When thousands more Canadians get iPods for Christmas, the way in which a huge percentage of them add music to music players, will be criminalized by the Conservative minority government. Also, iPods and other digital music players could very well come with an expensive levy (tax), like our blank CDs have now. Those are my predictions, and the predictions of many people who understand P2P music sharing and other music technology and the implications of those technologies.
New copyright legislation could be introduced in Canada within the next few weeks, an Industry Canada spokeswoman said.
The new legislation, which is likely to make it illegal to download or share songs on the internet without paying a fee, was promised in the Conservative government’s fall throne speech.
“Canada’s Copyright Act needs to be reformed to respond to the challenges of the digital age,” said Caroline Grondin, an Industry Canada spokeswoman, in a report by Reuters news service.
“New protections proposed for the benefit of rights holders will seek to address online infringement as well as create a legal framework that encourages the rollout, by rights holders, of new business models.”
Grondin’s remarks appear to indicate a law is coming that would meet the demands of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), which has called for tougher laws to make it easier to prosecute people for file-sharing.
Courts in Canada have made rulings that have made it difficult to prosecute individuals over file-sharing.
Copyright legislation needs to be updated to protect musicians and songwriters, said Graham Henderson, president of CRIA.
But the Canadian Music Creators Coalition, whose members include Sarah McLachlan, Sam Roberts and Avril Lavigne, has said it would not like to see a law that would lead to lawsuits against music fans.
The CMCC says it like to see legislation that recognizes the importance of file-sharing as a way to spread the word about Canadian music.
It has called for a “made-in-Canada” solution that recognizes current technological and music business realities.
Why would the Conservatives listen to the American RIAA puppet lobby group CRIA, but not the Canadian artist run CMCC?
Perhaps they listen to lobbyists at least as much as the Liberals did. Is Jim Prentice looking to lose his seat next election by backing the CRIA?
“The Harper Government. On the side of Canadian consumers.”
While Prentice may be looking to open up the cell phone market, will consumers appreciate iPods with expensive levies, and lawsuits from litigious and extortionate organizations (ie. CRIA/RIAA) supposedly protecting their market?
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huffb1 | 01-Dec-07 at 8:26 pm | Permalink
You should not be downloading your music Illegally in the first place.
I hope your not part of that huge percentage Saskboy.
Saskboy | 01-Dec-07 at 10:27 pm | Permalink
In the first place, it’s not illegal to download music in Canada. That’s the point of this article; to inspire people to demand that we keep our downloading freedom that the CMCC artists want us to have because it’s better for business.
I’ll post another article on Monday that explains this further.
huffb1 | 01-Dec-07 at 10:59 pm | Permalink
my bad, must have missed the last part of the article.
I’m a little old fashioned since I am yet to get Mp3 player or an Ipod.
I still buy music from the stores.
Man I am really behind on the times!
and i’m younger than you!
Quilty | 03-Dec-07 at 8:42 am | Permalink
huffb1 doesn’t understand that we as citizens are at risk, for the sake of defending dying business model, of being saddled with unworkable copyright regimes that favor corporate profits at the expense of individual rights and liberties. Personally, it bothers me that my government (both Lib and Con) recognises CRIA as legitimate, when it’s nothing more than a lobbying front for American multi-nationals, while at the same time, seemingly ignoring the opinions and ideas of actual Canadian labels and artists. The music culture in this country has suffered long enough due to the narrow interests, short sightedness, and tastelessness of the few who had an iron grip on distrubution. For to long, too few people dictated what Canadians heard. The purpose of CRIA is to maintain that.
Gotta wonder if it’s going to happen now, though. If the next election happens soon, criminalising large swathes of the voting population is a bad idea.