Sony BMG, Universal Music, Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI

A class action lawsuit has been filed against major music labels for allegedly attempting to keep the online music market from emerging and allegedly conspiring to fix and maintain music prices. The suit has been filed on behalf of consumers who purchased music online or on CDs and on behalf of anyone who has paid inflated prices for music. The suit alleges that the record labels coerced online music retailers to sign most favored nation agreements specifying they must pay each of the music labels the same amount, i.e. a wholesale price floor of $0.70 per song. In so doing, the music labels allegedly fixed and maintained the price of online music at "supracompetitive" levels.