Music to the ears of record labels, maybe. But is the latest attempt to stop illegal downloading of music going to work?
Today's big story is that 90% of people could face "punishment" if they're found to have been illegally downloading music. (Yes, that means you too.)
The story appeared first on the BBC, which revealed that the big six net providers have signed an anti-piracy deal.
Hundreds of thousands of people will soon receive letters in the post telling them to stop illegally sharing music.
The deal signed by internet service providers has committed them to making a "significant reduction" in file sharing. We'll get the details later today, but already there are diverging views over how exactly they will rap the knuckles of people who ignore their bits of paper.
According to The Times, which interprets all this as "parents punished" for their children's sins, non-compliant internet users could see the speed of their internet speed curtailed, making it hard to download big files.
It's running an analysis piece claiming this is "as big a change as the introduction of speed cameras" and will change online behaviour.
The Independent understands the deal will - "in the longer term" - mean users paying some kind of levy with money "channelled back to the rights holders, with artists responsible for the most popular songs receiving a bigger slice of the cash". That will keep the big music labels happy.
It does though seem unlikely that we will head down the French route of seeing internet access cut off altogether for persistent offenders. That chimes in with the government's stated intention to go with voluntary action over legislation.
How long will that hold? The Financial Times says the government views the deal as "the internet industry's last chance to avoid statutory regulation or levies."
This could, of course, mean a boom in business for smaller ISPs that aren't part of the deal. (£9.99 a month - unlimited illegal downloads without annoying letters.)
But more importantly, how much impact will this have on the very people it should target? Young people already use internet connections provided by their universities, or their colleges, or their unknowing neighbours.
So will they bother to get their credit cards out for a single from iTunes?
Staff
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