1) Do you think this is fair to the music industry?

That depends on the part of the music industry to which you are referring. The music labels are going to like it because they will probably get the lion's share of the tax money. How much of that they will pass on to the artists and songwriters is another matter. When a label sells a CD with a song by an artist, they know exactly how much to pay the artist and songwriter (they are paid separately, the whole process is incredibly byzantine and ineffecient. When they are handed money without any connection to a given song, how will they know how much to forward, and to whom?

2) Do you think this is fair to the software industry?

No, but then it's not supposed to be. Sony, Vivendi, Bertelsman, etc. were the ones who paid all that money to lobby the politicians. Do you think they give a rat's *** about what is fair to anyone besides themselves? Why should they share the spoils with anyone? After all, they were the ones who paid to lobby the politicians.

3) Do you think this will work?

It will work just as well as Prohibition did in the United States, which is to say not very well. Canadians can order media, MP3 players and other taxed items from the US via mail order.

These new tax laws are yet another example of corrupt politicians in cahoots with big business in order to make both more wealthy.