Interestingly there is talk about a general music charge. Meaning, when you pay for Internet, you would also be pay an additional charge for downloading music. Think of it like a music tax - like on the phone - when you pay a carrier fee or something. And everyone would have to pay - anyone with Internet access would have to pay. It’s an interesting idea - kind of like the mechanical royalties for radio play. But - fundamentally different. In the case of radio play, payment is actually tied directly to music plays. In this case, it’s not. As an analogy, it’s closer to adding $.05 payment to the music industry per gallon of gas if you happen to go the record store to pick up a free CD. If it were my business - I would LOVE that. Incredible revenue stream that you don’t have to do a whole lot for - and send the accounting to someone else (ie: SoundExchange). As a retailer, it would also make rVibe’s job easier - we could just blanket it, pay per download and be done. But it will never fly - the ISPs won’t go for it, the regulators won’t go for it and consumers won’t go for it. Now - if they made all music, video, and every subscription service free -then it might work.

Originally published on WordPress on September 11, 2007. Migrated to this blog on May 29, 2025.