Major labels 'face DoJ antitrust probe'
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Unlaunched TotalMusic prompts price fixing concern Two major labels have been served notice of a fresh antitrust investigation, a music business newsletter reports today. MusicAlly's daily Bulletin suggests that the as-yet-unlaunched TotalMusic service, currently backed by Universal and Somy BMG, has prompted notices from the US Department of Justice. The report suggests all four major labels have been contacted.â¦
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A source says Europe's antitrust watchdog has had a change of heart on the deal following the U.S. DOJ's loss on the case in court.
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U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)&#160;Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras won&#39;t recuse herself from considering the antitrust implications of&#160;Google&#39;s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick, despite a request from two privacy groups that she do so.Majoras, in a statement Friday, said&#160;the request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD)&#160;contains &quot;key factual errors.&quot; The two groups filed a petition Wednesday saying Majoras&#39; husband works for a law firm that is advising DoubleClick on the merger before U.S. and European regulators.The Web site for John Majoras&#39; law firm, Jones Day, at one point said it was representing DoubleClick &quot;on the international and U.S. antitrust and competition law aspects&quot; of the Google merger. But Platt Majoras said in her statement that Jones Day has never contacted the FTC about DoubleClick and that she didn&#39;t know it was representing DoubleClick in Europe until earlier this week.A second FTC commissioner whose wife also works for Jones Day also said he won&#39;t recuse himself.The EPIC and CDD petition also is incorrect when it says that John Majoras is an equity partner in Jones Day, Platt Majoras said. John Majoras switched his partnership from equity to nonequity status in January 2006, she said.&quot;I understand that as a fixed-participation partner, his compensation will not be increased or affected by changes in the firm&#8217;s income,&quot; Platt Majoras said.&quot;My husband does not represent any party in the Google-DoubleClick matter. He is in no way connected to the matter, nor are any of the parties to the matter otherwise currently his clients.&quot;EPIC and CDD, in a joint statement, said the FTC has &quot;failed utterly&quot; in its procedures to alert Platt Majoras about potential conflicts of interest. Despite Platt Majoras&#39; claims that she doesn&#39;t have a conflict, John Majoras is an antitrust expert at Jones Day, and one of his key responsibilities is business development in Washington, D.C., they said.Platt Majoras &quot;simply sets out the conclusion that the interests in her participation in this matter outweigh the potential conflict without providing any of the relevant factors that support that conclusion other than that she is the chairman of the commission,&quot; said the statement from EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg and CDD executive director Jeffrey Chester.Jones Day changed its Web site&#160;after the groups pointed out that it said the firm was representing DoubleClick on U.S. antitrust matters, wrote Rotenberg and Chester.&quot;The logical conclusion is that Jones Day ... sought to destroy the relevant evidence,&quot; Rotenberg and Chester wrote.A Jones Day spokesman didn&#39;t immediately have a comment when asked about the EPIC and CDD allegations.Google in April announced plans to acquire ad-serving giant DoubleClick in a $3.1 billion deal. That same month, EPIC, CDD and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) filed a petition asking the FTC to block the deal unless Google made significant changes to its privacy policy. The groups argued that the combined company would have unparalleled access to Web users&#39; personal information.FTC Commissioner William Kovacic also noted, in a Friday statement, that his wife, Kathryn Fenton, is a nonequity partner at Jones Day. The EPIC and CDD petition had not sought to have Kovacic recused.The FTC&#39;s three other commissioners, Pamela Jones Harbour, Jon Leibowitz and J. Thomas Rosch, issued a joint statement, saying that they agreed with the decisions of Platt Majoras and Kovacic not to recuse themselves.&quot;It is evident that these commissioners have at all times taken affirmative steps to conduct themselves in complete conformity with the ethical standards that apply to their positions,&quot; the three said.
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British music company EMI Group Plc confirmed on Friday that it, along with others, is to face an inquiry into the promotion of records on New York radio stations.
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Microsoft filed formal paperwork Wednesday to extend part of an antitrust judgment against the company for at least two years.
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Companies say they'll comply with agency's probe into potential antitrust violations regarding graphics processors.
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EMI, the world&#39;s third largest music group, admitted yesterday it was facing an investigation into how music companies influence the songs played on the radio.
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A reported tiff between the label and Apple could signal a new negotiating stance.
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Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick is the target of a formal FTC investigation, focusing on privacy issues and on the possibility that the merger raises antitrust issues.
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LONDON/NEW YORK  - EMI Group PLC, the world's  third-largest music company, on Friday said it and other music  companies faced a New York probe into how music companies  influence what songs are played on the radio.
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Google is finding itself increasingly having to explain its planned acquisition of DoubleClick, and is now being asked to testify in September as part of a broader Congressional inquiry into advertising industry consolidation.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer's proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, butÂ groups attacking AppleÂ are defending their actions. Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division, warned that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property stifles innovation. He used Apple as an example, in a nod toÂ growing discontent in EuropeÂ regarding the way that music purchased from iTunes is tied to the iPod. Architects of complaints against Apple in Europe say he's got it wrong. "We're not attacking intellectual property rights but saying they should be implemented in a way which doesn't dictate which player you use," said Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Consumer Council. His organization filed a complaint to Norway's consumer representative, or ombudsman, arguing that it's illegal for Apple to limit iTunes customers to playing music from the store exclusively on iPods. Along with similar representatives in Denmark and Sweden, the Norwegian ombudsman asked Apple toÂ defend its policy. In a written reply, Apple said it won't budge on the issue but the company plans to meet representatives from the countries later this month to further discuss the issue. If Apple won't open up, the ombudsman will take the company to court. Waterhouse suggests that Apple could solve the problem by licensing its digital rights management technology to other device makers so that iTunes customers could choose among devices or opt for an open standard that would be compatible with more devices. Barnett's criticisms of European antitrust policy, including comments that the policy is aimed at helping competitors instead of consumers, are generally in line with comments from U.S. officials since the Bush administration came to power, said Scott Megregian, a partner and head of the European competition group in the law firm McDermott Will & Emery UK. He disagrees with the argument that requiring companies to open up some of their technology stifles innovation. "That's an argument without support," he said. "Microsoft hasn't stopped innovating that I can tell despite regulations and attack by the E.U." So far, the European Commission has likely communicated with the countries that are pursuing Apple and has probably expressed an opinion on the matter, he said. While no official complaints have been filed with the Commission, if one is, the result will have the makings of a historical battle. "This has the potential to be the next big high-profile dispute," Megregian said.
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A U.S. House panel is looking into the "far-reaching privacy and competition issues" surrounding the deal.
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The Justice Department is evaluating whether the merger of the only two U.S. satellite radio companies would hurt competition.
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Bankrupt specialty chemicals firm says it is likely to be indicted for violating environmental laws. NEW YORK  - WR Grace &amp; Co.
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American International Group seemed headed for deeper trouble with watchdogs yesterday after saying it could be sued over allegedly false information in press releases.
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p2pnet.net News:- Any lingering doubts as to whether or not the record label cartel has embarked on an all-out, across the board war against former clients to bludgeon them into buying &#39;product&#39; have been dispelled.