when arguing that digital distribution "doesn't favor bureaucratic conglomerates." And the facts don't lie: Sony BMG's market share has dropped in the last two years.