On 5 August 2021, the Bundeskartellamt announced that it had imposed fines totalling approximately 21 million euros on three manufacturers and two retailers of musical instruments and on staff responsible, as they are accused of resale price maintenance (manufacturers and retailers) and of agreeing on horizontal price-fixing (retailers).[1] The manufacturers are Yamaha Music Europe GmbH, Roland Germany GmbH, and Fender Musical Instruments GmbH. The retailers are Thomann GmbH and MUSIC STORE professional GmbH. In setting the fine, the Bundeskartellamt took into account that the parties involved had cooperated extensively with the authority in uncovering the agreements and that a settlement could be reached.

[1] Bundeskartellamt press release, ‘Bundeskartellamt imposes fines on manufacturers and retailers of musical instruments’, 5 August 2021.