Copyright group seeks to boost MP3 player prices with new levy — This is an extension of the tax imposed on blank CD sales in Canada and the tax on cassettes almost worldwide. The problem is that little of the monies collected actually go to anyone other than the bigshots at the top. Another money grab arranged by lobbyists. Good work boyz!
Canadian music industry representatives are reopening an old debate about MP3 players that could see the average price of the devices climb by as much as $75.
The Canadian Private Copying Collective, an association of composers, recording artists, publishers, and record labels, is asking the Copyright Board of Canada to reintroduce a controversial extra fee into the sale price of MP3 players in Canada.
David Basskin, a member of the CPCC’s board of directors, said it’s time artists be compensated for the copying of their files onto the digital devices.
“We’d all like lots of things to be free. But those who create the music deserve to be compensated. When you go and buy an iPod, the retailer gets paid, so you can’t say that the people who make the music should get a free ride.”
“Off to the bank!”
found by Howard Harawitz
Well, at least I know copying music is legal in Canada since i’ve already paid for being a criminal.
Seems like another classic example of the “baptists & the bootleggers” or “special interests & the do-gooders.” This will just give more incentives for an electronics buyer to purchase their player from the U.S.,or pirate more music to make up for the loss in his real wage. What is going on inside Stephen Harper’s head? “Blame Canada” indeed.
“it’s time artists be compensated for the copying of their files onto the digital devices.”
The smart artist will help followers go digital and copy music. They get a bigger fan base to market to. The problem is that a good artist doesn’t need a “record label.” If your music is good, you can make money from radio and live performance. Ratcheting up the cost of a mp3 player isn’t the answer.
The is a bigger threat than WMDs. Everyone said I was nuts when I suggested we invade Canada over Brian Adams. Now who’s laughing! Attack Canada now before it is too late!
The Neonode N2 phone (caution: vaporware warning), you can record internet radio on your computer, and the songs get automatically stored as mp3 files that you can move to the phone via USB. It’s kinda nice.
As named eluded to, what do Canadians get from paying the levy?
If it gives you the right to download all the music you want from P2P sources, who wouldn’t pay it? I know I would.
But if it does not, why are we paying twice? The music industry essentially wants us to pay for pirated content we’re not allowed to hear and pay again for legitimate sources of music. That makes no sense.
4. Steve, I’m with you! We must stop Canada at all costs.
Again let me recommend the fine piece on how distorted modern copyright law has become, in this month’s Harper’s:
http://tinyurl.com/yv5qtc
4, 7,
Here you go biatches!
Summer Of ’69 lyrics
I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it till my fingers bled
It was the summer of ’69
Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda known we’d never get far
Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya – I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life
Ain’t no use in complainin’
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenin’s down at the drive-in
And that’s when I met you
Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me that you’d wait forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of ’69
Man we were killin’ time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin’ can last forever – forever, no
And now the times are changin’
Look at everything that’s come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
I think about ya wonder what went wrong
Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh the way you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of ’69
10. My theory about that song was that Brian wrote it solely to scream “Me and my baby in 69” on the radio.
11,
You don’t need an excuse to scream “me and my baby in 69” when it comes to rock’n’roll. It’s as defacto as stealing music after paying a levy! Though there is something magical about the 69…
We have been paying a levy on CD’s for several years now. The monies collected are to be distributed to Canadian artists by a government agency. Last I heard about $45 million has been collected an not a penny has gone to an artist.
Down with Stephen, up with Stephanie!
I find it amazing that a 20 odd cents a cd/dvd disk sold is taken by the tax man in Canada and yet never ever have i heard an musician of any sort in Canada remark ” am i gratefull for that funding from that tax” ever in any manner.
This tax is properly referred to as the “private copying levy”
The money is stolen into government coffers- general revenue.
It was or is supposed to be collected to be given to entertainers for income lost to music that is copied onto these discs without the musicians getting royalty fees.
As stated I have never ever ever heard of the proceeds ot this tax going to musicans in any manner.
This future tax is yet another tax grab and theft by beaurocrats.
Canadians are exceptionally passive compared to Americans.
It is no accident that in spite of the fact that Canada represents a community with very high broadband market penetration rates ( the one deal in Canada is that broadband is about 1/2 the price of US rates) and that Canada serves as an experiment of trends to come to the US in online downloading terms that the RIAA had not threatened Canadians yet.
The reason is that for the RIAA to attempt abusive action in Canada would lead to court cases and questions regarding the “private copying levy”. It could be well argued in court that Canadians have paid a fee by means of this tax that allows them to record and copy
materials online. As well probing questions might be asked about the diversion of this tax which had been collected for the welfare of local musicians.
Canadians are among the stupidest people in the world.
They are missing the biggest stealers of music ever — EARS!!!
Yeah, that’s it! We’ll tax every ear in the world! And everything that can make a musical sound — you just know they’re all just waiting for the right moment to sing some copyrighted melody and not pay us. Let’s see, anything that can make a musical sound: fingers, vocal cords, tea kettles, car horns; musical instruments must be taxed at 100%; lips can whistle copyrighted tunes, so they must be taxed. Why, I bet millions of people are thinking about copyrighted songs at this very moment! We must tax all brains! Just look at all those people out there — you can tell they’re stealing from me right now because they’re not actively handing me money at this very moment!
The music industry does not seem to get it.
People have no trouble supporting artists.
The music industry has lived high on the hog for a long time abusing artists and the general public who are their customers.
With p2p and technology these abusive individuals although legends in their own minds are being bypassed.
A kid with a computer can do it all.
Get used to it.
Your intimidation tactics with the RIAA are the flailing arms of a dead man.
Could not of happened to a nicer group.
Hmmm…somebody should write a song about this kind of stuff…it could start off like this:
“Let me tell you how it would be, here’s one for you nineteen for me…”
Of course, one could also make the argument that with our current government’s policy of pandering to lobbyists instead of listening to the taxpayer, we are suffering from ‘taxation without representation’, but we all know what happened the last time THAT slogan was used…
Os.