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Time Warner Inc. could decide on a suitor for its music unit as early as next week, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Time Warner executives have met or are expected to meet this week with executives from both EMI Group Plc and a consortium that includes media moguls Edgar Bronfman Jr., one-time owner of Seagram, and Haim Saban, a children's entertainment magnate, sources said.

"Time Warner executives are expected to weigh the bids and make a recommendation to the board a week from Thursday," one source said. Time Warner's board of directors has a regularly scheduled board meeting on Nov. 20.

But another source familiar said a decision may take as much as a month to make, noting the situation was still fluid.

Time Warner, Warner Music and Saban's spokespeople declined to comment. EMI and Bronfman's spokespeople were not immediately available to comment.

Sony Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG said last week they would merge in what could be the beginning of broader consolidation in the industry. In a smaller deal, Universal Music, the world's largest record label, said earlier on Tuesday it would buy Dreamworks Records for an estimated $100 million.

Sales have fallen sharply in the last couple of years as a result of online file-sharing services like KaZaa and entertainment alternatives like video games and DVDs. Weak retail sales growth has also been a factor.

EMI is offering $1 billion for a majority stake in Warner's recorded music unit and would exclude the publishing arm Warner Chappell, sources have said. Time Warner would retain a minority in the recorded music unit.

The Bronfman-Saban group is assembling a bid northward of $2 billion for both the recorded music and publishing units. Its backers include private equity firms Thomas H. Lee, Providence Equity Partners and Bain Capital.

One source familiar with the matter said EMI has a slight edge. But the source noted, "Time Warner is in discussions with a number of parties regarding the music assets."

Another source said, "It's difficult to handicap the bids at this point. If Time Warner believes the music industry will rebound, it will want to keep a minority stake in EMI. If it wants more cash up front and a smoother ride through the regulatory process, it will go with the other group."

Several knowledgeable sources have questioned whether European regulators will allow the music industry to consolidate from five major players to three.

But it remains to be seen if regulators will torpedo both deals, give preference to Sony-BMG for being the first one through the door, or allow both deals to go through considering the weak state of the music industry.

Both European and US regulators have blocked earlier attempts to merge two of the world's top five music labels.

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