...

Online and mobile services offering listeners unlimited, "free" access to millions of songs are set to proliferate in the coming months, according to executives of the recording companies, Internet service providers and cellphone makers who gathered here for a music conference over the weekend.

 

Unlike illegal file-sharing services, which the music industry says are responsible for billions of dollars in lost sales, these new offerings are perfectly legal. The services are not really free, but payment is included in the cost of, say, a new cellphone or a broadband Internet access contract, so the cost to the consumer is disguised. And, unlike pirate sites, these services provide revenue to the music companies.

...

The Isle of Man is going a step further. Ron Berry, the inward investment manager for the island's government, announced plans for a system under which consumers with broadband subscriptions would be required to pay a nominal monthly license fee. They could then legally download music from any source, even peer-to-peer services that are currently outlaws.

...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/18/technology/midem.4-410564.php

via:

The Daily Swarm