Attorneys general in 41 states and three U.S. commonwealths yesterday (Sept. 30) announced a $143 million settlement of price-fixing charges against the five major U.S. distributors and retailers Trans World Entertainment, Tower Records, and Musicland Stores, Billboard Bulletin reports. In an anti-trust lawsuit filed in August 2000 in federal court, the states charged that the companies from 1995-2000 had conspired to inflate the price of CDs, costing consumers millions of dollars. The suit claimed that the majors and retailers illegally used minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies to raise CD prices; this resulted in a reduction of discounting and competition among...