A lawsuit has been revived in New York City against Bertelsmann AG, Sony Corp, EMI Group, Vivendi SA and Warner Music Group Corp and their various affiliates in an anti-trust, or price collusion case. The lawsuit was filed by a law firm on behalf of people who download music over the internet.
The suit accuses the defendants of colluding to fix prices and limit the availability of downloaded music in violation of the Sherman Act. Originally dismissed by a US Federal Court Judge in October 2008, an appeal by the plaintiffs saw a US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reinstate the case.
In essence the case accuses the aforementioned record companies of agreeing to set a ‘floor price’ of AU$0.75 per song and of trying to maintain prices through restrictive licensing and attempting to impose music playing formats upon music fans. Yet another nail in the coffin of the living dead that are record companies in this day and age.
