Downloads to be forbidden in Singapore
So here goes Singapore, following Japan, the UK and the US. According to amendments to the Copyright Act, "people found to be illegally using software or downloading off the Internet will face a maximum six months in jail and a fine of US$11,900 for their first offence."
They are not saying that those who download songs on a small scale will be "punished" but those who push the 1,000 songs. "The tougher laws are part of Singapore's commitments to its free trade agreement signed with the United States that came into effect this year."
However, this just follows a confusion of what actually is allowed and what not. In the US, it is the uploading of songs (or others) that is forbidden as it becomes accessible for others to download. This is similar in Canada - in 2003, downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks became legal in Canada, although uploading files is not.
This all in the face of a failing business model of the music industry.
Additionally and something that the music industry does not like to reveal - CD sales are not threatened by music downloads.
"People still want to own hard-copy music and 92% of people said that CDs are their preferred music format. The latest findings from Entertainment Media Research found that people buy legal downloads when the music they want is not available in-store, or to help them decide whether to buy a CD or not. More than 60% of the 1,400 respondents said that they were likely to use legal music downloading to get hold of tracks because it was not in music stores, and over 50% said that they used legal downloads to get a few tracks from recent albums. Getting hold of music quickly was another strong impetus for the use of music downloading, according to a recent survey.
But well, it is difficult to learn new facts, adjust a business model, treat customers right, when there is too much money in play. When will they finally change?
They are not saying that those who download songs on a small scale will be "punished" but those who push the 1,000 songs. "The tougher laws are part of Singapore's commitments to its free trade agreement signed with the United States that came into effect this year."
However, this just follows a confusion of what actually is allowed and what not. In the US, it is the uploading of songs (or others) that is forbidden as it becomes accessible for others to download. This is similar in Canada - in 2003, downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks became legal in Canada, although uploading files is not.
This all in the face of a failing business model of the music industry.
Additionally and something that the music industry does not like to reveal - CD sales are not threatened by music downloads.
"People still want to own hard-copy music and 92% of people said that CDs are their preferred music format. The latest findings from Entertainment Media Research found that people buy legal downloads when the music they want is not available in-store, or to help them decide whether to buy a CD or not. More than 60% of the 1,400 respondents said that they were likely to use legal music downloading to get hold of tracks because it was not in music stores, and over 50% said that they used legal downloads to get a few tracks from recent albums. Getting hold of music quickly was another strong impetus for the use of music downloading, according to a recent survey.
But well, it is difficult to learn new facts, adjust a business model, treat customers right, when there is too much money in play. When will they finally change?
posted by Andreas @ 12:18 pm
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