The CPCC's mandate is to compensate the artists who create the music, but London Drugs says this isn't the way to do it. They say the CPCC is assuming users aren't paying and illegally downloading music to their players. However, a lot of people do add music legally, by using websites like i-Tunes and even uploading from CDs in their personal collections. London Drugs says customers would be paying double; first for the i-Tune purchase and second for the levy. They also say the levy ignores the fact that iPods like this Nano aren't only for storing music but also for storing photos and video.

The Retail Council of Canada also opposes the levy, calling it a hidden tax that doesn't benefit the consumer or the retail industry. If it were approved, the levy would take affect January 1st, 2008.

If approved, the amount of the levy will be based on the storage size of your iPod or MP3 player. The levy would be $5 if your recorder has less than one gigabyte of memory, and it would work its way up to $75 if you have more than 30 gigabytes of memory.

London Drugs is encouraging people to write to their MPs about their concerns. And one other thing: I think the levy is poorly thought out. If people have to pay what amounts to a rights fee they may consider that that gives them the right to download as much free music as they want. After all, they've paid a fee to the artist already. So that may in fact encourage a lot more piracy, not less.

More on the iPod levy