Good News From HMV U.K
HMV UK was purchased by Hilco for 50 million pounds so it appears the 140 store chain will remain operational.
No news on when or if they will reinstate their online store but I think they will probably want to get back into digital sales soon.
HMV UK was where I purchased most of my CD singles and European music video compilations back in the day.
Changes in Retail Sales Taxes in BC and PEI
Effective today, residents of Prince Edward Island will be subject to a Harmonized Sales Tax of 14% on most services and products whilst British Columbia Residents will be subject to a Goods and Services Tax of 5%, which will be replacing the Harmonized Sales Tax of 12% in BC.
In British Columbia there will be a decrease in taxes on books (audio, electronic, bound and printed), basic cable services, concert tickets, music lessons and movie tickets but a combined tax of 12% (5% GST + 7% PST) will remain on most products and services. Individually purchased magazines will be subject to less taxes in this province.
In Prince Edward Island there will be decreases in retail sales taxes on CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, MP3 players, DVD and Blu-Ray players, radios, stereos, televisions, movie tickets, basic cable subscriptions and individual magazine purchases. Audio Books and Books will still be subject to the GST at 5% in this province whilst music lessons will be exempt.
For additional information please consult the following documents :
- For Residents of British Columbia
- What’s Taxable and What’s Not ? (pdf)
- Fact sheet: Changes to the sales tax in British Columbia
- Elimination of the HST in British Columbia in 2013 – Questions and Answers
- For Residents of Prince Edward Island
- What’s Taxable and What’s Not ?
- Fact sheet: Harmonized sales tax in Prince Edward Island
- GST/HST – General information HST – Transitional rules for Prince Edward Island for transactions that straddle April 1, 2013
SOCAN Reports Hike in Concert Royalty Revenue
SOCAN has reported a 14% hike in their concert royalties in 2012, totaling 20.9 million in Canadian dollars.
The royalties in 2011 had only grown by 1% from the previous year to 18.3 million dollars from 18.2 million dollars.
BTW, if you are a composer or musician, SOCAN has a series of interesting articles that you might want to read. Click here to access a listing of these articles..
Shopper’s Drug Mart Offer
Select Shopper’s Drug Marts are offering $6 off $30 iTunes multi-packs.
This offer, which will expire on March 22nd, 2013, was advertised on page 5 of my local flyer. Consult your local flyer for details.
Tim Hortons – Music Downloads
“Roll Up The Rim To Win” starts today at Tim Hortons. And if you play online you’ll have a chance to instantly win music downloads from the Universal Music Store.
350 download packs of three music downloads each will be given away daily online until March 17th, 2013. And I believe this contest is open to Americans as well.
Enjoy !
Canada Post Says No Reduction In Deliveries
The Ottawa Business Journal reports that Canada Post will not be reducing their deliveries from 5 to 3 a week.
“To address our challenges Canada Post has launched several initiatives … but no other major changes to operations are being made at this time.”
Canada Post had not mentioned whether they will close outlets or not in their statements to The Canadian Press.