THE Songwriters Association of Canada will reveal a proposal Thursday that would see every Canadian's monthly Internet bill increase by $5 in exchange for the ability to download as many "illegal" music files as they choose.
The association says its proposal, which would require federal approval, would wipe out the need for music-selling websites such as iTunes.ca and PureTracks.ca, making it legal for one person to share a music CD with as many people as they wish.
"That's a very reasonable amount of money to legally, without fear of any legal repercussions, to be able to download that and share it with whoever you want to and as many times as you want," said Eddie Schwartz, president of the Songwriters association. "On iTunes to download one album, it's $10. This is half of that and this is pretty reasonable to have access to the entire repertoire of Western music."
Amendment
The organization will gather at Toronto's Ryerson University to launch the initiative and demand an immediate amendment to the Canadian Copyright Act.
Schwartz said the proposal was created at the request of federal politicians who are reviewing Canada's Copyright Act. The proposed fees could see the songwriters association collect between $500 million and $900 million annually from Internet subscribers.
Sales of music in Canada were $704 million in 2006, the most recent year for which sales data have been made available -- a far cry from the $1.3 billion reported during the industry's peak sales year in 1999.
Still, the amount the songwriters are demanding seems far higher than the actual damages that piracy causes the music industry. A Canwest News Service study, using the music industry's own figures, suggests that Canadian artists may only be losing as much as $118.8 million a year as the result of illegal downloading.
-- Canwest News Service
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