VIVENDI, SONY AND A PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER

Jean-Marie Messier, international man of mystery, told analysts earlier this month that Vivendi Universal and Sony may add a third partner to Duet, its announced digital music distribution joint venture. He didn't say anything about changing the name to Trio, however, after learning Rob Wasserman held the patent on that name.

In a note to clients, analyst Edourd Tetreau of Credit Lyonnais Securities Europe said that the Vivendi Universal Chairman divulged the information over a breakfast sponsored by Credit Lyonnais. According to Tetreau, Messier said that combined Universal Music, Sony and this "third partner" have a 70% worldwide marketshare, though it wasn't stated if Messier was talking about BMG, Warner Music Group or EMI.

Year-to-date, Universal's U.S. marketshare is 28% and Sony's is 17%. That makes 45%, give or take some "time honored record industry accounting." BMG's is 16%, WMG's is 12% and EMI's is 11%. Math ain't our strong subject, but WMG makes more sense than BMG, thanks to Bertelesmann's Napster investment and the protracted EMI-BMG merger attempt. Then again, WMG parent company AOL obviously has its own online music distribution initiative in the works.

Tetreau wrote that they might add the third by June of this year, "Duet is not a closed private club, but an open structure, ready to welcome a third player aside from Universal Music and Sony. And who hasn't fantasized about what we French call a menage a trois?"