Violation Tracker Individual Record
Company:
Bertelsmann Music Group Inc.
Current Parent Company:
Sony
Penalty:
$27,775,000
Year:
2003
Date:
July 9, 2003
Offense Group:
competition-related offenses
Primary Offense:
price-fixing or anti-competitive practices
Violation Description:
Bertelsmann Music Group Inc., EMI Music Distribution, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., Universal Music Group, and retailers Trans World Entertainment Corporation, Tower Records, and Musicland Stores Corp jointly paid $143 million ($67.4 million cash and $75.5 million in CDs) to settle multistate antitrust allegations that they engaged in illegal agreements to establish artificially high minimum prices for prerecorded music in a move to stop discount stores from offering the products at lower prices. According to the final court order, each company's share of the total settlement was as follows: Bertelsmann ($27.775 million), EMI ($15 million), Warner-Elektra-Atlantic ($29.4 million), Sony ($27.225 million), Universal ($40.6 million), Trans World ($800,000), Tower Records ($275,000) and Musicland ($2 million). The settlement was originally announced in September 2002; see https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/new-york-settles-price-fixing-case-again...
Level of Government:
state
Action Type:
agency action
Agency:
Multistate Attorneys General Case
Court:
District of Maine
Civil or Criminal Case:
civil
Case ID:
2:01-cv-0084
Case Name:
In re Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation
HQ Country of Parent:
Japan
Ownership Structure of Parent:
publicly traded
Major Industry of Parent:
electrical and electronic equipment
Specific Industry of Parent:
consumer electronics
Link to PACER Case Docket (must be logged in):
Link to Archived Court Document:
Source Notes:
If an online information source is not working, check the Violation Tracker Data Sources page for an updated link.
Parent company note:
Parent-subsidiary relationship is current as of the most recent revision listed in the Update Log.
