Canada’s digital downloads
p2p news view / p2pnet: In case you missed it, last week the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) was back in the news claiming that Canadian copyright law is in need of reform, arguing that Canadian digital download sales have not met expectations.
The copyright lobby group chose to focus on sales of Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl. In the US, the song has become the first to reach one million paid downloads. By comparison, in Canada it has hit 20,000 paid downloads.
The CRIA argues that based on population and broadband penetration rates, the Canadian figure should be 150,000.
I find this argument rather remarkable. The CRIA is obviously hoping to convince Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda and Industry Minister Maxime Bernier that the Canadian digital music market has been hurt by the absence of anti-circumvention legislation, yet the notion that music sales are a function of population size and broadband access is certainly subject to challenge.
Michael Geist
[Geist is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. He can be reached by email at mgeist[at]uottawa.ca and is on-line at www.michaelgeist.ca.]
March 7th, 2006 at 4:58 am
So what if download sales have not met expectations? Many things in many industries have not met expectations. But we don’t often see those guys running to our lawmakers to change things around, do we? Poor sales does not mean change laws.
Just like an article posted here pointed out: those guys are in trouble financially – or so they say – and they run to lawmakers for help. Yeah, okay…… so what? It’s not the lawmakers’ problem, many industries face financial issues all the time, the business guys should go figure out a solution by themselves and quit bothering the government to help them survive, it has enough to deal with as is.
This kind of speak and mathematics is worthy of challenge, as mentioned. But I guess they’ll say anything that seems remotely sensible and in their favour.
</questioning_rant>
March 7th, 2006 at 5:00 am
Oh yeah… obviously there will be those who will just d/l the mp3 or whatever from whatever source, but maybe there are some who don’t care or don’t like the material?
March 7th, 2006 at 9:09 am
Hurt by the lack of Anti-circumvention laws? The same very laws that is ruining innovation?
Yeah we all know how GREAT that shit is working down south and in europe.
March 9th, 2006 at 7:14 am
i personaly have never heard of that song heh