dslreports logo
 story category
All You Can Eat Music Piracy: $1 A Month
Isle Of Man to implement industry's collective licensing plan
Last March the music industry announced they'd created a new organization tasked with trying to implement collective licensing program or "piracy tax." In essence, users would pay their ISP $5-$10 a month for the right to download, copy and share as much music as they'd like without restrictions. It appears the Isle Of Man will be moving forward with such an idea, charging users "as little as" £1 ($1.38) per month according to the New York Times. We've previously discussed some of the problems with such a system, including the fact that everybody (including newspapers) have started wanting broadband customers to prop up their failing business models.
view:
topics flat nest 

Knnn
join:2003-01-27
North Vancouver, BC

Knnn

Member

erm...

I wonder if this is an op in scheme and what happens if you don't pirate stuff?
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

Re: erm...

If you don't pirate stuff, it's time to start, because they'll be charging you anyway.

Or at least that's how I understand it?

swhx7
Premium Member
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia

swhx7

Premium Member

Re: erm...

Except it's not even as good as it may sound (which isn't very).

Usually these are only a "covenant not to sue" from particular record companies. Anything from *other* companies is not covered.

And this is only for downloading. The RIAA and corresponding organizations in other countries still go after uploaders, and to the extent they succeed there will be nothing to download. And you could still be sued for getting music on bittorrent, because it uploads at the same time.

This is not to mention the whole problem of unfairness to non-pirates, the fact that the artists will never get an additional penny out of the robber-baron companies, or the many other problems with this kind of scheme.
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

NeoandGeo

Member

Re: erm...

said by swhx7:

This is not to mention the whole problem of unfairness to non-pirates, the fact that the artists will never get an additional penny out of the robber-baron companies, or the many other problems with this kind of scheme.
That means they need to stick to their real revenue stream, which is merchandising and live shows.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to Knnn

Premium Member

to Knnn
said by Knnn:

I wonder if this is an op in scheme and what happens if you don't pirate stuff?
no. you just get to subsidize the thieves.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: erm...

said by dvd536:

said by Knnn:

I wonder if this is an op in scheme and what happens if you don't pirate stuff?
no. you just get to subsidize the thieves.
It's not theft, it's copyright infringement. And even then, if you are paying a "piracy tax" for the privileged of all-you-can-download music (or movies or whatever), it's not even copyright infringement.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall

MVM

Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

said by Nightfall:

Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music.
As long as you stay within your 5 gig cap

Aozora
join:2008-11-28

Aozora

Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

said by hopeflicker:

said by Nightfall:

Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music.
As long as you stay within your 5 gig cap
LMFAO, if that 5GB was only music, I am sure most of us here could live with that. There is no way there is 5GB new of music worthwhile every month that you need to download. Definitely a good deal for the consumer.
BigVe
join:2005-07-15
Gulliver, MI

BigVe

Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

said by Aozora:

said by hopeflicker:

said by Nightfall:

Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music.
As long as you stay within your 5 gig cap
There is no way there is 5GB new of music worthwhile every month that you need to download.
NAh! Most likely about 100meg if that
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada
MikroTik RB450G
Cisco DPC3008
Cisco SPA112

TheMG

Premium Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

said by BigVe:

NAh! Most likely about 100meg if that
Well, more than that if you like your music in lossless format!

whomi
@mindspring.com

whomi

Anon

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

Yea right! $1 per month for the first 3 months afterward $5-$10 per month. Remember, GREEDY is what they after!

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

2 recommendations

pnh102 to Nightfall

Premium Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
Until every other business "impacted" by the Internet in some negative way decides it wants a fee too. You'll end up paying $1 a month for music, another $1 a month for movies, another $1 for newspapers, etc.

I pay enough for Internet service each month. I refuse to subsidize anymore failing businesses.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

said by pnh102:

I pay enough for Internet service each month. I refuse to subsidize anymore failing businesses.
Well, any more then the ones the Government forces you to subsidize, anyway.

jadebangle
Premium Member
join:2007-05-22
00000

jadebangle to pnh102

Premium Member

to pnh102
said by pnh102:

said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
Until every other business "impacted" by the Internet in some negative way decides it wants a fee too. You'll end up paying $1 a month for music, another $1 a month for movies, another $1 for newspapers, etc.

I pay enough for Internet service each month. I refuse to subsidize anymore failing businesses.
i wish we have free healthcare... we can all sure benefit from it

Rogue Wolf
An Easy Draw of a Sad Few
join:2003-08-12
Troy, NY

1 recommendation

Rogue Wolf to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
But what if I don't want to pay it? The RIAA isn't going to make it an "opt-in and grab all the music you like" deal; they're going to require that EVERY customer be charged, even people who haven't bought a new album since 1958. Nothing like a guaranteed revenue stream without having to deal with all those pesky customers.

You're not paying to subsidize my hentai fetish love of neo-modern architecture, so why should I pay to subsidize your love of music?

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

1 edit

Transmaster to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall
If I could get my hands on the recordings of my favorite big band Kay Kaiser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge I would be happy to pay such a "tax"

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen to Nightfall

Premium Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
Where would you be getting all this music from? It's not like they wouldn't continue to attempt to litigate the hell out of the sources for your downloads.
Warez_Zealot
join:2006-04-19
Vancouver

1 recommendation

Warez_Zealot to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
Huh??? So them collecting money because you download stuff off a third party is reasonable? What are you smoking?

How about they get off their lazy asses and offer their own service that lets you download everything off their own website for $1/mo?
MySay
join:2008-04-08
Mansfield, TX

MySay to Nightfall

Member

to Nightfall
Bait and switch...

It's how all new taxes, fee, etc. get introduced! Start low, then once it's accepted / norm... then increase it. There's still companies out there that are charging extra for services as a surcharge on fuel!

Once you start looking beyond the smoke and mirrors, the truth is usually clear as day!
clickie8
join:2005-05-22
Monroe, MI

clickie8

Member

Re: Heck, for $1 per month, this is reasonable!

Actually, I think that's "death from a thousand cuts".

jadebangle
Premium Member
join:2007-05-22
00000

jadebangle to Nightfall

Premium Member

to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:

The ISPs could promote the hell out of this. Imagine if you could download as much as you want when you wanted when it came to music. Burning your own CDs and everything. I would gladly pay it to have access to everything.
too bad that the riaa or mpaa will continue to collect ip and sue us for extra money
44402812 (banned)
Hack The Planet
join:2006-08-28
Plattsburgh, NY

1 recommendation

44402812 (banned)

Member

Hell Yeah

That is all their crappy music is worth today anyway?
travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Bismarck, ND

travelguy

Member

A Really Bad Idea...

Can't you just see 12 months after something like this is implemented. "Our surveys show you are downloading far too much of our product. We'll need to raise that £1/month charge to £5 now."
apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA

apollo80

Member

The can of worms has been opened...

...enjoy your feast, my fellow birds.

Since we are all now going to pay for the right to do this, whether you actually do or not, I guess all of those that have threatening letters, lawsuits, fines paid and jailtime, should now receive an apology and payback from the xxAA's.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

Nothing new here

There is nothing new here. Charging customers for something they do not use started with the Customer Access Line Charge. It was levied to allow Local Exchange Carriers to make up for the long distance revenue that they lost with the break up of the Bell System. Unfortunately the Local Exchange Carriers were allowed to charge the fee even if the customer did make any long distance calls.

Later came the most obnoxious charge that AT&T (Old) started charging. It was called the "in state connection charge" of about $3+ per month. When I complained, their albi was that the charge would allow them to maintain a $0.07 per minute charge for all calls Intrastate or Interstate. The only problem with their logic was that I never made Intrastate calls outside of my Local Access and Transport Area (LATA). BellSouth handled all Intralata calls. I actually celebrated when I found a carrier that did not charge an in state connection charge.

It looks like the music industry parasites are coming up with another charge to stick customers with whether or not they download unlicensed music. I do not see how government officials can justify charging consumers a bulk licensing fee for down loading music unless the government officials are corrupt, dishonest, unethical, weasels.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

1 edit

SLD

Premium Member

UK - first to erode personal freedoms

The UK is always the first 1st world country to erode personal freedoms and choice. Cameras, security checks, piracy tax...
I know Isle of Man != UK, but it's close enough.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098

Member

Re: UK - first to erode personal freedoms

Sure... Not like the NSA Wiretapping / Warrantless Searches / Spying on people's phone calls to their loved ones / Activist groups..... happened in the U.S. over the last 8 years by a certain party. UK is barbaric. U.S. is hamburgers and freedom fries to the max, right?

Lark3po
Premium Member
join:2003-08-05
Madison, AL

Lark3po

Premium Member

Re: UK - first to erode personal freedoms

said by jc10098:

Sure... Not like the NSA Wiretapping / Warrantless Searches / Spying on people's phone calls to their loved ones / Activist groups..... happened in the U.S. over the last 8 years by a certain party. UK is barbaric. U.S. is hamburgers and freedom fries to the max, right?
It's been happening for a lot longer then 8 years my friend.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098

Member

Re: UK - first to erode personal freedoms

It's just been accelerated =) in that time period. I'm not oblivious to say it hasn't happened before. The FBI spied on activists in the 60s. However, now, we've been taking it to a whole new level.

Your DADDY
@rr.com

Your DADDY to Lark3po

Anon

to Lark3po
said by Lark3po:

said by jc10098:

Sure... Not like the NSA Wiretapping / Warrantless Searches / Spying on people's phone calls to their loved ones / Activist groups..... happened in the U.S. over the last 8 years by a certain party. UK is barbaric. U.S. is hamburgers and freedom fries to the max, right?
It's been happening for a lot longer then 8 years my friend.
All of you conspiracy theorists out there think that the US is like that dumb ass propaganda movie Eagle Eye. Ohhhh the government spies on everyone, they are taking everyones freedoms. People like you say that people who give into these things sheep, you are sheep for listening to the AssCLUholes and giving up your freedoms to be non-existent one day. Though I will be the one to die at the hand of a terrorist for standing up for myself and fighting for your dumbass freedoms, you ungreatfull babies. Get a freakin clue

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

4 edits

SLD

Premium Member

Re: UK - first to erode personal freedoms

Well, if you unfortunately die, then at least you won't vote to remove our freedoms. Sorry!

Don't take that too personally, but to consider those who stand up for the Constitution to be sheep shows you don't understand much of history. There are many who would rather die free than live under the tyranny of their own government.

And if you fight (as you claim) for this country, you should consider them your bretheren, not your enemies.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

1 edit

jc10098 to Your DADDY

Member

to Your DADDY
So by your theory, terrorism is an every day issue. Do you realize that since 2001, we've had only 1 attack and 3000 or so people die. One can argue all sorts of things why we had one attack, but as it stands, that's all we've seen. So on this basis, 3,000 dead in 8 years. Now factor America has 16-22,000 Murders annually and 40,000 roadway death. In that same 8 year period 128-176,000 people have been murdered and 320,000 died in automobile crashes. On your rashional of the government must keep us safe, guns, knives, and all deadly weapons should be confiscated. We should all also turn over our drivers license. After all, stepping outside and getting into our car can turn us into a statistic. Really, do you see how ridiculous you sound when put into this context. You're never safe. Live your life. Get over it, and yes, stop listening to the propaganda machine and being a sheeple. No one can protect you from life itself. You might get hit by a car, murdered, choke, etc. That's the risk of what's known as LIVING EVERYDAY LIFE. These far more outweigh dying or being involved in that isolated terrorist attack you speak about.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD to jc10098

Premium Member

to jc10098
Ummm, no. But the UK is worse.

icp1
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Saint Louis, MO

icp1

Premium Member

pay for music?

I haven't paid for music (OR DOWNLOADED!) in probably 10 years other than x-mas cds

Just listen to radio or internet radio any more...

Koil
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
Irmo, SC

1 edit

Koil

Premium Member

Re: pay for music?

I'd do it...it definitely needs to be an opt in thing, and have a separate network that doesn't suck.

If the **AA's were smart, they'd have set their own version of this up long ago. How many ppl have said over and again that they'd pay a flat fee? Whatever....do what they will, they're still not going to be happy, regardless of the outcome.

:E: and is it still piracy at that point?

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

funchords

MVM

The Music Industry's Problem -IS- the Music Industry!

said by (...linked NYT article...) :

Ron Berry, director of inward investment for the Isle of Man, said the music industry needed radical approaches because of the “utter failure” of its current strategies. Global music sales have fallen nearly 25 percent since 2000.
Where is the impact on Hollywood? Certainly movie and TV downloaders have just as much impact on that!

Box Office:
2005...$8,840.5
2006...$9,209.5...+4%
2007...$9,663.7...+5%

Revenue (Paramount/Viacom):
2005...$9,519
2006...$11,361
2007...$13,423

Revenue (NBC Universal)
2003...6,871
2004...12,886
2005...14,689
2006...16,188
2007...15,416

"Piracy" has been a favorite bogeyman for a long time, but it never seems to ring very true.

2008 numbers are coming in -- some of the big stocks release earnings this week. 2008 probably won't be pretty, being a crash year where people held on to their money for Christmas -- but count on the studios to blame piracy for that, too.

••••••
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

What could be interesting...

Is if the Isle of Man would allow foreign companies to colocate servers and offer proxy/VPN services. i.e. an American user would be able to download music through a proxy server in the Isle of Man. They'll be paying a company, and the company would be taxed in Man, and proceeds distributed appropriately.

Such a setup, although probably not desireable by the record companies, may be an ideal legal protection from lawsuits for file sharers world-wide.

DrRosen
@charter.com

DrRosen

Anon

Ain't gonna pay any way

I ain't gonna pay and d&%^@( dime for that crappy music any way
33358088 (banned)
join:2008-09-23

33358088 (banned)

Member

AND hello again remember me

im the guy that actually at fair copyright for canada had a CRIA guy try and rip htis idea ot pieces.
I did come up with the following numbers that was fair and you could use a removal of MS from gvot computers and place linux to 100% pay for it all.

A) 1$ on 24 million accounts = 24 million /month
they get 30-40 million a year now for the cdr levy.
USA = 8 times larger
Britain 3 times larger
you get the idea of the greed about to happen yet
1$ is soooooooo much money when you tab in 600 million internet accounts WHY NOT EH

why should a musician ever have to work again OH wait like the cdr levy this isn't going to the artists its going to the big labels.

10 cents a month for music , 20 cents for tv and 30 for movies
NO MORE , as anymore is a rip off.

dualsmp
join:2001-08-25
Charlotte, NC

dualsmp

Member

Re: AND hello again remember me

said by 33358088:

1$ is soooooooo much money when you tab in 600 million internet accounts WHY NOT EH
Not only that, it's pretty much guaranteed to get jacked up knowing the RIAA tactics. $1 for all those hundreds of millions of accounts, then they'll jack it up to $5 for all those hundreds of millions of accounts in no time. 600 million bucks now, and 3 billion bucks a few years later.

I'm trying to figure out who the real pirates are.
33358088 (banned)
join:2008-09-23

33358088 (banned)

Member

HOW to work opting out

this is where the tech of filtering will take time to get up to speed and has a better use then censorship.
A) your linux isos will allow full speed after all you arent downloading every flavor and every ISO every minute.
Granma doesn't need that ultra highspeed internet does she so those that don't want get capped out and slowed.

Go ahead cry now and do it for images if you are placing full sized photos for sale on hte web ...YOU get the idiot of the year award place small sized thumbs and get with non stupid.

applications sorry your not part of things why
go look at sourceforge.net and get with open source development or die.

Also look to opensource desktops and apps to Economically replace MS proprietary systems that will AID or can help fund this with simple tax dollars the funds saved in canada alone not only pay for all this but leave another BILLION left
YA harper are you listening
shave the fat.

mythology
Premium Member
join:2002-10-16
Seneca, SC

mythology

Premium Member

dingding

Ya and its called usenet.
jerseyjoe123
join:2008-04-28
Picton, ON

jerseyjoe123

Member

I Don't Buy It

It sounds just like the **AA's announcement in early December that they wouldn't prosecute illegal downloaders anymore. At the same time, they were still sending out the threatening letters.

Seems to me that the levy that was placed on blank media (at least in Canada) to offset the lost sales by the record companies was meant to do the same thing. Instead, they are still threatening downloaders with heavy fines while reaping the profits of the blank media levy. In effect, the record companies are getting paid on both ends.

What's to stop them from setting up the ISP piracy tax and still extort downloaders. In the end, the record companies are only interested in their bottom line. Its not like the ISPs are going to be actually monitoring the **AA to insure that they are keeping up their end of the deal with the public.
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982

Member

This well never happen

Come on folk's all you can eat for $1 a month. Get real! Everywhere you look broadband service provider's are placing monthly bandwidth cap. By downloading one song after another you would most likely hit your monthly bandwidth before the end of the month.

netwire
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Dallas, NC

netwire

Premium Member

I'd welcome it...

If my ISP/RIAA was to offer $1/mo all-you-can-eat P2P music I'd jump on it. I mean, $1/mo is a lot cheaper than any other online music service I've seen. Though as others have stated I would want this to be an opt-in sort of colaboration or else it would be creatly unfair taxation.
wispalord
join:2007-09-20
Farmington, MO

wispalord

Member

3 Strick piracy tax

well i could deal with like a 3 strike tax, before termination, you get 3 dmca notices, then be forced to pay the tax for the term of your isp connection, that would make a difference more, cause most people would agree to pay it and keep there connection and that would be a compensation, or voulentarily shut the net off.. does ne1 see logic in this idea?

warriors
It's A Great Time Out
join:2001-06-05
San Jose, CA

warriors

Member

$1 a month

That's just the starting point. With pressure from the the music industry, movie industry, and God knows what else, ISP can and will jack up the price.