The Isle of Man government has announced a proposal for a blanket music licensing scheme for ISPs and telcos, which will enable consumers to download music (including from P2P services) via their home broadband or mobile phones for a fixed monthly fee.The island's government is now inviting responses from rights-holders to its proposal, to ensure labels and publishers are on board. Inward investment manager Ron Berry says the announcement is the culmination of a year's worth of negotiations with industry partners.“A blanket license for ISPs to allow their subscribers to download music for non commercial use as an intrinsic part of their monthly ISP or MSP charge is the way forward,” he says. “However, to enable this to happen, it needs to be a collaborative effort between rights holders, telecommunication providers and internet service providers, and a supportive government.” The Isle of Man hopes that music will grow into its second biggest revenue source thanks to the blanket licence, behind banking. Geoff Taylor of the BPI has already welcomed the news, saying in a MidemNet panel session this morning that “If ISPs take the position advocated in the Isle of Man, we’d be in an enormously better position”.
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