The US Department Of Justice is seemingly following the lead of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in launching an investigation into online music pricing in the US. According to Billboard all four of the major labels are aware that such an investigation at a federal level is looming, and that subpoenas demanding paperwork relating to download pricing deals will arrive any day now.
Although none of the majors have formally commented, the trade magazine quotes insiders as saying: "The DOJ has phoned the labels to tell them it's coming. It is Department of Justice and it is digital pricing. As best as we can tell, it's identical to the Spitzer thing."
Spitzer's investigations into the deals between the record labels and the major download firms reportedly centre on the 'most favoured nation' clauses that the majors have allegedly insisted are included in any digital music contracts. These mean that any benefits offered to a rival label in subsequent negotiations must be made available to other labels - restrictions which are, some claim, anti-competitive.
Whether the DOJ or Spitzer's investigation in this area will have any tangible results remains to be seen - the DOJ led a similar investigation back in 2001 without unearthing any unfair play.