FTC Charges Trade Association With Facilitating Collusion Through Price Discussions Among Members

In a reminder that trade association activities remain a focus of antitrust enforcement, on March 4, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint and consent order settling charges that the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) -- a 9,000 member association of U.S. manufacturers, distributors, and dealers of musical instruments -- violated the antitrust laws by enabling and encouraging the exchange of competitively sensitive price information among its members.

According to the Commission, between 2005 and 2007, NAMM organized meetings and programs at which competing musical instrument retailers were encouraged to discuss strategies for implementing manufacturers' minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies, restricting retail price competition, and securing higher retail prices. At these NAMM-sponsored events, the FTC contends, competitors discussed "appropriate and optimal" retail prices and margins, how to enforce MAP policies, and