DISQUS

matt · 4 years ago

i think he was 20 years ahead, and the "record companies" are 20 years behind. therefore, in say, another 17 years we may have a good solution to digital music distribution, by which point it will be 20 years too late (and woefully out of date). the only solution is for "techie class" to oust the "corporate executive class" either directly or by a (preferable) flanking maneuver.
Julian · 4 years ago

In Germany there has been such a Blank Tape Tax for over 50 years, as our constitutional court ruled in favor of privacy. Back then the music industry wanted every tape-recorder registered in order to control copying, the court ruled that this was against private rights and therefore a levy on blank tapes was introduced. Sadly this tax is not extended onto the internet, so file sharing is not covered by a levy in opposite to private copying of CDs or tapes.