Everybody keeps talking about how the Internet is going to turn the music business upside down, but the courts may get to the industry giants' pocket books first. Twenty-eight states filed suit today in a federal court in New York against five record companies and three retail music stores. As Marketplace's Jessica Smith reports, the plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Capitol Records, Sony Music, Universal Music, BMG Music and Warner Music. Under map, record labels helped stores pay for advertising as long as the stores agree not to sell CDs below a price set by the record companies.
Consumer advocates say that arrangement amounts to a conspiracy to overcharge.
Scott brown is a spokesman for New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer. Today, several of the music companies released statements saying they still believe MAP is a legitimate practice and feel confident the courts will agree. In New York, I'm Jessica Smith for Marketplace. Satellite programming may seem like a luxury to many Americans, but not to those who get it illegally. Today, the feds revealed the results of a two-year undercover sting operation aimed at shutting down the freeloaders.