Federal probe on music

A new federal probe is looking into fixed music pricing (subscription required), following a similar investigation by New York State Attourney General Eliot Spitzer. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department has served the four major music companies with subpoenas stemming from an investigation of online music pricing, which could include "so-called most-favored-nation clauses used by music companies in contracts with certain kinds of online music services" as well as "vertical collusion" between retailers such as Apple and the music companies, according to the report. The Justice Department confirmed that antitrust enforcers are "looking into the possibility of anticompetitve practices in the music-download industry," while the report says that executives have already been depositioned in the state of New York investigation.

All four major music labels have received "civil investigative demands," which were sent out on Monday, according to The WSJ. The state of New York has already settled with some of labels on a separate collusion issue, following a year-long investigation into whether the music companies tried to influence what music radio stations play.

by MacNN Staff