Proposed Local Television Levy
I know this isn’t about music but I thought I’d post something about it here.
My local cable provider, Rogers, insists on passing the proposed levy on when quite frankly they could easily absorb most of it, like the blank audio media manufacturers and importers have absorbed the blank audio media levy.
I don’t believe their scare tactics and in the end if push comes to shove I, like many Rogers customers, will move on to off the air broadcasts for my local television, which is free, and use the net as an alternative to time shifting.
By August 2011, I will have access to about thirteen stations in HD quality here in Ottawa, five of which are already on the air and two of which will be on air shortly.
According to TVfool, a site that maps out local television signals, I would need to install an antenna in the attic of my rental unit to get most of my local channels but that would be quite inexpensive and I currently get three channels in my second floor bedroom, crystal clear and at top strength with a simple RCA HDTV Antenna
Unfortunately I can’t get satellite because outdoor antennas aren’t allowed on my unit. But another option will be that IPTV service Bell will be expanding with their Fibe internet service.
Yes, Bell might consider passing it on as well but they will still try to compete with Rogers. And vice versa if their customers start talking to their customer service about the possibility of lookinf at the competition. Hint ! Hint ! 🙂
New Levy Proposed For Mp3 Players
A new levy for mp3 players and iPods has been proposed in Parliament.
Private Members Bill C-499 would extend the current private copying levy from blank audio cassettes, CD-R, CD-RW and DAT tapes to MP3 Players, including iPods, in order to compensate copyright holders for the distribution of copyrighted material to these devices.
Unfortunately the previous attempt to expand this levy to “digital audio recorders” called for rates up to $75 per device, which would have been passed onto consumers by the manufacturers, and would have resulted in the decimation of the Canadian sales of these devices because Canadian consumers would have imported them to avoid the additional fees.
As a consumer I oppose these levies because I believe I have already paid for the right to distribute recordings that I have purchased online to these devices. And I have also purchased the compact discs from which I make private copies, copies for personal use that are deemed legal since the passing of the Private Copying Act in 1997.
Remuneration is not required from me because I do not download music illegally off the net, yet this levy is based on the assumption that I download recordings off the net illegally simply because I own a device that can be used to store this material.
After all they had assumed that most of the previously levied items were used to make copies of copyrighted material. And this will of course result in further assumptions about film downloads, which will likely result in more levies in the future on DVD-R, DVD-RW and devices on which video can be stored or played back.
We need an equitable, logical remuneration scheme based on the realities of today’s recording industry.
Distribution is no longer limited to a physical medium like vinyl, cassette or compact disc and the consumer should not be paying for a recording every time they copy this recording to a medium when this copying is meant for personal, private use.
Please contact your local Member of Parliament and voice your opinion on this issue as soon as possible.
I will be updating this blog entry as the issue progresses.