EMI-BMG, AGAIN?

As rumors that the Sony-BMG negotiations are having problems spread, reports that EMI may want to talk with Bertelsmann again are surfacing.

According to today's Financical Times, snags in the negotiations between Sony and Bertie over a joint venture of their music groups has led to renewed interest from EMI, which has not “ruled out” resuming talks with BMG. EMI was negotiating with BMG before moving on to Warner Bros., which, of course, left EMI for Edgar Bronfman’s consortium.

However, the story says, EMI won’t jump into the fray and disrupt BMG-Sony negotiations. They are “monitoring” the discussions and don’t want to be seen as jumping from one deal to another. But the effect of saying they’re still interested in BMG could be disruption. Or it could merely be a minor distraction on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Either way, there’s action to come.