While the rest of the EU waits for electronics companies and musical rights societies to kiss and make up, the Spanish government this week announced the introduction of digital levies from July 1.

The “digital canon” will see additional taxes lobbed onto mobile phones (€1.10), blanks CDs (17 cent), laser printers (€10), scanners (€9), CD and DVD recorders (€3.40) and many other electronic goods.

Naturally, there has been much fuming about this sudden more with gadget-makers querying how this money will get through to the content creators.

However, collection agency SGAE rep Pedro Farre was more interested to spin the blame for increasing prices. “Technically, the manufacturers pay the canon. Whether they pass the cost on to the public is their decision.”