French Government May Subsidize Music Downloads

angry tapir writes "The European Commission has approved a French program to subsidize legal music downloads for young people. The Carte Musique scheme gives €25 (US$35) to French residents aged 12 to 25 to spend on music downloads or subscription services. Young people can purchase a €50 card for just €25, with the balance paid by the state."

Comments

I guess that means

[halfEvilTech]

for the next 2 years while this is in effect, the online music services will be raising their prices to milk the system.

They most likely won't but I wouldn't put it past those seeing this as a good money grab opportunity.

Re:I guess that means

[mangu]

for the next 2 years while this is in effect, the online music services will be raising their prices to milk the system.

Probably yes, and that would show how stupid they are.

If I were a teenager, I wouldn't really care about the subsidy. All I would want to know is what I'd be getting for my money. If I had to spend 25 euros on a 50 euros card to get 20 euros worth of music I wouldn't do it.

As usual, the taxpayer gets fucked. And the music companies, even with the subsidy, will get less than what they would if they had reasonable prices.

Re:I guess that means

[ByOhTek]

Where do you get that they most likely won't? I probably won't be double, but an extra 50% increse is predictable.

Normally I'm a moderately liberal individual, and am for the government helping the people, but this is asinine. This is a luxury, not a necessity. This is promoting a specific business model that should survive or fail on it's own merits, not on some kind of corporate welfare.

W.T.A.F.?

Re:I guess that means

[operagost]

for the next 2 years while this is in effect, the online music services will be raising their prices to milk the system.

The French government is subsidizing entertainment for a select part of the population, and THIS is your concern?

Re:I guess that means

[andrea.sartori]

Not really. If you were a teenager, you would gladly spend your 25, buy 50 worth of music, and when the card is depleted you would go back to downloading illegally.

Re:I guess that means

[IndustrialComplex]

Normally I'm a moderately liberal individual,

You can be conservative and socially liberal as well. Don't believe the trolls that tell you that if you are a liberal, you must be for ANYTHING proposed by another self proclaimed liberal. The reverse is also true, you can be conservative and not... Oh how do they put it, 'view Somalia as a libertarian paradise.'

Re:I guess that means

[DavidTC]

No shit.

Hey, let's give people a government-enforced ownership and monopoly over a thing, and then subsidize purchases of it.

If you want to let people download for free, weaken copyright somehow, you idiots. Demand that to have a copyright, you have to give the government X free copies of it or something, and the government can give those out.

This is just stupid.

Glad this is France

[diskofish]

Our taxes are already spent on plenty of really really dumb stuff, last thing we need is "free" music downloads. Think of those poor sorry record companies though, how are they supposed to make any money?

Fraud

[dintech]

How many cards can I get and can I buy my own music with it from my own 'label'?

Truly amazing

[SmallFurryCreature]

France has regular riots with minorities, an economy down the drain, one hell of a reputation with the deportation of Roma and now it gives a 200 million euro subsidy to the music industry?

Just WTF?

Is his wife payed for by the music lobby? And it still requires people that in the plan are claimed to be unwilling to pay for music, to pay for music. Just not so much. Once...

And why does the state have to pay for this? Can't the music industry itself offer a discount action? Why must the average french taxpayer pay for 50% off for some kid for an American song with the money going abroad?

This isn't even corruption anymore. It shows a level of detachment from reality in the French government that is closer to insanity. "Let them eat cake", at least showed an awareness that the issue was related to food. This proposal doesn't even grasp. "42, beezlebug for I am, bibble", Marie Antoinette was heard to say, just before her head came off. Insanity.

State aid?

[Krakadoom]

How is that not illegal state aid under EU law? Because they dont target specific content providers? Sounds highly dubious.

Re:I guess the French outdid themselves again.

[hedwards]

More like fascism, this is just a form of corporate welfare. The industry couldn't figure out how to deal with piracy so now the government is subsidizing their products.

Ultimately it won't work, I doubt very much that this will really convince people to stop pirating. And on the unlikely event that it works, the question really is why does the French government need to provide a subsidy to what was apparently an issue of supply and demand.

By all means crack down on those that are distributing the copies, but that's the responsibility of the recording industry, not the government.

One quick question?

[xednieht]

Where does the French government "earn" it money from? The French government isn't subsidising squat, the French people are.

Wow...

[Haedrian]

Can the french government get any worse? First they implement the 3 strikes law.

Now they will throw 25 million euros a year (according to their estimates) - in order to pay the music industry. Why not grab the 25 million and use them to build more parks, or reduce homelessness, or put into education?

Answer: Because there aren't any 'homelessness lobbies'