Canadians Support Private Copying Levy, Survey Suggests

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

01 September 2006

According to the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), a recent nationwide survey found that 60% of Canadians aged 18 and older believe in the principle that music creators should be compensated for private copying of pre-recorded music.

An even larger majority of respondents, from 74% to 80%, thought that a levy of 20, 30 or even 40 cents included in the price of a blank CD is fair to pay music creators for copied songs. The current levy on a blank CD is 21 cents.

The CPCC is the copyright collective charged with collecting and distributing private copying royalties.

“The data clearly shows that there is overwhelming support for the levy and that a strong majority of Canadians feel that music rights holders are entitled to compensation for private copying,” observed Claudette Fortier, Chair of the CPCC Board of Directors.

“We were gratified to find that the majority of Canadians felt that the levy on blank CDs would be fair at almost twice the rate it is now, “she added.

The results of the survey, which was conducted in June 2006, were submitted on Wednesday to the Copyright Board of Canada. The 2005/2006/2007 tariff hearing before the Board is scheduled to begin October 24, 2006. The CPCC has proposed that the levies remain at their current level to the end of 2007.

Although currently there is no levy on MP3 players, 75% of those surveyed responded positively to the idea of a levy of up to $40 on a 30GB MP3 player.

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