No Rock And Roll Fun

BONY'S EMPIRE TO BE CHALLENGED: The enormous, lumbering beast of Sony-BMG may yet find its destiny is as two companies, with the news that Impala, the European indies organisation, is planning to challenge their merger. The Impala board has pledged to fund a legal challenge against the European Commission's approval for the merger; and is making a pitch that this is about something more important than merely who gets to swoosh jewel cases about the continent:

"This is about protecting European, as well as worldwide, cultural diversity and self-determination in a world where globalization means Hollywood,'' Impala President Michel Lambot said.

"The news coming in today from the U.S. elections affirms our decision that we need to make a stance against U.S. domination of our cultural, political and economic interests,'' he added.