VIRGIN SACRIFICE?

As the AOL-TW-EMI/European Commission drama continues, WMG chief Roger Ames and EMI topper Ken Berry returned to Brussels, with sources saying they have substantially altered their concession plan in order to make the music merger happen.

Highly placed insiders claim the dynamic duo are now floating the idea of selling off Virgin Records and half of music publisher Warner/Chappell. What remains unclear is whether these sell-offs would be worldwide or Europe-specific.

Speculation about the minimal concessions that WEMI had previously proposed swirled, as insiders insisted that Ames and Berry had more to offer. The original concession plan called for the sale of Virgin Songs as well as labels in three European countries. The companies also proposed closing CD manufacturing plants in Europe and addressed concerns about the future implementation of online music distribution.

Meanwhile, European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti refused to comment Wednesday on the com-mission's review of AOLs $141 billion purchase of Time Warner and the joint venture between WMG and EMI.

"The commission indicated that the operations as originally notified would create problems of competition," Monti said at a press conference to discuss antitrust reforms. "The parties have submitted remedies."

Commission antitrust officials were meeting behind closed doors with representatives from competition authorities of the 15 European Union countries to discuss the two separate, but linked, cases. Then, Monti will propose a final decision to the full 20-member commission.

Monti and his team will take the opinion of the advisory committee into account, but the recommendation is not binding. The commission will make a decision by Oct. 18 for WMG with EMI and by Oct. 24 for AOL's purchase of TW.

Though the official deadline to offer concessions has passed, the companies can still modify their proposals or offer new concessions that address all of the commission's concerns.

In the United States, regulators examining the AOL-TW merger were accused by leading congressmen on Wednesday of overstepping their legal authority.

The unexpected criticism came amid signs of growing support on Wall Street for the planned merger.

In separate letters to the heads of the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communication Commission, Tom Bliley, chairman of the powerful House commerce committee, chastised both agencies for attempting to force Time Warner to open up its cable systems to independent internet access providers.