According to Billboard, the US's Department Of Justice has requested information from both the Universal Music Group and SonyBMG about their plans to launch their own digital music service.
As previously reported, SonyBMG have reportedly backed plans coming out of Universal for the major record companies to launch their own download service, a proposal seemingly primarily motivated by the majors', and especially Universal Music boss Doug Morris', dislike of Apple being so dominant in the digital music marketplace. The new venture, working title Total Music, could give the majors the chance to reassert their authority in the digital music sector.
Why the Justice Department is interested in the proposal isn't known, but it may be because of concerns that if all four majors collaborated on a download platform they could use their own collective dominance in the recorded music space to win dominance in the digital music space.
Back in the very early days of digital music the majors, who at that time were each involved in one of two ultimately unsuccessful attempts to launch label owned download platforms, were accused of refusing to negotiate with companies like the original Napster, who were trying to find a way of legalising their P2P operation, because Napster et al would be competitors to the major's own download ambitions.
Those accusations were never proven, despite DoJ investigations, though they rumbled on past that investigation because they were brought up in the long running legal battle between the majors and the original Napster's financial backers.
Anyway, Billboard's unnamed source didn't provide much insight other than that both Universal and SonyBMG had received DoJ letters requesting information about Total Music. Neither major has commented on the report.