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International Law

: Excess Copyright

A good call by Hon. James Moore on Funding for CDN Music Industry

By Howard Knopf, Esq.

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As I tweeted earlier yesterday:

Bravo to @mpjamesmoore for serious $78 million support for CDN music. This is far more effective than an iPod "tax".http://bit.ly/9Rs7D1

Indeed, it makes a lot of sense to encourage Canadian artists directly through Government programs. That way, the money can go to Canadians and those who have a case to get it.

In this case, the three organizations entrusted with taxpayer's money are worthy ones - namely:

FACTOR: www.factor.ca

MUSICACTION: www.musicaction.ca

SOCAN Foundation: www.socanfoundation.ca

They should hopefully do a decent job of distributing $78 million of taxpayer dollars to worthy Canadian artists - at least in the commercial music realm.

Serious music is quite another matter, and requires further special attention. This is especially the case since the current management of CBC has effectively thrown serious music under a bus and destroyed 70 years worth of essential infrastructural support for it. It's still not too late to restore much of what was lost and even to save a lot of money in the process - not least of which would involve significantly lower tariff payments to SOCAN and Re:Sound (NRCC). But some serious decisions need to be taken by the CBC president if this is to happen, and if not by him, then by the Board of Directors and potentially, if necessary, by the Government.

Because funding programs are outside of the copyright system, they are not subject to the strictures of national treatment, which inevitably results in major outflows to the USA and EU.

This is far better than an iPod "tax" that would hand over lots of money to the the CPCC, which will eventually hand out what's left, after legal, consulting and other expenses, to mostly foreign interests on the basis of proven commercial success - i.e.not to emerging and/or deserving Canadian artists who don't show up enough or at all on the record or radio play data to benefit to any meaningful extent. . Not to mention the distortion and inefficiency such a "tax" would create in the market for everything from cell phones to laptops, and - of course - iPods.

Full post as published by Excess Copyright on April 17, 2010 (boomark / email).