Who's the real enemy: Esso or Celine Dion?

You think gas prices are inflated? The next time you're filling up at the pump think about the Private Copying Levy. As Michael Geist points out in his blog, the Private Copying Levy in Canada can increase the cost of blank media by as much as 333%! That means an $18 pack of CDs can cost almost $60. (And that's BEFORE taxes!)

What's worse is "while songwriters and music publishers are eligible regardless of nationality, only Canadian recording artists and record companies may receive payments". So even though people are burning quality bands like Tool, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or the Rolling Stones, the revenue from the purchase of that blank media is helping Canada produce more Celine Dion, Alanis, and Simple Plan.

Perhaps the worst part of the entire scheme is the implied guilt. The levy is paid by manufacturers and importers of the media, and passed on to consumers in the price. So the assumptions is if you're buying blank media, then you must be pirating Canadian music so you should pay a fine immediately. So even honest, law abiding citizens who buy media for backing up business or personal data or authoring home DVD's or photo CD's are paying the fines. While I don't agree with the RIAA lawsuits in the United States either, at least they are supposed to prove you actually committed a crime before they can hit you with a fine!