Weird Canadian blank media tax

Sarcasmo

A Taste Of Honey Fluff Boy
Mar 28, 2005
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So I was talking to my buddy about Theac's broadcast flag thread, and he mentioned an insane law in Canada that places a small tax on all blank media (tapes, cds, dvds, etc.) and directs that money to the Canadian RIAA and MPAA as sort of a pre-emptive settlement in case that media is used to burn copyrighted material onto. Which blows me away. People are paying those organizations damages whether they broke any laws or not.

He first heard about it when talking online with some Canadians who were pissed that the recording industry was trying to sue people for downloading and burning cds. Their arguement was that they already were paying a tax on those blank cds for just that reason, so why not fill them up with copyrighted material. In effect everyone buying blank media is being punished for the actions of some.

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/B/Bl/Blank_media_tax.htm
 
So why aren't people allowed to burn copyrighted material then? They've fucking paid for the privilege, and now the recording associations have their money. It's like they've bought the material. I don't get it.
 
Sarcasmo said:
So why aren't people allowed to burn copyrighted material then? They've fucking paid for the privilege, and now the recording associations have their money. It's like they've bought the material. I don't get it.

They bought the right to listen to it, or watch it. They did not buy the right to back it up or, obviously, distribute it.
 
Sarcasmo said:
So why aren't people allowed to burn copyrighted material then? They've fucking paid for the privilege, and now the recording associations have their money. It's like they've bought the material. I don't get it.
Its insurance in case you're doing something illegal (read : bs way of boosting profits).
 
theacoustician said:
Its insurance in case you're doing something illegal (read : bs way of boosting profits).

How else can they attempt to either discourage piracy or moderately profit from it?
 
smileynev said:
They bought the right to listen to it, or watch it. They did not buy the right to back it up or, obviously, distribute it.


I understand, but if I'm paying to "reimburse" somebody for a product I never acquired or a crime I never committed, you can bet your ass I'm going to make sure I acquire it or commit it at that point. What they're going to do is make the problem worse. It's just so unconstitutional it's absurd. (Which means we should invade them and impose our constitution on them.)
 
theacoustician said:
Its insurance in case you're doing something illegal (read : bs way of boosting profits).


Lobbyists are WAY more evil than personal injury lawyers. I don't care what anyone says.
 
ChikkenNoodul said:
It's been the same way with books for years, but I don't remember as many complaints about people mimeographing books and stuff.

Thats because only hippies and wackos do that stuff. Besides, digital copying is far more efficient and easier.
 
Sarcasmo said:
I understand, but if I'm paying to "reimburse" somebody for a product I never acquired or a crime I never committed, you can bet your ass I'm going to make sure I acquire it or commit it at that point. What they're going to do is make the problem worse. It's just so unconstitutional it's absurd. (Which means we should invade them and impose our constitution on them.)

What would you suggest they do? Can you honestly tell me you've never downloaded copyrighted material?
 
smileynev said:
What would you suggest they do? Can you honestly tell me you've never downloaded copyrighted material?


So because I have it's okay to punish everyone? "Tyrone here murdered a fella out in the back 40, Hank. So we went ahead and locked the whole durn town up." Fuck that. I suggest they do the following:

a) make shit people care to purchase. Quit putting one good song on a CD filled with bullshit, so people quit illegally downloading that one good song in order to avoid paying $15 for it. If an artist brings you an album that fucking blows, tell them so.
b) force the resource companies to make CDs out of a material that DOESN'T FUCKING SCRATCH WHEN I BRUSH SOFT VELVET AGAINST IT, RENDERING IT COMPLETELY FUCKING USELESS. Do I get to exchange my worthless product for a new one when I can't listen to it anymore because I accidentally brushed my thumb against it or dropped it on the car seat without a cover? I've already bought it. Does that matter? No? Then take your gay little insurance policy and cram it.
c) RESPECT YOUR FUCKING CUSTOMERS
 
Sarcasmo said:
So because I have it's okay to punish everyone? "Tyrone here murdered a fella out in the back 40, Hank. So we went ahead and locked the whole durn town up." Fuck that. I suggest they do the following:

a) make shit people care to purchase. Quit putting one good song on a CD filled with bullshit, so people quit illegally downloading that one good song in order to avoid paying $15 for it. If an artist brings you an album that fucking blows, tell them so.
b) force the resource companies to make CDs out of a material that DOESN'T FUCKING SCRATCH WHEN I BRUSH SOFT VELVET AGAINST IT, RENDERING IT COMPLETELY FUCKING USELESS. Do I get to exchange my worthless product for a new one when I can't listen to it anymore because I accidentally brushed my thumb against it or dropped it on the car seat without a cover? I've already bought it. Does that matter? No? Then take your gay little insurance policy and cram it.
c) RESPECT YOUR FUCKING CUSTOMERS

Put yourself in the position that the recording companies are in. They lose millions upon millions of dollars each year because little teenage pissants can get online with mommy or daddy's computer and download the latest Britnay Timberlake album. It wouldn't matter if the CDs were a better value. They would still steal because then they wouldn't have to pay a penny. They would just steal the entire album instead.

Do you complain to your car company if you're in a fenderbender and you get a few scratches on your car? What about your laptop manufacturer if you drop your laptop onto the ground? No? Of course not, because these acts are beyond the expected feasible usage of such items. Take good care of your CDs.

They respect their paying customers. Pirates are not paying customers.
 
smileynev said:
Put yourself in the position that the recording companies are in. They lose millions upon millions of dollars each year because little teenage pissants can get online with mommy or daddy's computer and download the latest Britnay Timberlake album. It wouldn't matter if the CDs were a better value. They would still steal because then they wouldn't have to pay a penny. They would just steal the entire album instead.

Do you complain to your car company if you're in a fenderbender and you get a few scratches on your car? What about your laptop manufacturer if you drop your laptop onto the ground? No? Of course not, because these acts are beyond the expected feasible usage of such items. Take good care of your CDs.

They respect their paying customers. Pirates are not paying customers.

Well I'm a paying customer. I buy CDs all the time. Only because they're such shitty fucking quality, I burn them into my laptop and listen to the MP3s instead of the cd itself. That way when I play them I don't have to worry about the air in the room scratching the surface. I seal the "masters" in blocks of resin to prevent them moving and thus being completely destroyed.

CDs suck. And music companies suck. If people want to steal shit, they will. It doesn't matter what steps you try to take, it will happen. And the point is, you don't penalize all of your customers, including the innocent paying ones, because those others want stuff for free. And honestly, I can't blame them.

Not only can I not remember the last truly awesome album I purchased, but I find the product of CDs themselves to be faulty beyond reason. A scratch-proof resin coating would work wonders. Oh, but that isn't entirely cost effective. The extra 2 cents it would cost to produce those CDs would affect the company's bottom line. Thus they continue to screw and disrespect their customers.

And also, don't ever believe a record company that says "OMG we're losing trillions of dollars to piracy." They say that by ESTIMATING the number of songs that are pirated, and multiplying them by the average cost of what that song or album would be, mixing in other meaningless variables as well. The whole process is so vague it's a fucking joke to begin with. There is no possible way to calculate what purchases they are actually missing out on, especially when every pirate I have ever known still buys CDs.

I've done some scientific statistical analyses of my own.

The last song I downloaded was on Kazaa, 3 or so years ago before everyone started crying about legality and all that and I stopped. (this no shen) I've purchased around 450 CDs since.

Thus I conclude the following:

1) I have averaged 150 albums per year over the last 3 years.

2) The recording industry sells 45 billion cds per year in the U.S. alone (150 albums * 300 million citizens, because if I am buying that much, everyone else is buying that much too.)

3) The recording industry's gross income is $540 billion per year. (45 billion cds * an average of $12 per cd.)

4) The recording industry is not financially hurting in any way.
 
Sarcasmo said:
Well I'm a paying customer. I buy CDs all the time. Only because they're such shitty fucking quality, I burn them into my laptop and listen to the MP3s instead of the cd itself. That way when I play them I don't have to worry about the air in the room scratching the surface. I seal the "masters" in blocks of resin to prevent them moving and thus being completely destroyed.

CDs suck. And music companies suck. If people want to steal shit, they will. It doesn't matter what steps you try to take, it will happen. And the point is, you don't penalize all of your customers, including the innocent paying ones, because those others want stuff for free. And honestly, I can't blame them.

Not only can I not remember the last truly awesome album I purchased, but I find the product of CDs themselves to be faulty beyond reason. A scratch-proof resin coating would work wonders. Oh, but that isn't entirely cost effective. The extra 2 cents it would cost to produce those CDs would affect the company's bottom line. Thus they continue to screw and disrespect their customers.

And also, don't ever believe a record company that says "OMG we're losing trillions of dollars to piracy." They say that by ESTIMATING the number of songs that are pirated, and multiplying them by the average cost of what that song or album would be, mixing in other meaningless variables as well. The whole process is so vague it's a fucking joke to begin with. There is no possible way to calculate what purchases they are actually missing out on, especially when every pirate I have ever known still buys CDs.

I've done some scientific statistical analyses of my own.

The last song I downloaded was on Kazaa, 3 or so years ago before everyone started crying about legality and all that and I stopped. (this no shen) I've purchased around 450 CDs since.

Thus I conclude the following:

1) I have averaged 150 albums per year over the last 3 years.

2) The recording industry sells 45 billion cds per year in the U.S. alone (150 albums * 300 million citizens, because if I am buying that much, everyone else is buying that much too.)

3) The recording industry's gross income is $540 billion per year. (45 billion cds * an average of $12 per cd.)

4) The recording industry is not financially hurting in any way.

Justifying theft by saying they aren't hurting financially is a copout.
 
smileynev said:
Justifying theft by saying they aren't hurting financially is a copout.


Maybe so, but condemning it in the face of screwing your customers is a copout too.

Don't play the financial victim with me when you go home to a mansion and a Hummer every night, which were purchased with profits from fine-print contracts that fuck your beloved artists, I might add. Don't feed me the "Do as I say, not as I do" line.

And I'm not justifying it, I'm saying it's a fact of life. People steal. But if you make a product worth buying, most people will buy it. It's an economic principle that has remained true for thousands of years, and will almost certainly not change now for one small industry.