Five major record labels (Avex Network, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Toshiba EMI, Victor Entertainment and the Universal Music Group) have been warned by Japan’s anti-trust watchdog to stop restricting the access of other companies to the ringtone market or face fines under the “joint refusal of transaction” section of the Japanese anti-monopoly law. Basically, the five companies set up a ringtone management company, Label Mobile, in 2001 and refused to give other companies permission to use their master records.
This is an interesting development. Label Mobile hasn’t actually prevented anyone entering the market, it’s simply not allowed other entities to create ringtones based on music owned by the five labels – they can certainly create and sell other ringtones. I can’t imagine what other “master records” they’d own the rights to. If I read the situation right, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission has ordered the music labels to let other companies use their intellectual property – and will assumedly insist on “fair terms”. I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, I’m as sick as everyone else of the practices of the major record labels in gouging as much money from as many people as they can with what I think are suspect business practices. On the other hand the labels are simply making the most of the property they have, which is surely the right of any business anywhere.
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