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Britain's record industry is investigating a number of web retailers, including Amazon, to determine whether they are breaking the law by selling discounted compact discs.
The probe is being conducted by the British Phonographic Industry, a music industry trade association which of late has stepped up its monitoring of Web sites' selling practices.
According to UK law, retailers must sell compact discs sourced from within the European Economic Area in accordance with broader European laws.
A BPI spokesman said the group recently began looking into whether Amazon, among others, is selling to UK consumers CDs obtained from overseas wholesalers.
Many Web retailers have built a brisk business by selling music titles at a discount to high street chains. The BPI's crackdown, industry observers say, may kick off the biggest probe into how Web retailers source their product.
The BPI has already launched law suits against two online music retailers - CDWow and Play.com - arguing they are able to undercut high street retailers by sourcing product from cheap overseas suppliers.
The industry's concern is that online retailers rely heavily upon discount wholesalers and distributors, particularly in Asia, to circumvent strict import laws and put downward pressure on the market price for music.
The industry is in a tight spot, though, because it often acknowledges that Internet retailers have become an important source of revenue at a time of crisis over declining sales.
The BPI, however, are playing down the investigation into Amazon.
Matt Phillips, a BPI spokesman, said: "This is a standard routine. We look at many Web sites to determine if the product is legitimate. If we find a Net retailer is importing music from outside Europe, then they are infringing copyright law."
The probe applies to Amazon's US division only, the BPI spokesman said, because Amazon.co.uk sells music sourced from the UK.
The probe is being conducted by the British Phonographic Industry, a music industry trade association which of late has stepped up its monitoring of Web sites' selling practices.
According to UK law, retailers must sell compact discs sourced from within the European Economic Area in accordance with broader European laws.
A BPI spokesman said the group recently began looking into whether Amazon, among others, is selling to UK consumers CDs obtained from overseas wholesalers.
Many Web retailers have built a brisk business by selling music titles at a discount to high street chains. The BPI's crackdown, industry observers say, may kick off the biggest probe into how Web retailers source their product.
The BPI has already launched law suits against two online music retailers - CDWow and Play.com - arguing they are able to undercut high street retailers by sourcing product from cheap overseas suppliers.
The industry's concern is that online retailers rely heavily upon discount wholesalers and distributors, particularly in Asia, to circumvent strict import laws and put downward pressure on the market price for music.
The industry is in a tight spot, though, because it often acknowledges that Internet retailers have become an important source of revenue at a time of crisis over declining sales.
The BPI, however, are playing down the investigation into Amazon.
Matt Phillips, a BPI spokesman, said: "This is a standard routine. We look at many Web sites to determine if the product is legitimate. If we find a Net retailer is importing music from outside Europe, then they are infringing copyright law."
The probe applies to Amazon's US division only, the BPI spokesman said, because Amazon.co.uk sells music sourced from the UK.
