In 1985, France introduced a levy on blank media, such as cassette tapes and CDs, to compensate rightsholders for copies of their works made for private use. The main source of revenue today is smartphones; a levy of roughly 17 euros per sale means an annual payout to rightsholders of almost €300m. Alongside the streaming explosion and a system unchanged for a decade, one that critics describe as “dysfunctional”, the levy now faces renewed scrutiny.
Source: €300m Per Year Rightsholder ‘Private Copying’ Payouts Face Scrutiny * TorrentFreak