Officials at San Mateo County libraries are keeping their fingers crossed that a free shipment of 2,700 CDs won't include hundreds of copies of "Martha Stewart Spooky Sounds" and "The Greatest Hits of 1971."
The libraries will soon receive the CDs as part of a class action price fixing settlement by the nation's five major record labels and three largest music retailers. However, states that have already begun receiving shipments are less than thrilled with the gift. From hundreds of copies of explicit Puerto Rican rap to dozens of chanting albums, libraries aren't exactly getting their wish lists fulfilled.
Under the terms of the June 2003 agreement, 5.5-million CDs worth $75.7 million are being distributed to schools, libraries, and other nonprofit groups. California's shipment has been delayed because the Attorney General's Office is striking a deal to get more meaningful CDs packed into local libraries.
"We need to be able to place the items so we can't accept things we can't place. We don't want a lot of multiple copies of things," said Anne-Marie Despain, San Mateo County library services manager of collections.
Despain admits that sound affects are a desired item, but any more than 12 "Martha Stewart Spooky Sounds" would be a nuisance. The county might even be forced to sell them, she said.
The legality of selling donated CDs is still in limbo, although other counties in other states have already done it, Despain said.
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The attorney general's action postponed the original June shipment date. Now, the county is hoping to have the grab-bag of CDs by the November opening of Millbrae's new main library. The county's newest library will have the most room for the selection of CDs.
The rest of CDs will be distributed throughout the county, Despain said.
The lawsuit, filed by 43 states in August 2000, claimed the music industry and retailers unlawfully plotted to keep the price of CDs artificially high through what are called "minimum advertised pricing" policies. Major labels would subsidize advertising if retailers agreed not to sell CDs below a certain price.
The record companies also agreed to refund $67.4 million to consumers who purchased CDs from 1995 to 2000 and eliminate policies that set minimum prices for advertised CDs.
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