European Indie Labels Vow to Fight Proposed Sony-BMG Merger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2004 - 2:31am.

Brussels -- Impala, a trade group representing more than 2,000 independent record labels in Europe, announced this week that it would fight the proposed merger between music heavyweights Sony and BMG. Impala claims the newly merged behemoth would command more than a quarter of the Continent's music sales, as well as lead to the elimination of thousands of jobs. Impala Vice President Patrick Zelnik said that the smaller labels would be "further marginalized, and access to radio play lists, television programs and retail outlets will become impossible". The group threatened to launch legal action in both Europe and the U.S. should the European Commission approve the merger.
http://www.impalasite.org