sneakyimp writes "Both Wired and Arstechnica have articles up on Jim Griffin's proposal that ISPs charge each broadband customer a $5 per month surcharge to subsidize the ailing music industry. The resulting fund would ostensibly "compensate songwriters, performers, publishers and music labels." Such a plan is also likely to compensate your ISP for collecting the fee, a quasi-governmental 'collection agency' to manage and distribute the wealth, and possibly other entities on its way to rescuing the deserving victims of the scourge that is P2P software. The proposal suggests that disbursements would be made based on the popularity of various songs on the various P2P networks.
Although no specific version of the proposal has been referenced in the aforementioned articles, a number of controversies are inherent to the plan: How is the money really divided? What happens when the MPAA, the Business Software Alliance, and various other industry groups want their own surcharge added? What about the supposed majority of broadband customers who never download illegal music? Jim insists that the surcharge is 'not mandatory' but there can be no doubt that ISPs would like a piece of the pie to help subsidize the billing apparatus they already have in place. I chose to email Jim to express my dismay and was admittedly a bit coarse. After a couple of traded barbs, I received this response which gave a vague indication of his rhetorical approach for his meeting at SXSW tomorrow.
"Hey, american citizen and broadband customer, where is your reply to my
reply?
I am waiting for something in the form of an apology for the unkind and
inaccurate e-mail you sent.
Let's review: I have no proposal for a mandatory surcharge on ISPs and never
have had such a proposal. I am opposed to forcing ISPs to send money to a
government agency unless it is tax money or some other regulatory dictate.
Do you write similar letters to the automobile insurance industry, which
legally mandates car owners carry insurance regardless of whether or not you
have had an accident?
Do you complain to the advertising industry for involuntarily embedding 80
billion dollars of extra cost into the products you buy?
Have you written a complaint to the library for taking your tax money to run
a place you or others may not have visited in years?
Complained to your cable provider for charging you for channels you never
watch?
You should be ashamed of yourself for falsely accusing me and calling me
names. Now you should apologize, and I am waiting.
Jim
The full transcript of our correspondence is here. I hope you'll all drop Jim a line to let him know what you think of his proposal."
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Do you write similar letters to the automobile insurance industry, which legally mandates car owners carry insurance regardless of whether or not you have had an accident?
If they charged this insurance for people that DO NOT drive cars, then sure, I'd complain... a lot.
Do you complain to the advertising industry for involuntarily embedding 80 billion dollars of extra cost into the products you buy?
Actually, it reduces the cost. By advertising products, they increase the economic scale. Without any advertising, virtually all products would be more expensive and out economy would be a lot slower. That, and it brings us free TV (even though it's mostly all crap anymore).
Have you written a complaint to the library for taking your tax money to run a place you or others may not have visited in years?
This is a more accurate analogy. I'll be sure to bring it up at the next city council meeting.
Complained to your cable provider for charging you for channels you never watch?
Q: When... (Score:2)
A: When the proofreader works for
Answers and Questions (Score:2)
Do you write similar letters to the automobile insurance industry, which legally mandates car owners carry insurance regardless of whether or not you have had an accident?
If they charged this insurance for people that DO NOT drive cars, then sure, I'd complain ... a lot.
Do you complain to the advertising industry for involuntarily embedding 80 billion dollars of extra cost into the products you buy?
Actually, it reduces the cost. By advertising products, they increase the economic scale. Without any advertising, virtually all products would be more expensive and out economy would be a lot slower. That, and it brings us free TV (even though it's mostly all crap anymore).
Have you written a complaint to the library for taking your tax money to run a place you or others may not have visited in years?
This is a more accurate analogy. I'll be sure to bring it up at the next city council meeting.
Complained to your cable provider for charging you for channels you never watch?
So I guess they should charg