Antitrust Case Against RIAA Reinstated

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After Starr v. SONY BMG Music Entertainment was dismissed at the District Court level, the antitrust class action against the RIAA has been reinstated by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its 25-page opinion (PDF), the Appeals court held the following allegations sufficiently allege antitrust violations: 'First, defendants agreed to launch MusicNet and pressplay, both of which charged unreasonably high prices and contained similar DRMs. Second, none of the defendants dramatically reduced their prices for Internet Music (as compared to CDs), despite the fact that all defendants experienced dramatic cost reductions in producing Internet Music. Third, when defendants began to sell Internet Music through entities they did not own or control, they maintained the same unreasonably high prices and DRMs as MusicNet itself. Fourth, defendants used MFNs [most favored nation clauses] in their licenses that had the effect of guaranteeing that the licensor who signed the MFN received terms no less favorable than terms offered to other licensors. For example, both EMI and UMG used MFN clauses in their licensing agreements with MusicNet. Fifth, defendants used the MFNs to enforce a wholesale price floor of about 70 cents per song. Sixth, all defendants refuse to do business with eMusic, the #2 Internet Music retailer. Seventh, in or about May 2005, all defendants raised wholesale prices from about $0.65 per song to $0.70 per song. This price increase was enforced by MFNs.'"

Comments

What about my stress level

[colin_n]

Who is going to compensate me for my increased stress level from living in fear of being sued by the RIAA? If I had kids and I wanted them to behave, I'd just tell them stories about the RIAA coming to get them and financially ruin them.

Don't jaywalk kids because the RIAA will come get you.
Eat your vegetables so you can be strong to fight the riaa.

Seriously though, I hate those guys.

Re:What about my stress level

[Snotboble_]

"This video contains content from Vevo, who has decided to block it in your country.". FYI, I live in a pinko commie 3rd world country called "Denmark" :P Gotta love the "rights protecton" - whose rights..?

Re:MFN?

[isThisNameAvailable]

The advantage is that you don't get screwed. It's not that you're going to be homecoming queen, it's just that you get to sit at the cool kids' table and no one shoves you in a locker.

Thanks again NYCL

[zerocool^]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop NYCL.

These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.

These deserve to be kept in mind:
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/ (Courtney Love Does the Math, from 2000 - looking at it now, oddly prophetic)
http://www.negativland.com/albini.html (The Problem with Music, by Producer Steve Albini - great insight into the process of Major Label music)

This is why we should care. I know that it's clichéd, but these companies care nothing about you, or about music, or about the well-being of the world in which they operate. They are wholly evil, in a way that almost no other business is.

Re:Thanks again NYCL

[Hurricane78]

I remember when I worked with a guy with good connections to all (then five) big music companies (who did all the deals for us, because he was an insider). He usually was on the phone with these big music managers, loudly joking, and setting up meetings of talking about deals.

In the industry, it’s all about connections. A small group of people who know each other.

And this was, how he once described the typical “business meeting” to me: (I think in this example it was the EMI boss.)
He took the elevator to the top floor. The guy greeted him and offered him lines of coke as thick as your finger, on a mirror.
Then he ordered some hookers. And then it was time for business.
According to him, that was rather normal, and in no way an exception.