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DJ Tax in Australia - WTFR

DJ_ZestDJ_Zest 252 Posts
edited April 2008 in Strut Central
From Vadims MS blog a very good reason not to go to australia!DJs are the latest targets in the war against illegal copying of published music.ARIA the Australian Recording Industry Association has set up a new licence to let DJs format shift their music to use at gigs.Yep, they need to pay a licence fee to copy music they already own legally to their iPods, laptops, or compilation CDs.Criminal penalties for DJs involved in music piracy are up to sixty thousand dollars and 5 years imprisonment. There are also on-the-spot fines of over one thousand dollars.For more info head to aria.com.au How the fuck is this gonna work? Is there gonna be music police at your clurb askin:"Where'd you get this choon mate?""Can I see your MPfree license?"Yeah good idea - fine the people who are most passionate about music and are the tastemakers who influence people to BUY CDs... Brilliant!And my mum said the other day Australia was getting better!

  Comments

  • DrBorisQDrBorisQ 298 Posts
    This sounds a bit strange and I can't find anything that relevant on the ARIA website.

    I was of the understanding that the law as it applies to everyone (not just DJs) had recently changed (some time last year) to allow you to format shift your music. As previous to that it illegal to do so.

    In any event, it was totally unenforceable then and would be if it was for some reason selectively applied to DJs.
  • kicks79kicks79 1,338 Posts
    Its to do with the majors down here trying to claw back some lost revenue from file sharing. If you are a club that has dj-ing as a form of entertainment you used to pay a tax of 7 cents per person through the door. This money is supposed to go to ARIA to distrubute to the relevant artists. A form of mechanical royalty. Fuck knows how they do that in the first place. Try finding out who should actual get paid for that soul/disco/boogie night you do is a nightmare in itself. The tax has just been increased to $1.07 that is a 100% increase and all the clubs are predicting the end of dj-ing as we know it.
    On top of all this the papers have been waging a war on djs playing illegal mp3s at nightclubs and saying how they can face fines and imprisonment. One newspaper story was saying how if you own an Internet cafe you are liable if someone illegally downloads music using your computers.
    All this hype is going to do is make clubs raise their prices and be even more restrictive in what kinds of music they play. Which in Sydney right now is either house or electro rock. Interestingly enough US music seems that it is somewhat exempt from this as is covers. So everyone fears the rise of the cover bands or more probable the demise of Australian music been played in clubs. All ARIA has done is shoot itself and Australian artists in the foot.
  • DrBorisQDrBorisQ 298 Posts
    That increase in the fee happened quite a while back, at least a year. I am yet to see it have any impact.
  • djsheepdjsheep 3,620 Posts
    Sigh.

    Typical stupid Aussie policy. Someone needs to get in touch with Kevin Rudd (the PM)...

    hopefully they aren't gunna make an example of a DJ who's been working for years over this and fine 'em.

    I'm gunna keep my nose out of DJing when I get home in a few months and see what's up....

    WEAKSAUCE.
  • Rich45sRich45s 327 Posts
    Slightly more informative link that Vadims mySpace

    http://www.mipi.com.au/documents/MusicforDJs-AreYouDoingtheRightThingMarch2008.pdf
  • kicks79kicks79 1,338 Posts
    It???s a scare tactic really. The majors still have a large financial clout and are running a campaign in the media to demonise djs, clubs and anyone who shares files. Its about all they can do as the practicality of going after people and charging for this is just not viable.
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    I thought this thread was going to be about my homie DJ Tax and his world tour he's been on.

  • kwalitykwality 620 Posts
    Fark I hate some of the retarded ass ideas they come up with to stop the inevitable. As has been said, djs are some of the only people still actually supporting music, so why the hell would you penalize them? ARIA are a bunch of bitches too, cause at the moment Aussie house (awful though it is) is one of the few things doing well in overseas markets.

    I can't see this one actually gaining traction, but the thought of it even being suggested boggles the mind. The thing that pisses me off the most is the inability of the labels to deal with the reality, so they just keep moving the goalposts. If the bottom fell out of your industry tomorrow would you cry about it and try and sue everyone or would you use your brain to figure out something new? Caarrrntts!
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