Come together.

Desperate, music firms are pairing off. Music executives prefer to talk of synergy, rationalisation and strength through partnership. But the fact is that big music firms are in deep trouble because sales are falling fast; merging is one of the few things they can think of doing. Selling up altogether may appeal even more--as Vivendi, a French conglomerate, until recently hoped to do with its Universal Music Group, the biggest music firm. Time Warner is expected to announce soon the sale of all or most of its Warner Music Group. Time Warner could sell this to Haim Saban, a media entrepreneur, and Edgar Bronfman, a former owner of Universal Music Group, who both have cash from private equity firms. They are thought to be primarily interested in the music-publishing part of the business, which is not afflicted to the same degree as recorded music, but they would buy the entire business if they could get it cheaply enough. Music executives wonder whether Sony's and Bertelsmann's announcement, which was about nothing more than a non-binding letter of intent, was designed simply to spoil things for EMI and Warner. The top five music companies have 83% of the music market in America, 78% in Europe and 75% globally, according to Sanford C. Bernstein, a broker. In the coming months, senior music executives may spend as much time hyping up the harmful effects of piracy on their business as they will fighting it.