@mjj oh yeah, we've also had it in Italy for writable CDs and USB sticks for a while - not sure if they're still around.

Those are the most pathetic and desperate attempts of raising the perceived "lost revenue".

First, at least in Italy, the revenue didn't really go to artists directly. It went to the national society for artists and copyright holders (SIAE, akin to BUMA in the Netherlands). Which just ended up beefing up its stash without any form of "trickling down to the artists" - so basically it ended up being a tax that funds a powerful lobby.

Second, technology progresses at breakneck speed. The idea of sharing an mp3 on a CD-ROM or a USB stick sounds so outdated to me that eventually you end up keeping a tax on something because of something that doesn't even apply anymore.

Third, to me it always sounded like "everyone who buys a knife needs to pay a tax to compensate the victims of domestic violence": it just doesn't comply with any form of logic.