After local trade representatives yesterday presented a new study on storage media remuneration and called for its reform, writers and publishers are warning of a change. Income from the currently applicable reprography and storage media remuneration is “an essential basis of existence” for authors and publishers. It is “a model that works excellently in every respect”.
Artists such as screenwriter and director Eva Spreitzhofer and author Marlene Streeruwitz, but also the IG authors, the Austrian Association of Publishers and the press club Concordia spoke out in favor of maintaining the remuneration.
The levy would enable consumers to copy “texts, images, music and films in all possible ways in a legally secure manner while respecting their privacy”, and numerous studies would show that this continues to happen millions of times a year. There are comparable systems such as the storage media remuneration throughout Europe.
From the point of view of the device trade, the levy on hard drives of smartphones, laptops and the like is no longer up-to-date, since streaming, for example, dominates music and film consumption. Last but not least, the bureaucratic effort for companies is disproportionate. A reform is therefore needed that ensures stable, long-term financing for artists without jeopardizing the competitiveness of the companies, emphasized the business representatives.
