Interesting article regarding an ISP/Cable provider in the UK that has maneuvered a licensing deal whereby it’s customers will be able to legally trade any song from the SonyBMG catalog over it’s networks. This is one step closer to a future where p2p file-sharing isn’t outlawed but embraced and profitable for all parties. Link (via boingboing)
Playlouder is offering the first legal alternative with a comparable experience to the “peer to peer” file sharing sites often used to swap pirated tracks.
Subscribers will be charged £26 a month for a high speed broadband internet connection, similar to the price charged by BT, with the added attraction of being able to share as much music as they want with other subscribers at no extra cost.
Because there will be no restrictions on the format in which the traded music is encoded, users will be free to transfer songs to any type of digital music player, including the market leading Apple iPod, or burn them to CD.
