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Oz Music Retailers Boycott Over Electronic Distribution

Posted by emmett on from the you-better-run-you-better-take-cover dept.

Michael Woodhams writes, "Fairfax I.T. reports that two major Australian music retail chains will no longer stock recordings from publisher Festival Mushroom Group in retaliation for the latter granting sanity.com.au exclusive rights to electronic sales and distribution of their songs. For a change, it appears that it is the exclusivity rather than electronic distribution that is causing the problem."

2 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Is this really new? by ChristianBaekkelund · · Score: 3
    There really is nothing new about this situation except for the fact that it is computer and electronic distribution related. Since the dawn of commerce hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of years ago, such things have been going on.

    Business A signs a deal with Business B, and now Businesses C & D will no longer talk to Business A.

    Nothing new...old business practices. In certain situations, such reactions are illegal, but rarely. This sort of stuff happens all the time in music labels, movie production studios, etc. etc. A perfect example: a while back all the late-night talk shows (Letterman, Leno, etc.) were in fierce competition over guests, and various claims were made by various related organizations that if guests were to go and appear on one show they wouldn't be allowed to appear on the other, and vice-versa. Illegal?..no...they're just competing in one of the few ways they can. Does it still seem slightly ugly to me...a little, yes.

    Nothing new under the sun, unfortunately...

  2. Re:Who cares? by jbrw · · Score: 3

    I'm Australian. I live in London. I buy CDs online too, but from Australian websites.

    Strangely, thanks to the exchange rate being what it is at the moment, it is (or, perhaps more correctly, can be) cheaper to get Australian pressings of UK artists from Australia and pay airmail rates than to buy from, say, amazon.co.uk

    It's even better if I want to get Australian artists, obviously - an import Australian album can cost the equivalent of over AUS$50 in the UK. Ouch.

    ...j