On the eve of tomorrow’s “informational” hearing on theUMG–EMI merger by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, several movers & shakers have given the deal a thumbs up…

Sean Parker: In an interview yesterday at the New Music Seminar in N.Y., Tommy Silverman asked the Napster,Facebook and Spotify hotshot what he thought of the Universal-EMI merger. Parker replied, “After witnessing 12 years of the music industry languishing in a difficult transitional period, Universal buying EMI is ultimately a good thing for an industry that needs leadership willing to drive change.”

Katy Perry, warming up to the idea after taking a defiant stance during NARM last month: “What I like about Universal is that, for the first time in a long while, we’ll have real music people owning EMI, who understand its rich legacy and want to invest in me and it to make it even better for the artists and fans. I’ve met with Lucian Grainge and heard that he wants to keep EMI as a separate entity alongside Universal, which could be a very smart thing to do considering how great the EMI team are. I have had great success with EMI and look forward to great successes with Universal. ”

Dave Holmes, manager of Coldplay, one of EMI’s biggest artists: “I look forward to working with the Universal team. They have assembled the most talented group of executives in the industry today, and their success speaks for itself. This can only be a positive for the artists and executives at EMI.”

David Robkin, CEO of the Nashville-based indie labelBigger Picture Group, recently told The Tennesseanthat the merger might even help independent labels, which attract artists precisely because they aren’t big, mainstream companies. “We’re competing not necessarily based on dollars, but based on time available and creativity and flexibility, and I think that’s something that as companies consolidate and get bigger,” he said. “it actually creates opportunity for us.”

Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Co-National Executive Director,SAG-AFTRA, speaking on behalf of the entire union: “We believe that the pending acquisition of EMI by UMG warrants favorable consideration by the [European]Commission. The devastation of the music industry over the past decade is unparalleled in any other sector of the entertainment and media industries.”

Tomorrow’s hearing, featuring such luminaries as Lucian Grainge, Roger Faxon, Irving Azoff, Edgar Bronfmanand Martin Mills, will be webcast live at 1:30 p.m. EDT/10:30 a.m. PDT. Stream the webcast here. –Hits Daily Double