When you spend 99 cents at iTunes, just how much of that buck finds its way to the record label? The short answer is; we don't know for sure. It's long been rumored that the average wholesale price for a digital download is somewhere around 70 cents. We've even used those numbers in our own articles but, to date, no one (aside from the distributors and the labels) knows for sure.

The case of UMG vs. Marie Lindor may change that, at least slightly. The RIAA is refusing to turn over documents conforming the wholesale price of digital downloads unless the defendant's counsel agrees to adhere to a hefty confidentiality agreement which precludes the release of information about pricing and volume of digital sales. In a letter filed with the court, Ms. Lindor's attorney Ray Beckerman writes, "Plaintiffs' would like the well known fact[s] [...] to be confidential. There is no legal basis for such a request. The sole reason they are making the request is to serve their strategic objectives for other cases, a reason which is not a proper basis for a confidentiality order. "

The Lindor case has been particularly media friendly, with Beckerman posting constant updates to his blog. It makes me wonder, just how many of these battles are playing out in similar ways to less exposure in courtrooms across the country?