[LINK] (FWD) U.S. Inquiry Is Under Way on Online Music Business

[David Chia]

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/16/technology/16MUSI.html

<quote>

     October 16, 2001

     U.S. Inquiry Is Under Way on Online Music Business

     By MATT RICHTEL

     The Justice Department said yesterday
     that it was investigating whether the
     major recording companies were
     engaged in anticompetitive practices in the
     nascent online music market.

     The acknowledgment of the investigation
     came in the week after antitrust regulators had
     sent civil subpoenas to companies in the music
     industry to seek documents pertaining to the
     licensing of music for distribution over the
     Internet, including how royalties are being set,
     record industry officials said.

     The investigation comes as little surprise to
     the industry - or to its fledgling online
     competitors - given the enormous market power
     controlled by the five major
     recording companies. Together, they control
     distribution for about 80 percent of
     the domestic market, and they have sought to
     extend their businesses onto the
     Internet.

</quote>