France considers legalising P2P
French politicians are currently considering whether to legalise music and film downloading and implement a monthly fee to compensate for the lost royalties. The policy has met with opposition from the French government and (surprise, surprise) the recording industry. Some musicians have also come out against the bill. Consumer groups are in favour of the new proposal.
A downloading license has always struck me as being an ideal third way between the current state of affairs where illegal downloading is endemic and the artists get nothing and the course favoured by, for example, the RIAA of restrictive technology barriers backed by draconian laws.
Clearly there would be a number of issues which would have to be cleared up with any such scheme including:
- How much does the license cost?
- How is the money distributed?
- Who has to buy a license?
Those certainly aren’t easy questions but if they can be satisfactorily resolved I believe that a download license could be a suitable method for paying artists in the Internet era.
Via The Register.