Canadian Songwriters Call For Fee To Make Music Free

The Songwriters Association of Canada is “calling for the creation of the Right to Equitable Remuneration for Music File Sharing, which would make it legal to share music on peer-to-peer networks in exchange for the monthly fee. The fee – amounting to an estimated $500 million to $900 million annually in Canada – would be administered by a collective of artists, songwriters, music publishers and record labels.”

Proposal: Make Peer-To-Peer Legal, For A Price

“The Songwriters Association of Canada [is proposing] a $5 monthly fee on subscribers’ Internet bills that would make it legal to download music and hopefully save the failing music industry… The fee – amounting to an estimated $500 million to $900 million annually in Canada – would be administered by a collective of artists, songwriters, music publishers and record labels.”

Strange Bedfellows

If the New York gossip is to be believed, “Passing Strange” could be the musical that drags Broadway kicking and screaming into the 21st century. But despite its creators being decidedly outside-the-box figures, the show is being produced by Broadway lions not known for their embrace of change. So, how’s that relationship working out for everyone?