guitars & antitrust collide

Two things I love, guitars and anitrust, collided in the news today.  The Blog of the Legal Times reports:

[T]he latest anti-trust class actions against the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), Guitar Center and major guitar manufacturers [alleges an] industry-wide plan to prop up instrument prices.

. . .

The controversy over guitar prices has been simmering since March, when the Federal Trade Commission issued a cease and desist order to NAMM after settling charges that the group had fostered anti-competitive behavior using its trade shows. Instrument makers and retailers allegedly met at the events to establish price floors for their products.