Record Giants Settle Used-CD Antitrust Suit : Music: Mom-and-pop stores will get millions for withheld ad support.

The nation’s four largest record corporations quietly resolved a high-profile antitrust case Thursday by agreeing to pay millions of dollars in advertising support withheld last year from hundreds of record store owners who sell used compact discs.

Under the agreement, members of the Independent Music Retailers Assn., which represents more than 300 mom-and-pop used-CD stores across the nation--are expected to receive payment starting in June.

The New Jersey-based group filed a class-action claim in August against the distribution arms of Sony Music, Warner Elektra Atlantic, EMI Music and MCA Music Entertainment Group, accusing the firms of conspiring to restrain trade and restrict the availability of secondhand CDs.

Representatives for IMRA and the record companies confirmed the settlement Thursday but declined to comment.

The agreement does not include money for Wherehouse Entertainment, the Torrance-based, 340-outlet company that ignited the battle over secondhand disc sales 13 months ago when it became the first major chain to enter the used-CD market. Wherehouse, which filed a separate lawsuit against the same four record firms in August, has been separately reimbursed for lost advertising funds.

These settlements, however, will have no impact on the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing antitrust probe of Sony, WEA, EMI and MCA, which is exploring price-fixing allegations in the $5-billion market for new CDs. According to sources inside the government and record firms, that investigation is not expected to be completed before July.