Canadian Record Industry's Secret Lobby Campaign

CRIAWatch writes "Michael Geist has an editorial published in the Hill Times, a Canadian political newsweekly, about a secret lobbying campaign by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. The report details how days after the last Canadian election CRIA lobbyists worked with officials to plan an event featuring speakers on the CRIA payroll who are promoting a DMCA for Canada, dozens of government officials from seven departments, an expensive lunch with senior government executives paid for by taxpayers, as well as a private meeting with the Canadian Heritage Minister who is responsible for copyright law."

Comments

Re:It's called democracy

[DigiShaman]

Kinda makes me feel like punching a bunch of corrupt officials. Dunno about you.

What's the difference

[Anonymous Coward]

between "secret lobbying" and "bribery"

In my country bribery used to be a scandalous form of fraud.

Lobbying == Bribery

[Anonymous Coward]

call a spade a spade, you hand money/favors to politician in the expectation he gives you something worthwhile for your money
you really think [COMPANYNAME] would spend millions in "contributions" if it made no difference ? do you think these companies treat it as a charity donation or as a strategic investment ?

lobbying is just another word for legalised bribery
democracy has nothing to do with it

money and material desire is the problem

Who didn't see this coming?

[Twiceblessedman]

When the conservatives won in January it was just a matter of time really.

Re:Who didn't see this coming?

[cbiltcliffe]

You do realize the Liberals were looking at the possibility of something DMCA-like just a few weeks after Martin took the reigns, don't you?

They're all corrupt. Trying to blame one particular party for the corruption and mess that is any government is like trying to blame the pollution in Los Angeles on one particular blue Chevy Nova.

(Why blue? I dunno. Seemed like a good colour at the time.)

Re:Plutocracy

[RoffleTheWaffle]

Plutocracy - The best Democracy money can buy.

Sponsor your own propoganda.

[9mm Censor]

"The music lobby group was planning a study on the Canadian music industry and was seeking $50,000 in funding from Canadian Heritage to help support the project. " I am going to freak, if I as a tax payer have to pay to fund corprate propoganda.

Not quite the "Canadian Record Industry"

[turg]

The only members of the CRIA are the American record labels. The Canadian labels have all pulled out.

Re:Not quite the "Canadian Record Industry"

[demachina]

"The only members of the CRIA are the American record labels."

Uh ... the big four recording companies which control more than two thirds of the recording business, which are probably the ones that count here, aren't really "American". Some 2004 market share I could find:

"Universal maintains its position as the world's biggest recording company, with a 25.5% share of the world market. Sony BMG is next with a 21.5% share followed by EMI at 13.4% and Warner at 11.3%. The independent sector holds steady with a 28.4% global share."

Universal Music Group, while American in origin, is owned by Vivendi, which is a French company.
Sony BMG is owned by ... uh ... Sony which is a Japanese company and BMG is Bertelsmann a German company.
EMI is a British company based in London.
Last I remember Time Warner sold Warner Music Group to Edgar Bronfman, principal in Seagrams. Seagrams is based in Montreal, though I think Bronfman lives in New York, and a lot of Warner Music is in the U.S. so its kind of a Canadian-American company.

So nice try, trying to ascribe RIAA/CRIA insanity solely to America isn't really accurate. You should probably just refer to them as multinationals, the root of most evil in the world. Greed is pretty much an international disease, the U.S. just has a particularly virulent dose.

Who was there?

[crossmr]

I'd like to see a list of exactly which government officials attended this.

It's Called "Kleptocracy"

[Doc Ruby]

You can call secret meetings with public officials to take rights from the people to create property for corporations "democracy", but that's your problem.

Re:Expensive lunch?

[Frizzle Fry]

If it ends up costing Canadians their rights, isn't that a pretty expensive lunch?