Hi everyone. Some of you may already be aware that, since late last year, a licence fee has been introduced in the UK charging DJs �200 if they intend to play out using mp3 technology. The ruling body, the PPL, have simply argued that those who don't want to/are unable to pay this licence fee should simply use other formats (ie. vinyl and CDs) instead. I believe this is a gross injustice to creative performance in general, especially in this modern age where creative use of new technologies should be encouraged.



For those of you who are unfamiliar with this issue, here is a news item with details about this issue:



http://news.bbc.co.u...ent/4609378.stm



Further information and discussion has been posted on the I-DJ messageboards:



http://www.i-dj.co.u...25497dcf0dd9c79



I appreciate that most of you on this board probably don't give a monkeys about this, which is fair enough, but I'm sure there are a few DJs on this board who would agree with me that this licence fee isn't cool!



Anyway, I'm setting up this thread in order to attract support for an email I'm planning on putting together, to I-DJ magazine, strongly suggesting they write a feature on this recent digital DJing licence fee.



My intention is to firstly make more people aware of this issue and, secondly, attempt to put right what I, and I'm sure many of you, believe is a gross injustice to creative performance on the whole.



Ok, now to my point! In order for this plan to be effective, I need as many of you to add your names to this petition as possible. What I need is for those of you who are opposed to this licence fee to PM me your full name and email address so that I can include them on this petition, which i will be sending to the editor of I-DJ magazine.



I need your email addies simply to prove that the names on the petition are real, that is all. I will only use your information in the strictest of confidence solely for the purpose of this petition, so you needn't worry about me sending you unsolicited emails etc. Once I've added your details to the petition, I will delete your information and you won't hear from me again (except for my occasional rants on this forum of course!)



So, in summary, if you are opposed to the digital DJ licence fee, I strongly advise you to PM me your full name and a valid email address and I will add it to my petition.



If any of this is unclear, or you require further information please feel free to PM me and I will get back to you asap.



Thanks in advance to those of you who choose to take part in this petition.



Cheers, everyone :)

Is that �200 a one time fee, or a fee per set?



I also find it interesting that the money goes directly to the companies that control the licensing, so the artists probably never see any of it anyway.



Hope the RIAA in the states doesn't pickup on something like this. I'm not a DJ myself, but it could definitely spoil the efforts of an individual trying to make a living.

The details on that are a little fuzzy. I would assume that, like most licences, it would cover a set period of time (eg. six moths, a year, etc).



The PPL does claim that a proportion of the licence fee will go back to the artists they represent, but for me that is irrelevant. Most DJs who use mp3s buy them from legitimate sources so the artists aren't being ripped off at all, however, with this licence fee we the consumers are instead being ripped off as we are effectively giving the artists money for their product twice over.



And there's nothing to say how much of a proportion they get anyway. I would expect that the artists see very little of this money.



Anyhoo, is there anyone out there interested in supporting this petition? Let's get this off the ground huh peeps? :)

*signed*

*signed*

Why don't you just:



- download the MP3s

- mix them in your PC

- buy the vinyls



;)

This is def. not cool!

I'm not sure about signing the petition though, since i live in Sweden. But i could PM my name and e-mail anyways...

This is a bit annoying, I have just started to go digital.



I don?t think the police would come and raid a club to make sure the DJ's had there licences.

Pringled Escribi�:

I don?t think the police would come and raid a club to make sure the DJ's had there licences.

That's irrelevant. It's still a big problem that needs to be addressed.



Egil, that's up to you mate. This is mainly intended to help out the jocks here in the UK, but if you feel like you want to help right a wrong, then feel free to add your support. :)



Oh and Skylined, I think you might have missed the point mate! ;-)

I don't think so, but you can tell me what is it that I'm missing.

You meant 3 different alternatives, right Skylined?

Either download them via P2P, mix them in your PC (i.e. Ableton Live), or DJ using vinyl

see, im kind of in 2 minds about this.



on thw one hand as a dj its not a cost i want to inccur, especially as at the level pausebuttonaudo are at we dont get bundles of dosh for our troubles, mostly just expenses.



on the other hand, when we finally get a tune released itll mean more money in the pot from the PRS, meaning a bigger yearly dividend.



its a dilemma :?

chemicalfan Escribi�:

You meant 3 different alternatives, right Skylined?

Either download them via P2P, mix them in your PC (i.e. Ableton Live), or DJ using vinyl

Not the alternatives, but the steps that you can do.

That way you'll only get the vinyls that you need, and once you get them, you can keep them for future use or sell them.

And of course, you can also get used vinyls instead of new ones. ;)

From what I'm gathering as far as information goes, it seems there is too much gray area fo this organization PPL to actually impose such draconian laws.



Because there is so much gray area, it is hard to get to the root of exactly why such a law would be imposed, who would benefit and how, and who would be punished and how severly that person(s) would be punished. Whether or not clubs are going to get raided and digital dj's taken to the slammer is not necessarily the issue, it's the principle of the matter. It just doesn't seem right - but that's going on what little information I am presented with.



To me it seems so far this is two-fold: protect artists against people illegally obtaining their music and to create a line between domestic and commercial use (of songs). However to attack the digital format and the people that use it to sustain their livliehoods and hobbies... it feels like this is an infringement not only on the pocketbook but on creativy and freedom of expression.



Skylined I get what you are saying but not everyone wants to use vinyl - for whatever reason, likely preference: cost, ease of use, etc. That would be like telling me that if I want to display my artwork in a privately owned gallery I have to pay an extra governmental fee because I used acryllics. but I'd be OK if my painting were done in oils. It just doesn't make sense to me, or am I missing something? I don't quite understand...



If there are too many gray areas, then there are too many questions that have not been addressed and it's really hard to make an informed decision if all the facts have not been disclosed.



It's a great idea to get IDJ mag involved - bring the facts to the table, make people aware, and allow everyone to make an informed decision for or against.

Thanks for that Whirly, you've certainly hit the nail on the head there.



And as a response to Skylined, why should I burn stuff from vinyl? The mp3s are out there to use so why should we be charged twice over to use them?



Ideally, the best compromise I can forsee is that the digital licence is included under the existing public performance licence which is generally taken care of by the venues.



Anyway, I'm gonna type up this email to I-DJ in the next day or two so, if anyone still wants to add their support, please let me know asap.



I will keep you posted, those of you who are interested, if/when I get any feedback from I-DJ.



Cheers all ;-)