Last September, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved Universal Music Group's buyout of EMI. Since then, the two record companies have been merging their operations worldwide. In Japan, the combined Universal-EMI entity will have a market share of between 15 percent and 20 percent.

Is this a good thing? Or has the merger created an unwieldy dinosaur ill-equipped to deal with an industry that needs a new business model in order to survive?

The merger is presumably good news for stockholders hoping to maximize the return on their investment in the two companies. But it could well be bad news for artists and managers, as well as employees who may be given the pink slip as the new entity restructures the companies' operations.