In the previous meeting of this committee, we were told that the situation in Sweden is just marvellous because creators there all get a share and receive incredible royalties. My conclusion is that we will have to recommend that the government take a look at the industry there. I get the impression that it will be difficult to stick with broad principles and to avoid getting into micromanagement.
I know the subject reasonably well. When Jean-Richard Lefebvre talked to me about Galaxie almost 20 years ago, I told him that I hoped that, when he played one of our songs, he would give us 10 times what a commercial radio station gave. I added that, if someone subscribed to his service, that person would clearly never buy discs again. Remember, that was 20 years ago.
In this kind of situation, we must not get into micromanagement; we should be looking for great unifying principles instead. I do not know whether everyone would have said the same thing, but, when Alexandre Taillefer told me that he had bought the Karaoke Channel and then Galaxie, I quietly said to myself: “He is buying Galaxie, but who listens to that?”
You mentioned metadata in your presentation. I want to ask you what you would tell your mother, clearly and simply, if she asked you what you do for a living.