CD Wow hits out at music industry 'paranoia'

CD Wow has hit out at music industry body the BPI, which is pushing for a case against the retailer over parallel importing - where CDs licensed for one region are sold in another.

The CD seller accused the music industry of paranoia, saying in a statement that in the ongoing court battle between the two, the BPI blamed CD Wow and merchants like it for price erosion in the market.

According to CD Wow, Simon Baggs of the Wiggin legal firm representing the BPI said in court yesterday: "One of the great causes of concern to the UK record industry at the present time is that prices for CDs and DVDs are being pushed down by the ability of consumers to obtain the same CD and DVD, in terms of the recordings on it, from companies such as CD Wow and that is a very significant concern."

The spat between CD Wow and the BPI reignited over the issues of parallel or 'grey importing' - in this case, where CDs destined for the Asian market were being sold to consumers in Ireland and the UK.

The BPI has found 33 instances of CDs not unauthorised for the UK making it into this country. CD Wow said the 33 in question involved 12 sales to the UK and were the result of human error and "regrettable but unintentional breach of copyright", as the e-tailer ships hundreds of thousands of CDs each day.

The BPI did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The initial parallel importing case between the two was settled out of court in 2004.