Federal Judge Approves CD Antitrust Deal

[Guest Chaney]

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I file a claim?!

Federal Judge Approves CD Antitrust Deal

Fri Jun 13, 7:07 PM ET

PORTLAND, Maine - A federal judge approved a settlement agreement Friday in a music antitrust lawsuit that will result in more than 3.5 million consumers receiving nearly $13 each.

Judge D. Brock Hornby issued a 51-page ruling in the case that began in 1996 when attorneys general across the country began investigating whether distributors and retailers had conspired to inflate CD prices.

"This settlement will put cash in the hands of millions of consumers and music CDs in libraries and schools throughout the country, and will ensure that the challenged distributor/retailer practices will not resume," Hornby wrote.

The ruling, however, does not stipulate exactly how much consumers will receive or when the checks will be distributed. More than 3.5 million consumers filed claims, now estimated at $12.63 each.

Hornby asked lawyers to present him with a report by the end of the month on how much it will cost to distribute the checks and how much each check will be.

He also deferred ruling on a plan on how millions of CDs will be distributed to the schools and libraries.

The lawsuit, signed by the attorneys general of 43 states and territories and consolidated in Portland in October 2000, accused major record labels and large music retailers facing competition from discounters 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, and retailers Tower Records, Musicland Stores and Transworld Entertainment — deny any wrongdoing. Attorneys representing the companies declined to testify in court.

Of the total settlement, $75.7 million would be distributed in the form of 5.6 million music CDs sent to libraries and schools throughout the nation.

The proposed cash settlement in the case totals $67.3 million, with roughly $44 million to be distributed to the public. The remaining cash will go toward distribution costs and legal fees.

Hornby disapproved a settlement agreement regarding music club sales that would have been just over $1 million in cash and provided 50 percent discounts for club members on one to three new CDs.

Hornby wrote that virtually all the cash would go to attorney fees, leaving little value to club members. He added that music club defendants have not proven that they were part of any pricing conspiracy.

END

Anyone here a member of the above gravy trane? Wanna gloat?

[Guest Mnytime]

Now to start planning that trip to Rio or Tokyo. That $12.63 is going to go a long way. Of course you can't even buy a Verve release with that.

At one time the money that was supposed to be paid out was a whopping $20. Damn all those vultures that added their names and costing me an extra $7.37. Could have added a side trip with that extra bit.

The whole basis behind this was the inflated prices of CDs in relation to their actual cost. So you would have thought that they would have at least made it that you could get enough to buy a single CD out of this.

The Judge should have made the labels pay the lawyers costs and not let them take it out of the final settlement. But hey that would have actually made sense.

Edited June 14, 2003 by Mnytime

[STAX]

$13 doesn't make this worthwhile.

[Dan Gould]

Now to start planning that trip to Rio or Tokyo. That $12.63 is going to go a long way. Of course you can't even buy a Verve release with that.

At one time the money that was supposed to be paid out was a whopping $20. Damn all those vultures that added their names and costing me an extra $7.37. Could have added a side trip with that extra bit.

The whole basis behind this was the inflated prices of CDs in relation to their actual cost. So you would have thought that they would have at least made it that you could get enough to buy a single CD out of this.

The Judge should have made the labels pay the lawyers costs and not let them take it out of the final settlement. But hey that would have actually made sense.

Actually, Mny, I saw at Border's today that the latest batch of Verve reissues-the John Klemmer, Cannonball, Stitt and Billy Mitchell reissues-were all $11.99 or $12.99.

I not only signed up, but I believe I also signed up with my parent's address, so I expect to receive two checks.

The beauty of the whole case is, those "minimum music prices" were related to price policies of big retailers, a place I never shopped at, then or now.

So, basically, I can claim no damages but I am getting double damages

Then again, its not like the lawyers deserve their cut either.

[Jazzmoose]

I not only signed up, but I believe I also signed up with my parent's address, so I expect to receive two checks.

The beauty of the whole case is, those "minimum music prices" were related to price policies of big retailers, a place I never shopped at, then or now.

So, basically, I can claim no damages but I am getting double damages

Then again, its not like the lawyers deserve their cut either.

This time, I'm speechless, Dan...

[Chuck Nessa]

Believe me, the wrong guys lost. This was an effort by the big labels to protect "music stores" from mass merchandisers who could sell music for "nothing" to attract shoppers. We lose. Stores like Tower and "mom and pops" are defeated. Big, really big business wins again.

[Guest Mnytime]

As a consumer I am not sure how it's bad that something is sold next to nothing?

The reason Towers (which is no Mom & Pop) is going out of business is not because mass merchandisers sell CDs for next to nothing but because they generally have very high prices in comparision to most others. Add the fact that Towers spread itself thin with the amount of stores they opened.

The only reason I see the labels trying to help stores like Towers is it makes it possible for labels to continue to overprice their CDs.