Canadian Artists Look To The Future - A P2P Levy Proposal

[GhostShip]

This Idea is a variation on an old theme but sounds a great way forward for those who partake in "social swapping" of files at no profit to themselves.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071205-canadian-songwriters-propose-monetizing-p2p-in-canada.html

The Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) has proposes a plan for settling the war between consumers, pirates and big media studios. Based on the observation that the thriving P2P market demonstrates consumers' preference for sharing music instead of paying per-track or per-album, SAC proposes that each Internet-using Canadian citizen be charged a minimal $5 monthly fee directly by their ISPs. This collective monthly license fee would then be split among artists and content owners, generating new revenues and allowing former pirates to sleep better at night now that they can legally trade music for a nominal fee.

At the core of SAC's proposal is an amendment to Canada's Copyright Act that introduces a new right: The Right to Equitable Remuneration for Music File Sharing. Since the proposal defines file-sharing as "the sharing of a copy of a copyrighted musical work without motive of financial gain," this new right would exclude those who benefit from piracy, such as web site owners who show advertising in exchange for P2P links and torrent tracking. The proposal also hopes to encompass all forms of not-for-profit sharing under the same legal umbrella, whether sharing is done via P2P, wireless networks, e-mail, CD trading, or exchanging hard drives.

In principal this could work towards monetising the P2P networks for artists and others who currently gain nothing from P2P, the proviso rule of non-profit is an important one as its been 100% clear that the vast majority of P2P users are not financialy motivated to swap files, in fact while illiterate organisations such as the MPAA and RIAA call P2P users pirates they would do well to perhaps check the definition of the term, and even do some historical research on the roots of their own industries that where built heavily on seizing the rights and intellectual property of others.

[Lagerlout666]

Id be happy to have a 5 pound charge placed on my internet bill to cover sharing music and movie files. That way their is no reason for any p2p company to intercept packets other than greed which would kill a business after 12 months when everyones contracts expires an they move to a company that allows them the free reign that by LAW they would be allowed to do.

A great idea that i am sure will be forgotten about and brushed under the carpet.

[GhostShip]

Slycks seems to have an article about this today.

http://www.slyck.com/story1626_Canadian_Songwriters_Demand_Legalization_of_P2P

Canada’s copyright debate is headed to a boiling point. What the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) has demanded, on behalf of artists, that people who download unauthorized music face penalties similar to that of the United States. Unfortunately for the CRIA, the paradox in their demands has been the simple fact that the artists themselves are demanding the exact opposite. Not only do they say they don't want to litigate music fans, but they also say that file-sharing should be legalized.

Nice to see I pipped them to the post