5 cents a song misses the point
Globandmail.com has an article about Sandy Pearlman who thinks he has the solution to the music industry’s piracy problem. His idea, put every song onto a search engine, like Google or iTunes, and charge 5 cents a song plus 1% tax on computers and ISPs. It’s a great idea, and would probably work, but it misses the point. By placing all the songs in the world on one search engine (which, in and of itself, would be difficult) competition goes out the window. That search engine would essentially control the entire music industry, at least on the internet. The whole point about file-sharing is to compete with the major industry and create a better market. Unfortunatly, this market is illegal, but it doesn’t have to be. The best proposal I’ve heard on this issue is the collective liscensing scheme provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Their idea, allow everybody to pay $5 dollars a month for a liscense that gives them the access to all the music on file-sharing networks. This money would go to a central collection agency that would monitor downloads and distribute the money accordingly. The liscense would be voluntary, but those who won’t pay risk law suits, providing the incentive to pay. ISPs could even include the $5 fee as part of their monthly bill. This proposal fosters competion while still ensuring that artists get paid.
