-----Original Message----- From: Seth Gordon <sgordon at kenan.com> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>Stallman's proposal dealt with music on digital audio tape. He suggested
>that the government tax blank tapes, let purchasers copy music onto them as
>they wish, and then distribute the tax proceedings among musicians. Each
>musician's share of the proceedings would be proportional to the number of
>people with his or her music on their tapes (this number would be
>determined by a periodic survey); the share computation would be weighted
>to dilute the reward of the most popular musicians.
Stallman's proposal is a variation on current reality. As I understand it, DAT blank tapes are taxed and the proceeds are distributed by some formula used by the ASCAP music association (I believe they are the ones that distribute the money). There are a lot of complaints about the formula used, although it hasn't been enough money yet to be a big issue. Surveys are one approach; more directly, if copying was encouraged, people would get money based on the downloading from music sites (with some controls to prevent jiggering the system by artist supporters. Hey everyone, go download WALL STREET twenty times!!)
Folks in Britain might know this one. I heard that public libraries distribute a small sum to writers every time a book by that author is checked out of the library. That seems like another good variation.
--Nathan Newman