"The cost of buying electronic products and recordable CDs and DVDs will be skyrocketing, according to an organization of retailers....
The CCFDA says the music industry is pressing for a substantial boost in the private copy levy....
The levy is imposed on analog cassette tapes, mini-discs and CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
The CPCC collects $21 out of the $50 charged for 100 recordable CDs. The CPCC wants to boost the levy to $50, increasing the total cost of 100 CD-Rs to $89.
Retailers and electronics makers say other devices will be part of the levy system including recordable DVDs, MP3 players, digital cameras and even cellphones containing MP3 players.
'Canadian consumers will be asked to pay $112 extra on the retail price of some of these products,' says Brian Levy of Radio Shack. 'This will kill the market here and drive consumers to the United States....'
'Consumers who do not copy music are paying for those who do,' says Paul Tsaparis of Hewlett Packard Canada.
Tsaparis says the music industry has collected $28 million so far from the levy [~] none of which has gone to artists or composers.
In the U.S., a three per cent fee is charged on the wholesale price of blank audio CDs and minidiscs [~] raising about $6 million every year for the industry....
Anderson says he'd like to see a system that directs the money towards artists.
'Consumers should not have to subsidize the music industry,' says Kevin Layden of Best Buy/Future Shop.
Layden and members of the coalition are calling on Canadians to write to their MPs, or to Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. The coalition wants the levy repealed.
Meanwhile, the Copyright Board will be hearing arguments in January about an increase in the levy. A decision could come as soon as early spring 2003." [CBC News]
Remember that this is an industry trying to dictate how digital rights management should be implemented in both hardware and software in the tech industry, even though they clearly don't use tech products and obviously don't understand how they work. Someone should show him how to do a backup or send his Christmas pictures to relatives on a CD-R. Maybe then he'd be even remotely qualified to discuss this issue.
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