A committee of the trade body of trade bodies, the Music Business Group, will meet today to discuss the always fun topic of format shifting. The topic is up for debate because of the much previously reported Gowers Review of UK copyright law.
The government is considering Gowers' proposals to remove restrictions that mean, in theory, it is illegal for music fans who own CDs to rip tracks on them onto their own computer or copy them onto their own iPod. The consensus is that everyone makes such private copies any way, so calling it illegal just makes a mockery of copyright law, and arguably trivialises other more justifiable copyright restrictions.
No one really advocates keeping format shifting restrictions in place, but some in the music business do propose a levy system to compensate content owners when music fans rip tracks off a CD rather than, say, downloading them from a digital music store like iTunes - the latter route, of course, requiring the customer to pay a new per-track fee.
Such a levy system would parallel levies charged in many other countries on blank cassettes and CDRs. Under that system a tax is added to the sale of any blank cassettes and CDRs which is then passed back to the music community by one route or another. The idea is that blank cassettes and CDRs are, in the main, used for making private copies of copyright material, and that therefore the music community deserves to be compensated. As people increasingly make private copies of tracks to PC or MP3 player rather than cassette or CDR, some countries have actively considered adding a levy to those devices also - a levy often dubbed the iPod tax.
It is whether or not, and how, to introduce such a levy in the UK that will be considered by representatives of the Music Publishers Association, the BPI, the Association Of Independent Music and the always mysterious British Music Rights later today.
Some feel that now - as the government considers legalising format shifting in the UK - is the time to introduce such a levy system. But not everyone is of that opinion. Some feel the music industry should accept the removal of the private copy anomaly from UK copyright law without pushing for compensation through levy, fearing any lobbying for such a levy will be spun as the greedy music industry trying to screw more money out of consumers.
Given that many people have already bought their music three times over (once on vinyl, once on cassette, once on CD) it is easy to see why they may be pissed off at being told they need to pay a levy to make a digital copy of that music. Moreover, it is especially tricky adding levies to MP3 players when [a] some people will buy a player with the intent of only acquiring digital music through legit download platforms and [b] any iPod tax will be vehemently opposed by the MP3 player makers, putting the music business back into a PR war with the always popular Apple boss Steve Jobs. Putting the levy on the CD albums themselves (based on the assumption tracks on them will be ripped to PC) will also be unpopular, given the increasingly competitive nature of the CD market, and the fact that move will put the music business up against the supermarkets.
All that said, such levy systems are expected to be seriously discussed at the MBG meeting later today. Whether an industry wide consensus on the issue will be reached remains to be seen - insiders say the publishing community and some indie labels are pushing for such a levy while other labels, and especially the majors, are less keen.