Post Tagged with: "CRIA"

Like a record baby by Maarten Hornstra (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/6VD4Dv

The Great Canadian Copyright Giveaway: Why Copyright Term Extension for Sound Recordings Could Cost Consumers Millions

Randy Bachman, the well-known Canadian musician, found himself embroiled in a public fight with Prime Minister Stephen Harper last year when Harper used his song “Takin’ Care of Business” as a theme song for a major speech. Bachman said he probably would not have granted permission to use the song, since “I don’t think he’s taking care of business for the right people or the right reasons.” Bachman was singing a different tune yesterday as the government released its budget and apparently took care of the right people – record companies. Despite no study, no public demands, and the potential cost to the public of millions of dollars, the government announced that it will extend the term of copyright for sound recordings and performances from 50 to 70 years. For that giveaway, Bachman was quoted as saying “thanks for the term extension PM Harper, you really are taking care of business.”

While the government lined up industry supporters to praise the term extension, the decision is unexpected and unnecessary (it also announced that it will accede to the Marrakesh copyright treaty for the blind, but that should not require significant domestic reforms). The music industry did not raise term extension as a key concern during either the 2012 copyright reform bill or the 2014 Canadian Heritage committee study on the industry. Experience elsewhere suggests that the extension is a windfall for record companies, with little benefit to artists or the public. In fact, many countries that have implemented the extension have been forced to do so through trade or political agreements, while signalling their opposition along the way.

Canada will extend term without any public discussion or consultation, yet other studies have found that retroactive extension does not lead to increased creation and that the optimal term length should enable performers and record labels to recoup their investment, not extend into near-unlimited terms to the detriment of the public. For Canadian consumers, the extension could cost millions of dollars as works that were scheduled to come into the public domain will now remain locked down for decades.

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April 22, 2015 55 comments News
Pay to the order of... by Scott J. Waldron (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/FtDtt

The Battle Over Tariff 8, Part 2: The Recording Industry’s Surprising Opposition to Songwriter, Composer and Music Publisher Streaming Royalties

Yesterday I posted on the battle over Tariff 8, the Copyright Board of Canada’s new tariff for digital music streaming services that the media has suggested could open the door to popular foreign services migrating to Canada. Despite the initial excitement, the Canadian recording industry, led by Music Canada (formerly the Canadian Recording Industry Association) has taken aim at the decision, which its President Graham Henderson argues:

will further imperil artists’ livelihoods, and threatens to rob them of the fruits of their labour in the new digital marketplace. And it will further undermine the business environment, undercutting the ability of labels and other music companies to make future investments in Canadian talent.

As noted in the post, Re:Sound, the collective responsible for the tariff, has filed for judicial review of the decision and Music Canada is urging its supporters to “like” its Facebook protest page, which it says will help win the fight.

There are two things that make the campaign against the decision particularly striking: the industry’s failure to mention to that Tariff 8 is only one of several payments made for music streaming and its opposition to those other payments.

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July 30, 2014 1 comment News
The Battle Over Tariff 8: What the Recording Industry Isn’t Saying About Canada’s Internet Streaming Royalties

The Battle Over Tariff 8: What the Recording Industry Isn’t Saying About Canada’s Internet Streaming Royalties

Over the past month, Music Canada, the lead lobby group for the Canadian recording industry, has launched a social media campaign criticizing a recent Copyright Board of Canada decision that set some of the fees for Internet music streaming companies such as Pandora. The long-overdue decision seemingly paves the way for new online music services to enter the Canadian market, yet the industry is furious about rates it claims are among the worst in the world.

The Federal Court of Appeal will review the decision, but the industry has managed to get many musicians and music labels worked up over rates it labels 10 percent of nothing. While the Copyright Board has more than its fair share of faults, a closer examination of the Internet music streaming decision suggests that this is not one of them.

The Music Canada claim, which is supported by Re:Sound (the copyright collective that was seeking a tariff or fee for music streaming), is that the Canadian rates are only 10 percent of the equivalent rate in the United States. That has led to suggestions that decision devalues music and imperils artists’ livelihood.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the reality is far more complex.

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July 29, 2014 6 comments Columns
052:365 - 06/21/2012 - Netflix by Shardayy (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/cisnRo

Canadian Media Production and Music Groups Calls for New Rules for Netflix, Google, ISPs

Canadians love Internet success stories such as Netflix and Google as recent data indicates that millions now subscribe to the online video service and Google is the undisputed leader in search and online advertising. The changing marketplace may be a boon to consumers, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that it also breeds calls for increased Internet regulation. That is particularly true in the content industry, with the film and music sectors recently calling for rules that would target online video services, Internet providers, and search engines.

The Canadian Media Production Association, which represents independent producers of English films and television shows, recently told a Senate committee that new rules are needed to address the threat posed by popular Internet video services such as Netflix. The CMPA argued that a “level playing field” is needed to ensure that there is “choice, diversity and growth in a more open market place.”

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February 13, 2014 19 comments Columns

Canadian Media Production and Music Groups Calls for New Rules for Netflix, Google

Appeared in the Toronto Star on February 8, 2014 as Success of Netflix, Google Leads to Calls for New Rules Canadians love Internet success stories such as Netflix and Google as recent data indicates that millions now subscribe to the online video service and Google is the undisputed leader in […]

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February 13, 2014 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive