Maybe i'm opening a big can of worms but i'm interested in what others have to say regarding this interesting topic. I'm hoping we can have REAL intelectual posts regarding this.

According to recent new reports the Canadian govt. is looking at applying royalty charges to MP3 players as well as blank CD-Rs, CD-RWs, MiniDiscs and cassette tapes. This money would be pooled together and distributed to the music industry. They are currently coming out with an outrageous amount of taxes $400 added to a $600 MP3 players), but I can see this amount being lowered. (start high and see how big the uproar is and then lower it so they can say "look we lowered it to please everyone")

This has, of course, caused a major uproar in the software industry as many independent software developers, artists, graphical designers would be subject to this tax every time they buy a CDRom to distribute their work.

But this would put 2 things in effect.
1) Make it perfectly legal to copy any and all music without any repercussions upon either the user or the "supplier"
Yes, I know they would have a hard time doing anything with "open source" programs.
2) Eliminate Morpheus's new "Content Wrapping" b.s.

I am sure though that music artists that arnt signed onto the big record labels wouldnt see a cent of this $$.

So what I’m wondering is:
1) Do you think this is fair to the music industry?
2) Do you think this is fair to the software industry?
3) Do you think this will work?


Some links of interest:
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusic/mar15_mp3-sun.html
http://www.canoe.ca/JamNapster/jan14_privacy-ap.html

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.

3) Do you think this will work?

No better then pissing on a forest fire would work.

Oops! You wanted "REAL intelectual posts" well maybe next time.