For those of you who griped that now-defunct digital downloading platforms like MusicNet and PressPlay were too expensive ? ?prices like these should be illegal!? ? the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals has taken a significant step towards validating your opinion.

A lot of this stuff is in pretty heady legalese, but here?s what you should know about the issue.

When digital-downloads became the craze during the last decade, the major labels (Sony, EMI, Warner, and Universal) were expected to wield significant influence. Turns out, they became such big players that, between them, they accounted for about four-fifths of all the digital music sold in this country. Warner Music and EMI started the service known as ?MusicNet,? while Universal and Sony launhced ?PressPlay? ? both of which have now gone to Digital Music Service Heaven (or Hell, depending on your perspective). read more