Billy Brag, the anti-folk hero turned cultural commentator, kind of has the same role in the U.K. that David Byrne has over here, in terms of being a public spokesperson for the indie rock world. Hence, it's only fitting that Bragg would come out with a column for The Guardian's Comment is Free media blog lambasting the decisions of six British ISPs to send warning letters to frequent music pirates.

Bragg noted, "It is just not in the music industry's interest to bite the hand of the ISPs, which provide them with access to potential customers," and found the letters useless with legal support. He also echoed many an annoyed teenagers with the following suggestion:

Rather than fighting this trend, the industry itself needs to find new methods of collecting royalties. The only real moral argument the industry has that will work with music fans is that the artist should be rewarded financially for providing them with music. Yet everyone knows that historically the record industry has paid artists a fraction of the price paid by the public for albums and singles.

Paying greater shares to artists is of course a noble goal, but not only won't the music industry do so, but it's also unclear quite how dramatic an effect it would have on the industry. Still, kudos for Bragg for publicly declaring the need to keep artists as opposed to bigwigs in mind.