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The Songwriters Association of Canada is proposing to charge Canadian consumers who want to download songs via the Internet or the wireless carriers $5 per month in order compensate musicians for lost revenues from peer-to-peer networks.

According to their site:

- An estimated 1.6 billion music files are shared online in Canada each year

- The total number of purchased downloads in Canada was 38 million in 2005Will consumers really want to shell out more money to get a copy of “Promiscuous Girl” by Nelly Furtado?

Personally I’m not convinced, if that were true there wouldn’t be so many P2P networks and consumers spending hundreds of hours downloading things from movies, videos and music. I came across this interview on TorrentFreak between PÃ¥l Nordseth and 50 Cent which shares 50’s opinion on part of the problem.

PÃ¥l Nordseth - “How are G-Unit Records doing in these times of file-sharing?”

50 Cent - “Not so good.” he responded. “The advances in technology impacts everyone, and we all must adapt. Most of all hip-hop, a style of music dependent upon a youthful audience. This market consists of individuals embracing innovations faster than the fans of classical and jazz music.” “The concerts are crowded and the industry must understand that they have to manage all the 360 degrees around an artist. They, (the industry), have to maximize their income from concerts and merchandise. It is the only way they can get their marketing money back.”

Part of the problems does lie with the labels themselves and their ability to find new revenue streams for the artists they represent which is what 50 Cent seems to have figured out as he has been able to diversify into clothing, movies, soft drinks and other channels. Canadian artists such as Maestro Fresh Wes, Deborah Cox and even Nelly Furtado herself have found they have had to leave Canada and work with counter parts in the US to get the big pay day so maybe the problem is bigger then just P2P.

Categories: Features
Tags: Online Music, Peer-to-peer