Apple, Amazon, Spotify Accused of Streaming Music ‘Monopsony’

Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming music giants were hit with a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court Monday claiming they’ve built an illegal “monopsony” to fix the prices of streaming rights from the buy-side.

Other streaming companies named in the antitrust lawsuit include Amazon, iHeartMedia, Rhapsody, and SoundCloud. The suit also targets several trade groups and smaller companies. It accuses them of “uniformly” refusing to deal with Pro Music Rights LLC using “nearly verbatim excuses and language.”

“All of the defendants continued to publicly perform PMR’s repertory,” the suit says. “All of the defendants knew ...