On Thu, 07 Sep 2000, Tom Vogt wrote:
Tim May wrote:
Governments like this sort of thing, however. Tax everyone, then spend the revenues as they wish.
not quite right. it is NOT the government that collects, and this is not a tax. there's a "non-profit" organisation called GEMA that collects and re-distributes these things.
the system has been the subject of criticism often, but works surprisingly well. that might be because the article doesn't mention the OTHER side of it. for example, paying a fixed sum to GEMA enables you to play music in public (say, as a shop owner in your shop) without having to deal with the individual artists and labels for "broadcasting rights". it greatly simplifies things for small shops.
Thats no diffferent than BMI or ASCAP here in the states. The only difference is that here that is a completely private transaction. No government involvement or interference necessary or desired. Having the government make it a tax is a little too much like fascism. Correction, its exactly like fascism. Now that the US Federal government wouldn't try it. jim -- Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1st Inaugural