Japan is proposing an iPod tax. The money generated from this tax would go to the recording industry to help reimburse any lost revenue caused by the iPods and as a form of profit-sharing. I think this is a lot like prayer in school.
How the hell can I make that connection? Well, prayer in school is done with the idea that allowing anyone to pray during a generic prayer time is non-offensive since anyone can pray. But the problem is that it is offensive just be its existence. What about aetheists? What about religions that find prayer offensive?
This belief that blanket ideas apply uniformly enough to be okay is where the connection is. Why should the recording industry, by default, get money from me for buying an iPod? What if I only listen to Creative Commons music, or songs available for free legally online? Should the recording industry still get my hard earned cash? I don't think they should.
But this is kind of a capitalistic view. What about Socialist countries like Canada? Here they have a tax on blank media for the exact same reasons Japan is considering an iPod tax. I think if they took a Socialist view and had the tax go towards music education or funding of music events, then I would be fine with the tax. But having the money go towards someone like the RIAA that is so money-driven just irks me the wrong way.
And so now you know what I woke up thinking about while enjoying my new comforter. =)
1 comment:
I don't disagree.
The powers that be still believe in the notion that some ideas are absolute and can be universally imposed without offending anyone, without taking into account that the very idea of universalism is hegemonic and based on assumptions to which not everyone agrees.
...Then again since you were a philosophy major this is probably elementary postmodernism to you...
I think the tax on blank media isn't just restricted to more Socialist countries like Canada.
I think the US has a similar tax on blank audio and video tapes, with the money going to RIAA/MPAA.
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