What a difference a little shopping around can make when it comes to CDs. While the European Commission is investigating the high price of CDs in Europe, The Irish Times found the price varies greatly in Ireland.
Checking the cost of eight CD albums (five chart hits, two jazz and one classical album) in four retail and two online outlets, on February 16th, some albums were as much as £5 dearer in some stores. For instance, Dido's No Angel album was cheapest in Tesco at £11.89 and dearest in Tower Records, Dublin, at £16.99.
Stores surveyed included HMV, Tower Records, Virgin Megastore, in Dublin, Tesco, the online vendors Indigo and DMG Online. No shop was cheaper for all the albums, so buyers need to price each album in as many stores as possible to get the best price.
Tesco offers the top 10 CDs each week at £11.89, but for consumers with more eclectic tastes the range is limited.
The Tesco top 10 is a combination of the Irish top 10 chart and Tesco's bestselling albums, said a spokeswoman. Tesco is not selling below cost but there was scope for big mark-ups on CDs, she added.
Shopping online with Indigo or DMG Direct offered small savings on some albums compared to shopping in retail outlets. DMG charges £1.25 delivery in Ireland while Indigo offers free delivery.
A telephone call to Tower Records, on Broadway, New York, found prices between £12.98 and £24.13 for the eight albums (including sales tax). It was cheapest of all the outlets surveyed for Andrea Bocelli's Romanza but dearest for West Life's Coast to Coast.
The European Commission is investigating the relationship between the five biggest record companies and the retailers, said a spokeswoman.
"There was a similar investigation in the US. At this stage there is no indication that these companies have breached European competition laws. The investigation is at a very preliminary stage," she said.
The Federal Trade Commission estimated last May that US consumers may have paid as much as $480 million more than they should for CDs and other music. In October, the FTC announced it had reached separate settlement agreements with the five companies (Universal Music and Video Distribution, Sony Corp of America, Time Warner Inc, EMI Music Distribution and Bertelsmann Music Group) who sell about 85 per cent of CDs purchased in the US.
All five major distributors agreed to abandon their advertising pricing policies, which had induced retailers into charging consumers higher prices, for seven years.
The UK Office of Fair Trading has joined the European Commission in investigating the cost of CDs in Europe. The OFT sent formal notices to seven major record companies requiring information to be given by February 23rd. Retailers and wholesalers are also being asked for information.
The Consumers' Association of Ireland has welcomed the EU investigation. The chief executive of the CAI, Mr Dermott Jewell, said younger consumers, in particular, found it difficult to pay the high prices. "Artists themselves have also called for lower prices. In an area where piracy is rife, this could help stamp it out. I'm glad somebody is addressing the situation," he said.