Songwriters see merits in legitimizing filesharing – for a price

The Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition (CMCC) have proposed attaching a monthly licence fee to Internet subscriptions to compensate all rights holders for music downloaded and shared over peer-to-peer networks. The groups say allowing unabated filesharing by consumers while driving revenues to creators, publishers and record labels will revolutionize the music industry and make Canada the leader in P2P legislation. "It'll be kind of like legalizing an illegal drug," says world-renowned songwriter and SAC director Eddie Schwartz. "We'll start getting better quality and I think a whole business model will develop around it....Once you legalize or authorize that activity it's pretty amazing where something like this can go."The proposal is straightforward. Schwartz says an economic analysis will determine the appropriate value but tentatively identifies $5 as the monthly per household fee attached to all broadband Internet bills that will be returned to a collective. "Payment of this fee would remove the stigma of illegality from file sharing," reads the proposal. "In addition, it would represent excellent value to the consumer, since this fee would grant access to the majority of the world's repertoire of music."Although legal for-pay digital music sites may offer around two million tracks, there are more than 79 million unique copyrights on P2P networks, which is one of the reasons why fans turn to P2P. The SAC/CMCC proposal wants to equitably capitalize on this appetite for music. "We're not mad at anybody, these people are our fans," says Schwartz. "They like our music and they want to hear our music, so we feel an affinity for these people....What we're saying is that there's been a revolution in the distribution of music. It's a whole new model."But while the proposal and the rationale behind it are clear-cut, so are the objections against it. Firstly, since the licence fee will be attached to all Internet accounts, even those who don't download music will be putting money into the music industry. Schwartz says it's nothing new to ask consumers to pay for a service they don't always use, pointing to the example of television channels in cable or satellite TV packages that people don't watch. As well, he explains, filesharing continues to grow and legalizing it would only bring more people into the fold. Consumers are only one part of the equation. The government and ISPs will also have to be convinced of the proposal's value, and that won't be easy without first joining forces with the remainder of the music industry stakeholders. Fees gathered from Internet accounts are to be divided among a collective of artists, songwriters, publishers and record labels. Discussions with all interested parties have already begun parties and Schwartz is confident they can be brought onside. But current opinions of the proposal from the rest of the industry can be best described as intrigued yet sceptical. "We are pro any method for remunerating creators, and if this approach can get some traction then great," says Duncan McKie, president and executive director of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association. "But I don't think it's a short-term solution because there are so many issues with copyright that have to be dealt with."Indeed, the first line of the proposal calls for an amendment to the Copyright Act to establish the right to equitable remuneration for music filesharing. McKie adds that the proposal's acknowledgement that consumers' filesharing activity will be tracked will also be met with opposition. Music publishers are similarly lukewarm on the idea. "We think there are some very interesting components to the songwriters idea that certainly merit further exploration," says Catherine Saxberg, executive director of the Canadian Music Publishers Association. "The CMPA's position is that there isn't one big solution to this problem facing the industry, there's probably a whole lot of little solutions. And we have to embrace every idea and look at it thoroughly."Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association says the complexity of the solution puts it years away from being adopted. "The devil will be in the details on this one," he says. "It may be one of those grand ideas that could fall flat on its face as it attempts to be put into execution." While CRIA, CIRPA and the CMPA will continue to review the proposal as it evolves, their short-term solution was made clear in a Hill Times op-ed they co-signed this week: stronger copyright laws and implementation of the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright treaty to foster a stronger, authorized digital music market in Canada.Henderson adds that interests across the music industry are at least becoming more aligned. "The songwriters wouldn't be coming forward with this if they weren't feeling the pain and the desperate need to somehow get paid," he says.Certainly, Schwartz admits that promising young creators are struggling now more than ever. But that the SAC and CMCC didn't sign the Hill Times article shows opinions on how to act still differ. And Schwartz says they will continue to follow their course of action, beginning with discussions with ISPs and government in the New Year. "We believe we have to find a solution," he says. "We want to find a solution that's good for creators and good for labels and good for consumers. I can't tell you when it's going to happen, but if it doesn't happen soon, it's not because we're not trying."

Songwriters see merits in legitimizing filesharing – for a price

Broadcast | November 30, 2007

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