a sensible idea from the Canadians

Digital tax could save the music industry from itself

In the last few years, the music industry has combated tumbling revenue by suing customers, decimating artist rosters and laying off thousands of employees.

That’s not a business plan. That’s the sound of the Titanic slipping under the waves.

But in the last few days, one important segment of the music industry actually came up with a rescue strategy that didn’t smack of panic, malice or desperation.

The Songwriters Association of Canada is proposing a $5-a-month licensing fee on every wireless and Internet account in the country, in exchange for unlimited access to all recorded music.

The deal would put $1 billion annually in the pockets of artists, publishers and record labels, according to the songwriters group. The money would be distributed to artists based on how frequently their music is swapped on-line; the more downloads, the more money the people responsible for the music would accrue. Big Champagne, a Los Angeles-based Internet monitoring service, says it can track file-swapping accurately enough to ensure that artists big and small would be compensated....

Read more. (via Johannes at monochrom)

This idea is very similar to one I've been advocating for several years now. It's too bad the music industry will likely not go for it, and instead will drop its proverbial bone into the water.