GEMA reportedly crack down on DJs as well as clubs

[cloquet]

If you thought GEMA weren't bad enough...

http://www.factmag.com/2012/11/30/gema- ... e-to-sets/

It now appears that GEMA are attempting to knuckle down even harder on club performances. So far this has only – to our knowledge – been reported on German language websites, but at the heart of these newly proposed set of changes is a tax (or “laptop surcharge”) on DJs playing music from laptops, to the tune of 30% for every music file under five minutes with an increase of 20% for each additional minute. What we’re unsure about is whether this only refers to files that are played, or all music on the offending laptop – we’d presume the former, but the post on Tanith implies the latter (“e.g. 10,000 mp3s on the DJ laptop would [require] 1,300 Euros”).

[Forum]

I dont understand this, what are these royalties being collected for?

[kidshuffle]

I'm sure the major music industry players just get the money. Similar taxes are put on mp3/dvd/blu-ray players here, and the money just goes to the CRTC (radio), Music Canada (the big 4 labels), and whoever is in charge of movies. In turn though, this is also what has kept file sharing somewhat legal here...

The tax in this story might be trying to do something similar, but in a far more ridiculous way.

[Basstronomer]

What about free downloads, would you still have to pay to play those ones?

[kidshuffle]

It looks like it applies to any file

[Forum]

What if you're only playing tunes from independant labels?

[garethom]

What if you're only playing tunes from independant labels?

then fuk u basically

[kidshuffle]

Looks like GEMA represents 65000 different groups/artists/etc, so I'm sure it doesn't matter if the tunes are from independent labels as there are probably some who are getting royalties. The royalty distribution seems to be decided once a year, all determined by their 3500 full members...

[Basstronomer]

From GEMA's wiki page:

"Music videos for major label artists on YouTube, as well as many videos containing background music, have been unavailable in Germany since the end of March 2009 after the previous agreement had expired and negotiations for a new license agreement were stopped. According to Google, GEMA sought to raise its fee charged to YouTube to a "prohibitive" 12 euro cents per streamed video"

They're going hard on this

[hugh]

man these guys are so desperate to cling onto the past.
LET IT GO YOU FUCKING DONKEYS

[nowaysj]

Honestly calls for a years boycott of any form of music in Germany. Just shut it all down.

[syrup]

So if you play wavs you're safe?

[Basstronomer]

So if you play wavs you're safe?

It says 'every music file' in the article

[volcanogeorge]

so if you're like disclosure or something and pretty much only play your own tunes, you're getting taxed for creating music?

[AxeD]

Didn't I already pay tax/royalties when I bought those 10.000 tunes?

I spend over 14.000 euros on those goddamn fucking tunes.

[kidshuffle]

so if you're like disclosure or something and pretty much only play your own tunes, you're getting taxed for creating music?

GEMA also covers live performances, so yes, that is the case. It has nothing to do with the music being played, but rather the fact that music is being played. Cocks, the lot of them.

[Terpit]

Germany's gonna have a lot more vinyl DJs playing out then

[volcanogeorge]

so if you're like disclosure or something and pretty much only play your own tunes, you're getting taxed for creating music?

GEMA also covers live performances, so yes, that is the case. It has nothing to do with the music being played, but rather the fact that music is being played. Cocks, the lot of them.

thats mental

you've got to pay royalties to play your own tracks out

need more free parties IMO

[garethom]

Germany's gonna have a lot more vinyl DJs playing out then

This. Dubplates and white labels all round.

[incnic]

but what are they going to do? get you? fine you? it wont be enforced jsut a PR exercise

i fuckign smack them in teh face the stnuc this is a msuic not a young tory convention

now i knwo why youtube is so fuckign annoyign to use when in germany tho

fucking germans, too many biristsh hipsters in berlin go home