Rockin’ out with your MP3 or burning music CD-Rs on your computer will cost a lot more if the federal government has its way. Newly proposed royalty charges will add a whopping $400 to the cost of a $600 MP3 player and at least a $1.23 charge to the cost of each blank CD-R, CD-RW or MiniDisc.
Old-fashioned cassette tapes will also face an additional 40cents charge.
All the money will go to artists as royalties designed to compensate for home recording and dubbing of CDs.
Canadians have until May 8 to file written objections to the Copyright Board.
LITTLE NOTICE – It’s proposed the charges would take effect Jan. 1, 2003.
Tory-Democratic Representative MP Grant McNally said the charges are nothing but a tax grab, accusing the government of trying to slip the charges into law with little notice.
The Copyright Board issued a notice on Saturday. Heritage Minister Sheila Copps defended the proposal as giving songwriters and musicians their due. “Unlike the Conservative Party that claims to support intellectual property rights, we actually support copyright,” Copps said.
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