Retuers has an article on Thomas H. Lee Partners' Scott Sperling that offers some thoughts on EMI from the Warner Music Group shareholder. (Sperling also sits on WMG's Board of Directors.)

"We want to be very realistic about what we would be buying and what we could do with the company, (as) the base level of profitability and the growth becomes increasingly problematic.

"EMI has announced a series of disappointing results and we don't see it turning around."

We have to look for hints about Sperling's feelings on DRM, and this quote leads me to believe piracy is still high on his list of worries: "The fundamental demand for music continues to grow," Sperling said, but whether consumers are "going to pay for it or steal it is the question."