Last Minute Gift Ideas ?
Amazon.ca
and iTunes Canada
have printable gift certificates.
Alternatively, you can e-gift a product or send gift certificates to Facebook from Amazon.com
The Forever Yours Charity Single
As you may or may not know, I’ve been a member of Youtube since 2006. And today I thought I’d bump a charity single entitled “Forever Yours” by fellow Youtuber Alex Day, also known as Nerimon.
I am particularly fond of the hilarious BillTV-Mickeleh Remix, having known BillTVMacon for a while, and the Stefan Chin Remix, which has already charted at #10 in the Electronic music charts here in Canada.
Free Music Download Offer
eMusic had added another $5 credit to their trial offer. That’s $10 of free music to new users, which translates to about 20 free MP3s.
These guys have over 13 million tracks in their catalog, many of which are $0.49 each after the 7 day trial.
Parliament May Be On Break….
But your local Member of Parliament‘s office should still be available to receive letters and emails in regards to the digital locks provisions in Bill C-11 and Lawful Access until Parliament resumes in late January.
Over 80 thousand Canadians signed the OpenMedia.ca petition against Lawful Access, including yours truly.
Please consider signing this petition. Thank you.
Attention Bell Customers
Bell has announced price “updates” on their home phone and internet services, effective January 1st, 2012.
Canadians To Pay For Music Previews ?
Starting tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada will hear appeals in regards to royalty payments for music previews and music in video games.
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada wants royalties every time someone clicks on one of those short previews when they Shop on iTunes, eMusic
, etc, and had appealed an October 18th, 2007 Copyright Board of Canada decision stating that these qualifies as “fair dealing”.
Unfortunately for the consumer many retailers have decided to drop previews because of this case, including Amazon.ca, and if the Supreme Court rules in their favor previews might be removed on most sites because the royalties would be quite prohibitive.
A ruling establishing royalties on previews could also set a precedent that could hinder film previews and trailers in Canada. But I am hoping the previous Copyright Board of Canada decision will stand.
Previews are not purchases but research to which the end result might be a legitimate purchase. And without previews, people will think twice about making a purchase, so it is counterproductive.
Then there’s the fact that this ruling would not apply to foreign sites, where previews are accessible by Canadians. And any attempt to collect royalties for previews from these foreign sites would be problematic because of their national “fair dealing” exemptions.
Apple and Canada’s largest telecom companies are of course fighting this appeal. The Canadian Recording Industry Association had also opposed royalties on previews so I am guessing that their modern counterpart, Music Canada, also oppose them.