I read another blog recently that ranted and raved about the request record industry companies recently made to Internet Service Providers to enforce anti-piracy on their servers and networks. The blog was not in favor of that move and I wholly agree that it is not the responsibility of another industry to make up for the problems facing the record industry. True, it would likely be prudent for ISPs to check for anti-piracy issues on their networks, but in the long run it has to be about keeping your own customers and not alienating others with threats against their privacy.
The British government seems poised to deal with the dynamic of this problem directly, after music industry trade groups there asked the government to take action. According to Billboard, the move to fight illegal file-sharing is "intended to ensure the prosperity of the country's creative industries" by taking legislative action as early as 2009 if the music industry and ISPs do not find a common ground. Legislators have also vowed to protect privacy in the face of these challenges. Unfortunately, the challenges of ISPs providing anti-piracy clean-up for the music industry does fly in the face of privacy issues, even if that means protecting the act of illegal file-sharing.
The Australian government has also taken a similar stance, but is keen to implement a "three-strike proposal" where illegal file sharers would be issued warnings before a suspension of access and eventual cancellation. Still, the plan would require ISPs to monitor user traffic and infringe on privacy issues, reports Billboard. Internet industry trade groups in Australia have also defended the position of not adopting these types of policies or "taking responsibility of illegal operations on their networks" because "present legislation already covers copyright infringement, and these should be used against illegal downloaders."
The British government seems poised to deal with the dynamic of this problem directly, after music industry trade groups there asked the government to take action. According to Billboard, the move to fight illegal file-sharing is "intended to ensure the prosperity of the country's creative industries" by taking legislative action as early as 2009 if the music industry and ISPs do not find a common ground. Legislators have also vowed to protect privacy in the face of these challenges. Unfortunately, the challenges of ISPs providing anti-piracy clean-up for the music industry does fly in the face of privacy issues, even if that means protecting the act of illegal file-sharing.
The Australian government has also taken a similar stance, but is keen to implement a "three-strike proposal" where illegal file sharers would be issued warnings before a suspension of access and eventual cancellation. Still, the plan would require ISPs to monitor user traffic and infringe on privacy issues, reports Billboard. Internet industry trade groups in Australia have also defended the position of not adopting these types of policies or "taking responsibility of illegal operations on their networks" because "present legislation already covers copyright infringement, and these should be used against illegal downloaders."
NME.com (try to pronounce that one as a single word), a
Time Warner company, announced today that it has entered an agreement with Mercora, Inc. The partnership enables
NME.com to develop a beta version of service called MyNME Radio -- even more unpronounceable -- which will pair
Mercora's music search abilities with the legalized music sharing of NME.com. 
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