The holiday season is usually a dry spell for news developments, but with millions of iPods under Christmas trees this year, it makes sense that online music is the focal point of at least some activity. On Christmas Eve, the big news was the revelation that a group of major record labels have received subpoenas from NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over alleged price-fixing.
The Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi Universal, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the EMI Group and the Warner Music Group have received subpoenas from Spitzer’s office related to an investigation into whether they have colluded in setting the prices of online music. This latest inquiry is just part of a bigger investigation by Spitzer’s office into the music industry — the payola accusations leveled by Spitzer earlier this year, which resulted in settlements by at least two record companies, fall under this broader based examination.
Meanwhile, Patricia Santangelo, the single mother targeted by the RIAA in its downloading lawsuit initiative, is back in the headlines with her vow to continue fighting the allegations that she illegally downloaded music. Santangelo has apparently been forced by finances to give up her legal counsel and is fighting against the record companies alone.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 12:41 PM | Print | Comments (1)
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