Allow P2P MP3 Filesharing at will.

Charge MP3 Player Software companies per play.

If the play is copyright music, they pay royalty. They can figure out how to charge subscription to the user. The user has all the choice in the world.

Music companies are protected. All Players must be certified. Uncertified player distribution or sales allows RIAA to go after the player software originator.

Artists get essentially free distribution through P2P networks, but still get paid per song (think Radio).
-- jojo99, Oct 13 2003

What would keep users from abusing the system and destroying the most popular MP3 company?

Paying for song sounds like a bad thing, unless it's like a nickel, it doesn't look fair.
-- FobosDrakontas, Oct 13 2003


Somewhat baked in Sweden. Not for software, but for storage media. It goes back to the time of cassette tapes. A special tax on recordable media, such as cassettes (and now CDs and DVDs). The tax goes directly to the Swedish organizations corresponding to the RIAA. It doesn't matter if your using the media for other purposes than copyrighted material (such as your own, unprotected stuff). They are preparing to raise this tax considerably in the near future. That won't stop them from going after file sharers though.
-- Brummo, Oct 14 2003


The blank media fees Brummo describes also exist in the U.S. and Canada.
-- krelnik, Oct 14 2003



random, halfbakery