Japan to propose copyright fees on iPods, digital hard disk recorders

After paying the copyright royalties, we should all feel obliged to download music without paying. Or better, just not listen to the jpop crap that passes for music and spend our money on good live bands.

These "digital content protection laws" represent a failing in the justice system and its inability to adapt to pivotal technological change. Why should companies in the music and movie industries, with their outdated business models and practices, be artificially protected?

Because they're worth a LOT of money to individual politicans, I presume.

Sounds like we've got the green light to download then!

The proceeds would go to recording companies, songwriters and artists.

If the proceeds went to the latter two of these then I could handle this proposal, just about. The outdated business practices of the recording industry aside, the people who write, and perform the music should get something back for what they do. It is obviously easier for people to do all kinds of production and promotion themselves now - with the internet, a Mac with ProTools on it etc - and there are lots of people doing that.

If all you folk downloading music for free were told that all the money, after overheads for manufacture and promotion, recording etc were taken out - went to the artist: would you pay money for your music then? How do you propose that the musicians get paid and earn a living?

If all you folk downloading music for free were told that all the money, after overheads for manufacture and promotion, recording etc were taken out - went to the artist: would you pay money for your music then? How do you propose that the musicians get paid and earn a living?

I can't say how exactly this would work in Japan, but I know a few musicians who went the major label route in the States, and they see squat from CD sales.

How would I propose they get paid and earn a living? Exactly the way they're doing it now: touring, selling merchandise, and licensing, none of which require a recording company. Very, very, very few musicians make enough off their recordings to see a profit, let alone earn a living.

The Radiohead example is possibly the best model come across thus far: offer it for what people want to pay. With the advent of recording technology, soon it won't cost much more than time to make an album, so the profit/loss margin will be a LOT easier to handle, especially if the record companies see their role reduced significantly.

Downloading is one of those moral grey areas that it's impossible to make a definitive statement on. What about things that are WAY out of print that NO ONE will see ANY profit on, whether it's downloaded or not? What about the musicians who see all or nearly all of their profits get sucked up by "creative" bookkeeping by their label? (Trust me, the vast majority of major label acts fit into this category. And make no mistake: the money from this tax would mostly go to the companies, not the artists.) You're not "stealing" from the artist, you're "stealing" from a faceless entity that is geared to give the artist as little as possible.

I'm not gonna come out for or against downloading...my musical tastes tend to run to the extremely obscure (unless you can point me to a copy of the Desperate Bicycles' catalog that costs less than my house, I'm gonna stick with my MP3s.) Then again, I've seen some friends' bands struggle even after some degree of success because they're not seeing a cent from their labels.

The problem is not downloading. The problem is the entire corporate structure has been artificially inflated for years, and they're trying to stave off the inevitable.

The only effective way I see of controlling the illegal downloads is by having the ISP's collect a levy for downloads. Having a a tax on electronic equipment capable of copying digital material is way short of any real solution to muso's and Hollywood getting their cut. How do the artists get their cut from this tax?

Why don't they just come out and say it: "The proceeds would go 90% to recording companies, 5% to songwriters and 5% to artists."

If we check the history how copyrights were imposed we will know behind that was powerful people. Behind every new law there are powerful bussiness men. And this new law to propose copyright fees on iPods, digital hard disk recorders what if there are people like me who use these things in education. What if you use DVD hard disk recorders, cd players, ipod in education? how they will check what for it is being used? This is a Jungle law. These kind of laws open door to Piracy practice.

Music or song writers or composer they get their share when they register their item. And a country like Japan they get enough. I wonder if one day they impose taxes on Toilet Papers too.

What a fine lobbying performace by the same people who bring you the crap music on Japanese TV and radio.

Bravo. If I could buy even less music than zero from Japanese record companies, I would.

I listened to a recording industry analyst who said Christine Aguilera makes more money on ringtone downloads than she does on her music. In fact, the record company didn't think ringtones were such a big deal and left them out of her contract. She owns All of the ringtone money.

That said, the Japanese recording industry is shooting itself in the head with this. If I buy an iPod and then use that iPod in my store or bar, I no longer have to pay royalties to the recording industry, right? I already paid.

And who would I rather support by a) downloading their music and telling my friends about and b) helping out the band by buying their other products - cups and t-shirts: A recording company-controlled J-pop group or a true indies band?

nice that they announce it on a day when Apple is closed...not sneaky at all

It just looks like Japan wants to make money off of products that they didn't invent. It would be interesting to see how much of that money goes to SONY MUSIC. Every wonder why Iphone isn't here in Japan?

Flat out, bottom line is....when it comes to creativity the Western world rules. We make better products for life. This is the truth.

We invented the fork while they still eat with sticks. They cut down forests and hurt the environment while we were smart enough to make cutlery that's reuseable.

Japan must learn it can't ice skate uphill.

How much money have the record companies paid to Richard Lewis Spencer, the copyright holder of the Amen break? Nothing! The guy is owed millions if not a billion dollars. And they will make sure he continues to get nothing.

It just looks like Japan wants to make money off of products that they didn't invent.

Record companies != Japan. And besides, many of the portable music players that woudl be taxed are designed and manufactured in Japan. Even many of the iPods contain a 3.5" Toshiba notebook hard drive from Japan (along with other sources such as Samsung, WD, etc).

It would be interesting to see how much of that money goes to SONY MUSIC.

and JVC (Victor), Avex, etc?

Every wonder why Iphone isn't here in Japan?

Because Japan uses WCDMA, and iPhone is originally a GSM 2G device, so it will need a new radio core to work here? (Or maybe because users feel the hardware and services here are good enoguh already).

Flat out, bottom line is....when it comes to creativity the Western world rules. We make better products for life. This is the truth.

Are you including Europe? When it comes to creativity, I would say Ikea hardly "rules" in that regard.

We invented the fork while they still eat with sticks. They cut down forests and hurt the environment while we were smart enough to make cutlery that's reuseable.

Those "sticks" (hashi, and by other names) are typically made of bamboo, a fast growing grass, and are typically reuseable. I find it more versatile than forks and you don't have to have a different size for the salad and the main course. On the other hand, plastic forks are made from petroleum distillates and degrade very slowly in landfills.

Many innovations such as paper were invented in Asia. So, on that note, do you use paper from FSG certified forests, with post consumer content and a bleach-free process, or are you just a hypocritical bigot?

Japan must learn it can't ice skate uphill.

Technically, you CAN skate uphill. It's just a matter of the incline versus the amount of power you can produce.