US probing antitrust violations in music downloads

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US authorities have begun an investigation into potential antitrust violations in the Internet music download industry, the Justice Department said.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona confirmed the probe, which would be in addition to an investigation begun last year by New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

"The antitrust division is looking a the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the music download industry," Talamona said, without elaborating.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the agency had begun a probe into possible collusion in the ways the four global music companies set prices for online music.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said civil investigative demands,...