ISP licensing is a controversial topic. It essentially would apply the same fees that ASCAP charges bars and restaurants for music to people downloading music on the internet.
In a book reading at SXSWi on Tuesday, Steven Masur talked about the options involving ISP licensing. One option is putting $1 fee on cell phone bill that would go to the artists. Another option would allow users to decide to pay for a download to avoid prosecution. These fees would apply to all unpaid for downloads of music or film.
Masur admits this would be difficult to enforce because of international laws. He said that is part of the challenge – seeing where this goes in the future.
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I have some musician friends that would love something like this, because they hate the idea of their hard work being traded for nothing. However I have other musician friends who love to share their music online, and look at it as a way to develop a fan base.
I believe with the amount of money that could potentially be made, and the amount the record companies feel they are missing out on will drive the industry to find a way to tighten the music sharing market online. There will probably always be ways to steal your music, but I think the record and other media companies will do everything they can to restrict that market.