The Associated Press is reporting today that TIME/WARNER and EMI RECORDS are to formally announce their merger as soon as this week. The long-rumoured merger will create the combined WARNER/EMI label. So what does it mean for fans like us? Well, the positive angle of the merger is that the new label will likely make gigantic strides towards Internet sales, as both Warner and EMI have been two of the most outspoken advocates of using the Internet as a sales tool. The bad side? Well, it means the Big Five are now the Big Four -- Warner/EMI, Sony, Universal, and Bertelsmann... and that might spell even MORE trouble for smaller bands breaking through to the bigtime; less competition yields less diversity. We'll just have to play it by ear, and play it LOUD at that.