Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

tori — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:39:05 -0000

There are several ingredients it takes to be a successful musician:
• Incredible musical talent
• Charisma, good looks, charm... all the things it takes to have people want to listen to you
• Endurance. Think of all the early years that musicians spend writing songs, band practice, organising gigs, hauling all their s*** to places far and wide to play their songs, slowly getting exposure, etc, etc. It is not easy to 'make it' in the musical world and that one little carrot that hangs in their faces is the one piece of hope that keeps the industry turning out great stuff.
When all those ingredients combine, don't you think they deserve a little credit? To say they're lavish and indulgent (a.k.a Lenny Kravitz) is judging a life you'll never live. What is it like to have to live indoors because the paparazzi is up your a**? If this answer is 'I don't know' then you're not really fit to judge how that person spends their money.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Offshore Disclosure — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:27:03 -0000

I don't think its not good to put tax on these cases..Its against the entire music lovers..
Offshore Disclosure

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

ThinkAboutIt — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:38:00 -0000

Youre forgetting about independent musicians that piracy is killing because they invest the little money and time they have in themselves to make a product that someone might want, and people just steal it... so the artist is unable to get a first step forward financially. There are alot of great artists out there with wonderful recordings and songs that are being choked out by people who just want to take because they can... without consideration for the time, effort and money that goes into the creation of the music, especially when every penny counts.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

reid Sheldon — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:31:00 -0000

Hi, here is a real breakdown what Stan so ignorantly writes about; http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2008/07/uk_ministers_ba.php

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Payam — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:32:34 -0000

Stan, I would like to know what made you qualify to write an article on this subject? Do you work in the music industry? and it would have also made sense to link your past article to this post so we know where you coming from.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

James — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:37:36 -0000

Germany does that? You mean the country that's tried to take over the entire world TWICE in the past 100yrs charges a crazy tax like that? Well I'll be damned. What is the world coming to?

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Daniel B — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:01:05 -0000

I can't see that it matters how much money some musicians make. Taxing the web would be a bad idea even if all musicians were really poor.

Also: what about porn? That is intellectual property as well, and there's A LOT of it being downloaded out there...I've been told, by a friend. At least it would be funny seeing the goverment trying to decide who should have the most money: the producers of "Butt Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Scat Monsters III".

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Michael Kimsal — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:47:04 -0000

Allen Stern had it wrong the other day - don't click on ads, just get governments to impose a fee to then redistribute to bloggers. There's load of copyrighted blog content that's shared, I dare say some of it illegally, by millions of people every day. I bet some RIAA employees even redistribute blog content illegally, with company computers no less!

The gov't should collect $50/year - only $5/month from each ISP per user - and set up a blogger fund. Bloggers would get paid from this proportionally to the amount of content they create (not how much is 'stolen', just created).

Whaddya all think?

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Andrew Wise — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:32:29 -0000

I say we put a tax on ISPs and give the money to educators who are seeing their wages constantly being pushed lower, with costs increasingly skyrocketing. No Child Left Behind and all that crap does nothing for teacher's pay, and why should we be catering to musicians who are GETTING PAID TO PLAY MUSIC!

This country needs to invest more money into the people that help to shape our future, instead of pandering to the music industry.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Prometheus — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:00:56 -0000

Very easy, check bittorent transfers to piratesbay, mininova ect sites and you've got 60% caught.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Ipay4myMedia — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:57:32 -0000

Not only are lawmakers incapable of doing this in a fair and just way for all intellectual property around the 'net, but what about those who pay, at least in some way, for all the media and sofware they consume? I make it a point to support artists, moviemakers, and programmers because I am a programmer.

Therefore, lawmakers are going to punish those who download leagally and those who download legally equally? That will only cause all who actually purchase media to become jaded and either stop consuming, or hyper consume for free.

This is completely vapid, and I cannot believe lawmakers are actually considering it. Plus, 30 pounds is absolutely exorbitant. 2 USD/month distributed directly to the artists would end up being MORE THAN THEY CURRENTLY MAKE FROM RECORD COMPANIES. I can't remember the exact statistic, but I think it goes a little like Radiohead made an average of 2.15 USD per album on In Rainbows when they gave it away as 'donationware.' That's more than 15 cents they would have made per album sale just by cutting out the middleman. Does anyone see a problem with how top-heavy and cumbersome our media outlets have become? Everyone wants a pound of flesh from these artists, and from the people. I cry outrage!

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Calan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:45:45 -0000

I don't think you're correctly communicating the plan. It doesn't suggest taxing everyone.

It will use ISP's to send letters to downloaders based on their internet habits. People could pay the tax and then download music.

I can't imagine a blanket tax on everyone could possibly have been the suggestion. We're slightly more progressive than that.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Michelle Greer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:18:48 -0000

Just shows that people aren't using the web space in a creative way. Musicians have personal brands, and if they don't know how to use a cheap medium, i.e. the internet to promote their stuff, they aren't thinking straight.

This just looks like a step in the wrong direction.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Anderson — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:18:33 -0000

How is is relevant to "social networking news".

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Derek — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:15:30 -0000

The music industry is simply too lazy or too unoriginal to solve the problem itself. So it's trying to rely on taxing individuals who have nothing to do with music piracy.

Plus, it sounds nice that the fees collected will be "given back to the artists." But, come on, who really believes that will happen. It'll get sucked up in the industry/record label bureaucracy and the artists still won't see it.

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Fabrice Epelboin — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:58:52 -0000

Yeah... they though about this in France for some time... Guess It'll come back. We already have a similar tax/prepremtive fine on blank CD and DVD, HD and USB keys...

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Prometheus — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:42:40 -0000

Laughing and Crying is sooo easy! (oh and whats wrong with the premptive music tax? If they say piracy is wrong and most of the users on an ISP are downloading a blanket tax is fair)

Re: Music Tax: Because Cocaine Doesn’t Buy Itself

Daniel — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:39:26 -0000

Take a look at Germany there they collect a fee for all devices able to connect to the internet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...Ã¼hreneinzugszentrale)