Posted on 05/22/2003 8:36:00 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
Millions of music buyers will receive a check for about $12.60 in the mail if a settlement of a price-fixing lawsuit wins court approval today. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby will hold a hearing to determine whether the $44 million settlement is fair.
Roughly 3.5 million U.S. residents who purchased music between 1995 and 2000 registered for claims in the price-fixing suit against major record labels and large music retailers.
Hornby also will determine whether registrants who failed to sign penalty of perjury documents will be allowed to share in the settlement and whether petitions of Canadian residents who failed to note that they bought music in the United States will be thrown out, said Maine Assistant Attorney General John Brautigam.
The lawsuit, signed by the attorneys general of 40 states and consolidated in Portland, accuses major record labels and large music retailers facing competition from discount retailers like Target and Wal-Mart of conspiring to set minimum music prices.
The defendants - Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music Distribution, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corp., Universal Music Group and Bertelsmann Music Group, as well as retailers Tower Records, Musicland Stores and Transworld Entertainment - have denied any wrongdoing.
Beyond the $44 million in cash, the deal's terms would provide 5.5 million CDs valued at $75.7 million to public institutions and nonprofit organizations. It also would prohibit major music distributors from tying cooperative advertising efforts to retailers' advertised prices. The settlement money has been collected from the defendants and is in escrow. Payments should be mailed out within weeks of the settlement's approval.
Beat ya out! I received a check in the mail from Western Union for $3.
The announcement came with a bit of sudden press but if too many people submitted claims (the number was something low) the music labels were going to get to slide by without sending the checks, they'd just have to donate more (deadstock) CDs to schools, libraries, etc.
Has this nation's court suddenly lost any understanding of what "tort law" is? How can someone who made a voluntary purchase claim to be a victim? This is insane.
If this kind of suit can prevail, is there any business that can't be successfully sued simply for selling a product at a price some consumers are willing to pay?
Two words. Price fixing. The airlines have been caught in it. The entertainment industry has been caught in it.
There are laws against monopolies. There are also laws against industries making backroom deals to act as a united entity.
Price fixing is still a crime regardless if the item is a necessity or not. The mob figured heavily in the music business in the 20th century. The industry still uses the old ploys.
You may have a beef with the music industry, but don't invite the chains of big government just so you can buy cheaper CDs.
CD Price Fixing Suit Settled For $143 Million
In an anti-trust lawsuit filed in August 2000 in federal court, the states charged that the companies from 1995-2000 had conspired to inflate the price of CDs, costing consumers millions of dollars. The suit claimed that the majors and retailers illegally used minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies to raise CD prices; this resulted in a reduction of discounting and competition among music retailers, the suit says.
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