Copyright Board of Canada Pushes for “iPod Tax”

Ars Technica has reported that the Copyright Board of Canada is pushing again for an “iPod Tax”. Some might remember a similar $40 levy that was introduced a while back but then was quickly shot down. The proposed levy would apply to digital media players such as iPods and is supposed compensation for artists whose music is being illegally shared.

Personally, I think this is the wrong way to go about this situation. Plus how do we know that the Copyright Board of Canada is really distributing this “compensated money” to the artists? Such a levy brings about complications to other electronic equipment which have similar capabilities. It can apply to multimedia capable phones, computers, etc. in the future.

It seems that the Copyright Board of Canada is assuming that everyone illegally downloads their music then puts it on their iPods, thus justifying this levy. With the state of things in Canada, you can’t get in trouble for downloading on peer-to-peer networks (although uploading will), and I can sort of see where they’re coming from. Still, it’s not really fair and if you can get in trouble for downloading in the future, would this levy still exist? By the way, if you’re looking for a good read on why the record labels are making all this noise over peer-to-peer networks, Robin Good has written up an excellent article on The Myth Of The Rock Star And Of The Need To Sign-up For A Major Recording Label.

At the end of the day, the levy just doesn’t seem fair at all. It has the possibility of being imposed on other electronic equipment with storage capabilities, and who knows where the money is really going? So if you’re planning to purchase an iPod, a Zune or any sort of digital media player, you should get it soon before this tax is imposed…or else you can just find a way around it.