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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...

IRS Says Drug Money Laundered Through Record Label Sat May 3,12:40 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Murder Inc., a rap label partly owned by the world's biggest music company, Universal Music, allegedly was used to launder money for a drug dealer, according to court papers unsealed this week.   The document, filed in January in Brooklyn federal court by an Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) special agent, alleges that convicted drug dealer Kenneth McGriff, who was released from prison in 1995, has returned to the drug business,...

<p>April 12, 2003 -- Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the matter.</p> <p>Microsoft's interest is said to be at the level of "poking around, kicking the tires," but it has indeed had conversations with Vivendi executives about buying the music division, sources said.</p>