> And the government does this for free? Or do they take their cut? :-)
> --=20
> -Jon Glass
They do it for free, since it is not involved. The company that produces an
item, e.g., a blank CD-R pays the sum X Euro per CD-R they have sold to the
organisation which collects this money. In the case of music an organisation
called GEMA collects the money. That is for every blank CD-R BASF, or Sony
sell in Germany, they give a certain amount to the GEMA organisation. The
money is then distributed to authors, song-writers, etc. There is no
government involved. If the GEMA thinks Sony is cheating on them, they go to
court. Still no government involved.
Jon, you seem to be very concerned that it is a tax, but to my understanding,
it is a very pragmatic and unbureaucratic procedure. You buy a blank CD-R,
copy the newest Micheal Jackson CD from a friend (that is a private copy), and
you pay Michael Jackson via the blank CD-R you bought. Very simple and easy
and everybody is happy.
Andrew
-- -- Andrew Maier Andrew.Maier_at_cern.ch God is real, unless declared integer-- This is the Newtontalk mailinglist - http://www.newtontalk.net To unsubscribe or manage: visit the above link or mailto:newtontalk-request_at_newtontalk.net?Subject=unsubscribe
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