A while ago, the US goverment did some research on the CD Market and found out that US record labels kept the prices high, in Britain and the rest of Europe the same thing seems to be a fact.
Britain launched a competition inquiry on Friday into the country's compact disc market, joining European regulators in raising suspicions that major record companies overcharge music lovers. |
The Office of Fair Trading will investigate Universal Music UK, EMI Records UK & Ireland, BMG International UK & Ireland, Warner Music UK, Virgin Records, independent distributor Pinnacle Records and Sony.
It said there were reasonable grounds to suspect the companies had acted together to stifle competition by restricting CD imports into Britain from other EU states, where prices generally undercut Britain.
The world's five biggest music companies -- EMI, BMG, Warner Music, Sony and Universal -- already face scrutiny from the European Commission (news - web sites) which said last month it was investigating whether they colluded with retailers over CD prices.
German music fans generally pay about $16.49 for a newly-released top 10 CD, compared to a UK average of about $21.67. Parisians, meanwhile, can expect to pay around $16.86.
The article does not say what the consequenses are for the record industry. I think the customers should get some kind of compensation...
Source: dailynews.yahoo.com
