Project Opus

Already a member? SIGN IN HERE.
Username:  Password: Forgot your password?
Sign up as a FAN or ARTIST.

Legal P2P Proposal Emerges in Canada

Submitted by Jeremy Lim on Thu, 2008-02-21 11:27.
Category: Editorial

Straight from Digital Music News:

Quote:
Legalized file-swapping has been a concept since the late 90s, though major content holders have mostly resisted the possibility. Despite immense volumes of P2P-based swapping and acquisition, most major label efforts have been focused on paid downloads, subscription initiatives, and more recently, broader content bundling and ISP-level filtering and enforcement. The result is that file-swapping is almost always a gratis endeavor, one that leaves rights holders out of the equation entirely.

Against that backdrop, some executives are starting to consider more radical possibilities. Just recently, the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) floated the idea of a $5 surcharge on ISP monthly accounts, in exchange for a file-sharing free-for-all. The proposal, reported by the Toronto Star, could inject annual industry revenues of between $500 million to $900 million. The proposal comes alongside a quickening CD sales slide, and increased consumer appetite for massive volumes of DRM-free content.

To that, I have a lot of questions:

  • What about other industries beyond music?
  • How are they going to track who gets what money?
  • What about the rights of artists who don't have Canadian representation?
  • Does this span all networks (BitTorrent trackers, Limewire, Gnutella, etc.)?
  • Who can I grab music from?
  • What about the backlash from (few) people who don't swap files? Will they have the option to opt out?

What do you guys think?

login or register to post comments | delicious delicious | digg digg

Melodic Energy Commission Free food for all creators!
Written by Melodic Energy Commission on Sat, 2008-02-23 11:20

I have a vision of a monastery perched high on a foggy hillside. The glow of LED bulbs emminate beams of mystique from the windows. Occassionally a pair of hooded artists open the front door and unload boxes of food and supplies from a charity van that brings offerings from the industrialists down in the city. The hoodies have been working for years recording music, writing books, authoring software and making movies. Whenever they complete a creation they quickly upload it to the community Net and it is freely downloaded by millions in a matter of days.
Communism is a thing of the past, capitalism is quickly dying, but these brave hooded artists are forging a new societal model in the cellars of their stone monastery on the hillside.

login or register to post comments

amos dettonville Quote:these brave hooded
Written by amos dettonville on Sat, 2008-02-23 21:52

Quote:
these brave hooded artists are forging a new societal model in the cellars of their stone monastery on the hillside.

dang, not much to say after that. poetic it was, truly poetic (seriously).

login or register to post comments

Stephen Abbott One of the few
Written by Stephen Abbott on Tue, 2008-03-04 11:15

I am one of those few who have never file shared. Never. I am not righteous about it - it's just a personal choice.

This $5/mth proposition is insulting to me. The music industry and consumers can't agree on an easy solution, so everyone gets to pay a random amount to an obscure "authority". What about people who don't even use the Internet for music (yes, they do exist!)?

Music is the current topic, but any published work is becoming subject to this type of situation. TV is fighting it. The movie industry is facing it. Photography. Paintings. Books. ...? How much of a monthly fee would I be forced to pay to have unlimited "sharing" access to all of these, regardless of whether I want them or not.

There has to be a better solution.

login or register to post comments