Japanese Gov't Says No (Again) To An iPod Tax

from the how-many-times? dept

Back in 2005, the recording industry in Japan urged the government to create an iPod tax, adding a tax to every iPod (or other digital music player) sold. The idea was that the recording industry wanted to assume that every iPod owner was obviously "stealing" music, and this tax would help pay for the supposedly "lost" revenue. Of course, as we all know, that's a very questionable assumption. An iPod can often make people buy more music, but the recording industry has never been willing to even consider that idea. Luckily, a few months later, the Japanese government rejected the idea.

However, with the recording industry, these things always seem to have a way of popping back up again. And, indeed, there's been another big push this year for Japan to add an iPod tax. Luckily, however, the consumer electronics lobby in Japan is a lot more powerful than the recording industry lobby, and it appears that the iPod tax proposal is dead once again. Of course, it will likely be suggested again next year, but as we start to see more and more business models built on a base of free music, perhaps more people will recognize how unfair (and damaging to the market) an iPod tax would be. It would lower the incentives for people to buy these devices, decrease music consumption habits, and hurt all these other business models.
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Filed Under: ipod tax, japan, levy


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  • identicon
    dkp, 10 Jul 2008 @ 12:27pm

    us

    unfortunatly the US has one

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Ima Fish, 10 Jul 2008 @ 12:31pm

      Re: us

      "unfortunatly the US has one"

      The US has a tax/fee for specific blank media such as cassettes (do they still sell those?) and some (but not all) blank CD-Rs and CD-RWs. As far as I know there is no similar tax on MP3 players.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        eleete, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:05pm

        Re: Re: us

        I've heard this was only on Audio CDs so if you are buying CDs don't buy them Specifically for their audio capabilities, they are the same as Data CDs on the spindle. My $0.02

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      pferland, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:50pm

      Re: us

      not just on iPods and other MP3 players but blank DVD's, CD's and Tapes
      its maddness

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Ima Fish, 10 Jul 2008 @ 12:29pm

    I can't help but wonder whether the music industry would double dip if this tax was enacted.

    The music industry claims the tax is necessary to compensate for the music being illegally downloaded. So, it would follow, that if you pay the tax, the music industry is being compensated, so you should be free to download as much music as you'd like.

    However, if the music industry claims it needs the tax and still requires additional payment for music, then the tax is nothing more than a greedy money grab. The music industry should never be allowed to have it both ways.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      eleete, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:06pm

      Re:

      Love to see a breakdown of those payouts, bet most goes to RIAA

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      JS Beckerist, 10 Jul 2008 @ 2:53pm

      Re:

      Plus, a ton of market research is done to find the ideal cost of trivial (see: non-essential) items such as this. Much like Starbucks coffee at $4 a pop, if an iPod were inflated artificially then I wouldn't be surprised to see a considerable (noticeable?) dip in sales, ultimately hurting them in the long run.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    GeneralEmergency (profile), 10 Jul 2008 @ 12:59pm

    Stop the Whack-A-Mole insanity.

    End copyright.

    Enough is enough.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:03pm

    Canada

    Canada also has a blank media levy. They assume we are pirates and are collecting money. In my opinion, that is a green light for everyone who buys blank media to download whatever they want without paying -- because we have already paid via the tax.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    eleete, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:09pm

    the best legal advice on the Download all you want defense I've heard is
    "Govern yourself accordingly". Illegal is still illegal, but there is no one stopping us from making it legal, Just.... Ourselves ?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      JS Beckerist, 10 Jul 2008 @ 2:56pm

      Re:

      Lobbyists lining politicians wallets have a bit more say (unfortunately) than you or I, so long as the politicians can let it fly low enough under the radar to get reelected.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2008 @ 1:10pm

    Who cares

    I DL what I want, whenever I want, and give away whatever I want. "Hooray Internet"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Eric, 11 Jul 2008 @ 8:28am

    you are rigth - ipod = more purchases

    Before I had an ipod i probably purchased 3-4 cds a year, mostly because i feel $14-18 dollars is an absolute rip off since there is a good chance i won't enjoy half the songs. Normally if you don't like a product you can return it, sadly with music/movies you don't have this option...well, now i'm spending close to $250/year at itunes, much more than the 3-4 CDs i use to purchase! If a tax were added - just means i'll definitely feel justified to download as much music as possible and not pay dime for it!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Real Estate, 18 Feb 2009 @ 5:06am

    Very nice.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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