Mike Arrington at TechCrunch has several good stories on a proposed “music tax” which the recording industry is seeking to impose on listeners. As per usual the industry is talking out of both sides of its mouth by suggesting that the tax would not be mandatory but would instead be a voluntary scheme that ISPs can choose to participate. In reality, Arrington writes:
…the plan essentially comes down to telling ISPs that they can avoid any copyright infringement liability if they pay the fee on behalf of customers. And while the government wouldn’t be directly involved, the willingness of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system to enforce civil and criminal copyright infringement laws is the stick by which Griffin will convince ISPs to jump on board. It’s government endorsed extortion, nothing more and nothing less.
Or, in other words, “pay us not to sue you.” Interestingly, Arrington notes that the tax could bring in as much as $20 billion (twice the current revenue of the entire industry).
Continue reading ‘A Music Tax? The Extortionary Ways of the Music Industry’
