Cingles Info

Subject: CD SETTELMENT
If you bought a music CD between Jan. 1, 1995 and Dec. 22, 2000 (yes, you did!
So did every member of your family, including the deceased. Yes!) then go here
and file a claim(s). Get a check for up to $20.00 in the mail sometime late
2003. (Even though this sounds like a hoax, it isn't. Check Snopes.com,
Urbanlegends.com, Newsweek magazine, many more sources, all certify that it's
true.)
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/cdrefund.asp
Here's the site to sign up at:
http://www.musiccdsettlement.com/
Here's an Associated Press article about it:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/103032_cdsettlement07.shtml
Few are lining up for their money from CD settlement
By PAUL QUEARY - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Suppose someone was handing out $20 bills and almost nobody wanted one?
That's roughly what's happening with a massive price-fixing settlement involving
states and compact-disc companies. The deal calls for payments of as much as $20
for customers who bought CDs between 1995 and 2000. But so far, only a few
people have signed up, and officials fear the money will go begging. In
September, the five top U.S. distributors of compact discs and three large music
retailers agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs to settle allegations that
they cheated consumers by fixing prices. Part of the settlement -- about $44
million in cash -- is earmarked to pay customers from $5 to $20, depending on
how many people wind up
dividing the money. By the end of December, only about 30,000 people nationwide
had applied for a piece of the pie, a tiny fraction of the number the settlement
could handle. No figure was available for just Washington state. "The response
thus far has been fairly abysmal," said Washington Attorney General Christine
Gregoire, who has tried going on morning radio shows to promote the settlement.
"I just want to make sure that Washington consumers get what they're entitled to
receive." Gregoire was among the attorneys general of 41 states and
commonwealths who accused record companies of conspiring with music distributors
to boost the prices of CDs between 1995 and 2000. The companies settled rather
than endure a costly legal battle.
The settlement's Web site has been up for a month, and legal notices have been
published in TV Guide, Parade and other national magazines, but the response
rate has been very low, said Tina Kondo, a senior assistant attorney general in
Gregoire's office. "I guess people don't like to read legal notices," Kondo
said. Gregoire and other officials hope a radio advertising campaign set to
launch soon will boost interest in the settlement. Anyone who bought a CD,
cassette tape or vinyl record (remember those?)
at a retail store between 1995 and 2000 is eligible, and the window for applying
doesn't close until March 3. You don't even need a receipt. Just click to the
settlement's Web site, answer three questions and fill in your name and address.
But don't try to recoup the entire cost of your music collection -- only one
claim per customer.
Although only 41 states took on the music companies, consumers in all 50 states
are eligible for the cash. There is one catch. If more than about
8.8 million people apply, in which case the per-person share would drop below
$5, the customer part of the settlement will be canceled because
sending out such small checks would be too expensive. Instead, the money will go
to public entities and non-profit organizations in each state to promote music
programs. The settlement already calls for those organizations to receive 5.5
million CDs valued at $75.7 million. Washington state is in line for 114,000
CDs. The music distributors participating in the deal are Bertelsmann Music
Group, EMI Music Distribution, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corp., Sony Music
Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Also included in the deal were three
national retail chains: Trans World Entertainment, Tower Records and Musicland
Stores, a division of Best Buy Co. Inc.
On the Web: www.musiccdsettlement.com
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