On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:15:40 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> A Legitimate Reason to Hate the Zune (And Microsoft Too)
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Here's the situation: Microsoft has agreed to pay a portion of | the
> profits from the sales of the Zune to a record company | (Universal)
> because the Zune will undoubtedly be used to | store unpurchased songs.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Here it is important to remember a few simple things. The | money goes
> to the Universal, not to the artists. |
> | [...]
> |
> | Microsoft's move sets a bad precedent and turns all consumers into |
> thieves without evidence.
> `----
Heck... this has been the situation in Canada for years. We have a "media
levy" which is put against tape magnetic and optical media. They want to
also put it against flash and hard drive magnetic media. There is a
slight difference, as the funds are collected for redistribution by the
CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association).
AFAIK, there is no accountability of where the funds actually go. It is
my understanding that they are redistributed to _Canadian_ artists based
on their record sales. Of course, this would mean that artists like
Celine Dion should be getting a rather large cheque from the CRIA.
However, how many people who actually would download music "illegally"
actually download music from Celine Dion?
And lets not get into legality. It is posited that the canadian music
industry would have a hard time getting a conviction for copyright
infringement because the royalties may have been paid in the levy, but
this has never been tested in court (again, AFAIK).
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