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CD Price-Fixing Suit Ruling
Jay Langhurst writes "As the AP reported Friday, if you filed a claim before March 3, 2003 online or otherwise you'll be getting a gift in the mail from those monopolistic music companies in the form of a check for about $13!"
I'm still waiting for my check from Bill Gates... I must've forwarded that email to a billion people! :-) Huxley
Now I can go and buy another CD!
Strange that the settlement payout is about the price of a new CD. Coincidence?
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.
$13.00? I'd probably get more for recycling my stash of AOL CDs.
Doh! Now I wish I had bought all my music instead of debo-ing it from napster. Just think what I could do with $13.
To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
do they lower the prices?
"All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power." - Ashleigh Brilliant
What they forgot to mention was that the RIAA will claim that the $13 should actually be $0.13 due to the extreme value of a dollar.
Now that it's been decided they're guilty, can we expect a roll-back of prices? I wouldn't pay $19.99 list for God's Own Words® let alone Madonna's.
.nosig
to send a donation to xiph.org or towards the purchase of software that uses Ogg Vorbis. That will really screw their plans if enough of us do it.
Un-news
We've got the recording industry in a vulnerable spot. It's time to withhold cash from them and go in for the kill.
I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
Yeah yeah... 13$ is about the price of a CD... so whatever you don't feed it right back into the machine that is the RIAA... instead go donate it to a good cause like the couple below (no affiliation)
boycott-riaa.com
digital-consumer.org
do something useful and fight this idiotic RIAA crap!
It clearly says it's a settlement.
Now, you would have had to read a whole 6 words to figgure that out, so posting a question was so much easier.
Just to clear things up a bit more, since you won't read the article, here is a quote:
" The defendants â" 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 â" deny any wrongdoing. Attorneys representing the companies declined to testify in court. "
That $13.00 will go towards the monthly fee for my DSL, so that I may continue to use Kazaa.
The coolest voice ever.
I own about 500 CDs. $13.00 works out to about two and a half cents per CD. Is that all they were gouging me for?
It's actually $45.5 million out of RIAA pockets in total. Sure, not that much considering the size of RIAA. But at least they'll feel the pinch.
Now that we have precedence, maybe there should be waves upon waves of this class action. If there is relentless waves of such cases, hopefully the RIAA will get the point, and look at other distribution models more carefully...
Not that I'm holding my breath anyway.
Welley Corporation - SLM Scammers
They're really not just garage bands anymore. Go browse your favorite style of music over at CD Baby, and check out their editor's picks. Really amazing stuff there, and all of your money goes directly to the MUSICIAN not to the very record labels who this lawsuit was against!
Umm, only $13? Good thing 'we' 3.5 million people settled this case.
The real winners here, of course, are the lawyers. A large portion of the remaining $23.3 million goes to them.
Just a hunch, but I imagine it comes out to a tad more than $13 for each for them.
IANAL, but right now I wish I was.
bug.gd: error search engine. Humanity working together to solve all errors.
Not quite. A large part of the single song price is convenience-- it increases apple's costs significantly to offer single songs. If you want to buy an album through the iTMS, you'll pay (for almost all albums) approx. $10.
For to end yet again.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
How should I spend this moeny? Maybe we can start some sort of collective slashdot "Anti-RIAA/MPAA fund" out of all the checks we get. I doubt we could all agree on 1 use for the moeny that hurts the RIAA, but it's sure be nice (and fun).
You should listen to the RIAA more often. All we would need to do is make a new p2p sharing program.
This settlement is a rip-off. By far not a long term solution. I guess the only benefit than can be gotten from it is if people donate their newly acquired riches to xiph.org or a similarly focused group. At least that way we're looking at a more long-term solution to combatting artificially inflated prices.
Will I have my hair cut, get my car hot-waxed, or buy a $13 hammer?
that was DOS'd for the last few days before march 3 2003. makes you wonder if the riaa did that to recude the number of payouts or total dollar amount. i own thousands of CD's and couldn't get onto that damn site, even at 3 AM!
Hey, that's 13 songs I can download from the iTunes Music Store!!
gee, 13 bucks, no matter how many CDs I bought. And they obviously just keep on price fixing.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants conspired to illegally raise the prices of prerecorded Music Products by implementing Minimum Advertised Price policies, in violation of State and Federal laws.
I thought that was illegal... Now someone explain to me, why is it that I still hear so many commercials saying "prices so low we're not even allowed to say them here!" And then someone else tell me, where can I buy popular dvds wholesale?
$75.7 million/5.6 million CDs = $13.52 per CD. But isn't that the 'fixed' price for CDs? Wasn't this suit about how they should be priced much lower?
This strikes me much like the proposed settlement in the Microsoft case that had them distributing several hundred milliion dollars worth of software and operating systems to schools. In that case, it was a little bit more blatant, since it was obviously an attempt to use the settlement to undercut Apple's education market without fear of repercussions. In both, though, the settlement is for an inflated dollar value that doesn't really reflect the cost of the product they're distributing.
-T
That's ok, keep your money and I'll settle my claim via kazaa.
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
It's not illegal for a single company to set their price at whatever they want. It is illegal for an entire industry to get together and decide what everyone will charge to maximizing screwing the customer.
-- Will program for bandwidth
Just a heads-up, I'm biased as I work at a record store...
The Eagles just released a single and instead of selling it through everybody, they only are selling it through one retailer! So even though the "price fixing" lawsuit finished, by selling through only one retailer, the music consumer ends up paying a higher price because the retailer doesn't have to compete for business. Using this Eagles single and the new Metallica as an example:
The new Metallica: loads of competition. Best Buy price for first week: 9.99. Wholesale price to record stores (and Best Buy): 11 bucks and change. Net Margin? Negative!
The Eagles DVD single. no competition. Best Buy price: 6.99. Wholesale price to record stores (and Best Buy): 4-5 bucks. Net Margin? 28-40%
Also, compare the price of that DVD single with others --- a lot of DVD singles have run only a couple of bucks (heck, the last McCartney DVD single was actually FREE to encourage people to buy the full length) --- so in this case the manufacturer actually raised their price also because there would be no competition on it.
The frustrating thing about this is that the Eagles are directly responsible - they made this big deal about leaving all the major record companies - but when they did, they made even worse decisions than the major record companies did - independent record stores like mine are locked out from selling the record, while the one major company makes big bucks on it. Considering all the BS Don Henley gives about fighting corporations and such, he's just a washed up hypocrite.
In the ultimate move of spite, take the $13 the RIAA is settling with and give it back to Jesse Jordan, the student who's life savings was taken by the RIAA in a "symbolic move." It's his money, we're just giving it back to him.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
Federal Tax Cuts == ((Local Tax + State Tax) * 3) - ((Funding Cut) * (Libraries + Road Improvment + Schools + Police + Fire + Teachers + Public Works + Art + Culture + Museums + Research into things that don't polute + Environmental Protection + ...).
Step in what direction?
Why am I only getting $13 back when I probably lost $500 or more to this illegal garbage?
Why is it that I could rob a 7-11 of $100 and get jail time, but companies can rob the populus of MILLIONS of dollars and they are immune to everything?
It's only when we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything...
Why is it that I could rob a 7-11 of $100 and get jail time, but companies can rob the populus of MILLIONS of dollars and they are immune to everything?
Record companies aren't holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy one of their $18+ CDs. I don't side with record companies on this case either (as I'm one of the ones getting a $13 check), but your analogy doesn't fit.
Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
Now that it has been decided that there was price-fixing for Jan 1, 1995 to Dec 22, 2000; what about Dec 23, 2000 - Now?
Will prices of CDs go down? Will there be another class-action?
Will the prices go up? Will the RIAA say "We just had a lawsuit and we would cut CD prices, but there is still file-sharing and cannot afford it."
Lots of questions, no answers.
When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
The analogy fits. They stole from all of us and we had no idea.
From m-w.com:
robbery:
: the act or practice of robbing; specifically : larceny from the person or presence of another by violence or threat
This is NOT what record companies are/were doing. Your analogy does not fit.
Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
You misunderstood the point of the original poster.
The article said that the RIAA was paying out $12.63 to more than 3.5 million consumers, so it's paying at least 44.2 million dollars.
The parent of the original poster was commenting that sending the $13 back to the kid whose life savings was taken away was just returning his own money; however, that $12000 only comprises 0.0000271% of the total settlement, so I highly doubt they're somehow covering it all with it.
Schlock Mercenary
And i never signed the form, does that mean i can still sue?
I have over 500 LEGAL cds in my collection. I am owed more then a tiny 13 dollars.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
If they notify me via email that looks like spam I will probably just delete it. Same thing if it is paper mail that looks like junk mail.
Somebody, when they start the refunds please post info on what the refund looks like.
Well, ideally, I agree. However... Oh, hell with it. If you want to troll, fine. If you really do wonder about the rationale for these or other anti-trust measures, you can look it up somewhere else, since frankly I'm not well enough versed to tell you. But in regards to your first question, since the collusion in this case was vertical as well as horizontal, if you (record label) decide not to participate, you lose out on preferential treatment for major distributors and retailers who are involved.
The other $7 must have gone back to the lawyers. I can't even buy a new CD for $13. This sucks.
"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog!" - a dog
For only 70 cents a day, you can make sure that a needy child refers to Linux as GNU/Linux.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
What if the RIAA continues to artificially inflate prices? If I buy another CD wouldn't that entitle me to sue them again for price gauging? I mean if someone punches me, I settle with them for a monetary amount and say it wasn't assault, that doesn't now give that person the right to continue punching me.
Collusion laws are reasons that OPEC will never have a summit in the United States.
HI, MY NAME IS ISAAC.
As was mentioned on Chewplastic's site, we might want to consider also doanting to Daniel Peng, another student who was hit by the RIAA at the same time. He seems to be having a harder time getting donations since he hasn't had as much media attention as Jesse Jordan did. Plus Jesse seems like he's not that far from getting his money back and I know the RIAA is sending out a WHOLE LOTTA CHECKS.
On a brief sidenote, this makes me very proud in the redeming qualities of the Internet and the overwhelming spirit of helping the Davids of the world fight thier Goliaths.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
BUT... I'll bite, just in case some other retard sees what you posted and without thinking about it for half a second, assumes there's any validity to your imbecilic remark.
No one has said that there will be famous artists at CD Baby dot com; all that was said was that there is good music (fitting literally ANYone's taste) to be found on the site. Hell, if you could read at all, you would have seen that their tagline is
Independent music? Hmmmmm... THAT sounds like RIAA material to ME. The fact that your little survey didn't take you all night should say something as well.If you hit the page expecting someone you've heard streaming over the airwaves, you might find them, but it's not likely, since most artists who have reached that scale of marketability don't need it. The web site is only useful to bands whose target audience is aware of the site's existence, and no single website is as popular or ubiquitous as radio. To find music, search for a genre of music you know you already like. Or search for a famous artist to whom lesser-known bands will claim similarities. Search for "metallica," and you'll find over 170 matches, but none of the matches actually ARE metallica. But I'll bet you a dollar that if you LIKE metallica, you'll find music there that ISN'T metallica, but you still like.
The fact that you can't find any of your "non-RIAA" artists on CD Baby doesn't prove a flippin' thing, except that none of YOUR friends have set up pages for their bands there. Do your buddies a favor, and TELL them to register there! And while they're at it, mp3.com as well. How long could it take? The only reason they'd regret it is if they truly suck, and no one that hit the page ever cared to download .mp3s or purchase CDs. Some music is targeted to a very narrow audience, and registering there will always sell a few more discs that if it wasn't listed on the site. If you really think it's a waste of your time, forget it, but I hope someday you realize just how closed your mind really is.
By the way, Einstein... there was a time when mp3.com was as small as CD Baby is right now.
Mom says my