[Infowarrior] - Antittrust case against RIAA reinstated by 2nd Circuit

[Richard Forno]

Price fixing case against RIAA reinstated by 2nd Circuit
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/#6567482304471093068

Hat tip to @cbcalvin on Twitter, and betanews:

In Starr v. SONY BMG Music Entertainment, an antitrust class action  
against the RIAA, the complaint -- dismissed at the District Court  
level -- has been reinstated by the Second Circuit.

Among other things, the Appeals court noted the following allegations:

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 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.