European Union Launches Youth Music Card
In an effort to combat piracy and free hosting [http://www.one.com/en/] of music, movies and television series on the internet, the European Union has announced plans to subsidise a purchase scheme which would allow youth to download media from popular platforms at discount prices.
The project was initially criticized for its overreliance on distribution giants such as iTunes, but EU administrators in Brussels have confirmed that the latest draft of the legislation of respected existing legislation concerning competition amongst businesses. In France, where illegal downloading and copyright infringement cases have been on the rise following new national legislation, a prototype version of the Youth Music Card has already been put into effect.
One European Union official lauded the initiative in a press release, insisting that ""the measure responds to concerns about the fact that the volume of the increasingly important online music distributed in violation of rules relating to copyright may crowd out the market platforms legal music distribution.""
With countries throughout the European vowing to cut down on illegal downloading and copyright infringement in a bid to appease executives and rescue an entertainment industry in turmoil, the unveiling of the Youth Music Card has been heralded as a landmark in cultural distribution as well as a milestone for European copyright law. The program, however, is not without its detractors.
Under the current proposal, the card will retail for 25 Euros and enable youngsters to purchase music and media with a retail value of 50 Euros from approved online retailers. While proponents see some revenue as better than none at all, public concern has stemmed from the fact that the program is to be subsidized by EU taxpayers. While severe budget cuts have been made in the UK and Germany, the program would see public aid being used to pay the cost differential for the cards, with taxpayer contributions finding their way into the back pockets of music industry execs and online retail giants like Amazon and iTunes.
In order to comply with competition regulations, small companies responsible for domain hosting music must be included in the scheme, and may receive upwards of 5 million Euros for doing so. This would help the program comply with trading standards which seek to avoid industry monopolies, ensuring that iTunes will not be the only retailer to benefit from the program.
The project was initially criticized for its overreliance on distribution giants such as iTunes, but EU administrators in Brussels have confirmed that the latest draft of the legislation of respected existing legislation concerning competition amongst businesses. In France, where illegal downloading and copyright infringement cases have been on the rise following new national legislation, a prototype version of the Youth Music Card has already been put into effect.
One European Union official lauded the initiative in a press release, insisting that ""the measure responds to concerns about the fact that the volume of the increasingly important online music distributed in violation of rules relating to copyright may crowd out the market platforms legal music distribution.""
With countries throughout the European vowing to cut down on illegal downloading and copyright infringement in a bid to appease executives and rescue an entertainment industry in turmoil, the unveiling of the Youth Music Card has been heralded as a landmark in cultural distribution as well as a milestone for European copyright law. The program, however, is not without its detractors.
Under the current proposal, the card will retail for 25 Euros and enable youngsters to purchase music and media with a retail value of 50 Euros from approved online retailers. While proponents see some revenue as better than none at all, public concern has stemmed from the fact that the program is to be subsidized by EU taxpayers. While severe budget cuts have been made in the UK and Germany, the program would see public aid being used to pay the cost differential for the cards, with taxpayer contributions finding their way into the back pockets of music industry execs and online retail giants like Amazon and iTunes.
In order to comply with competition regulations, small companies responsible for domain hosting music must be included in the scheme, and may receive upwards of 5 million Euros for doing so. This would help the program comply with trading standards which seek to avoid industry monopolies, ensuring that iTunes will not be the only retailer to benefit from the program.
