More woe for the hard pressed monopolist Cartel
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080208.WBmingram20080208142317/WBStory/WBmingramThe labels are apparently being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department -- for something they haven't even done yet. Reports surfaced earlier this week about a DoJ preliminary investigation into a project called "Total Music," in which the four major labels would contribute songs from their catalogues to create a kind of ultimate music library for consumers, with the cost of that library borne by Internet service providers and device manufacturers.
Apparently, the Justice Department is concerned about collusion and price-fixing (although, surprisingly enough, it isn't concerned about Apple's control over about 80 per cent of the market for downloadable music). And it's easy to see why there might be that kind of concern, since the major labels were the subject of a lengthy investigation not that long ago, which found that they had conspired to keep CD prices high at retail outlets and as a result had overcharged consumers by almost $500-million. There were also reportedly concerns about Pressplay and MusicNow, two label-backed ventures from the late 1990s, which the authorities believed were primarily an attempt to maintain the industry's control over pricing and distribution of recorded music.
If the Dept Of jusice is investigating this it must be bad news for the Cartel, lets hope they are once again prevented from monopolising the market and stealing off the consumer, the gravy train stops here Cary :twisted:
