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Roland and Korg fined £5.5 million

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) punished both companies for price-fixing

Roland and Korg are the latest in a line of companies to be fined for price-fixing. Recently the CMA fined Casio and Fender for implementing resale price maintenance (RPM) designed to ensure retailers sell their products at or above minimum price. GAK also admitted engaging in this illegal conduct with Yamaha, which resulted in a fine of more than £250,000.

The CMA has accused Roland of requiring one online retailer to sell its electronic drum kits and accessories at above minimum price between 7 January 2011–17 April 2018. The same conclusion was reached about Korg's music equipment and synthesizers sales between 9 June 2015–17 April 2018. Fines for the two companies total £5.5 million.

Moving forward, the CMA has launched new software that allows them to monitor price levels to ensure companies are not entering into these types of agreements. Full story via gov.uk.