The UK music industry needs your help - those yachts, limousines, expensive awards festivals and tax haven homes don't come cheap you know. So to help them keep a life of luxury, the trade body (the Music Business Group) wants a tax on iPods.
Yes, really. The tax would then grant you the ability to rip music onto your player without the worry of plod arresting you - because it is illegal after all. Just like home taping is/was. In a statement that sounds more desperate than logical, it said: "Enormous value is derived from the transferability of music. Last year alone, over 20 million MP3-capable portable devices were sold in the UK, and over 90% of music on the average MP3 player is music that has been copied."
"UK creators and right holders are legally entitled to benefit from this value. At present, this value is enjoyed by both consumers and technology companies while creators and right holders are effectively excluded from any value. This constitutes market failure."
I'm sure us UK consumers - who have consistently paid more for music that large parts of the overseas market - will be appropriately sympathetic.
(via MacWorld)
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