On 01/19/2013 05:35 PM, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:14:21 +0100, John Murphy
<rosegardener@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
But too OT for me, sorry.
I agree. The essence of it is, that YouTube is nearly useless for
Germans, because most contend isn't available regarding to GEMA issues.
OTOH you had to pay a fixed rate to the GEZ, if you had a computer, even
if it's a C64, unable to play videos. Nowadays you have to pay a
successor of the GEZ, if you've got an abode, even if you don't own any
gear to watch computer videos, radio or television. You automatically
pay GEMA for empty tapes, CDs etc. in Gemany.
I've been living in Germany for almost 18 months now and I'm still
flabbergasted that the GEMA system is allowed to persist. From what I've
heard (correct me if I'm wrong) is that GEMA installs recording devices
in a "random" selection of nightclubs/venues and employs "educated"
listeners to detect songs and then come up with a tariff based on venue
size which is then passed on to record labels. This is obviously stacked
in favour of all the major record labels, yet smaller venues, perhaps
not playing top 40 music from the major labels are still charged a fee.
Ridiculous. And if GEMA can't determine the music you are playing and
who to attribute copyright to, the onus is on the venue to prove
ownership, even if the music is released under Creative Commons
As of Jan 1 2013 these tariffs are set to increase. More infos and links
to a petition here [1].
OTOH, artists on tour might want to know, that in some states of the USA
and Australia they won't kill you, but the punishment is very hard, if
you own weed and for foreigners it's not allowed anymore in the
Netherlands, or perhaps not in all regions of the Netherlands. It's not
completely OT, less punishment doesn't mean that they won't disassemble
your tour bus, amps etc. ;).
Very OT, but in Australia, you get stuck with a small fine, and if you
are lucky enough to be in South Australia or ACT, it is decriminalised
for personal use.
[1]
http://www.evvc.org/en/startseite/gema-tarifreform-2013--jetzt-petition-unter-zeichnen-1.html
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