The IP Police come a calling

So, in all their might, the various agencies with "responsibility" for pirating are once again using their telescope the wrong way around.

Having tried to take out the file sharing sites and the torrent directories in order to prevent people downloading pirated music and video files, they turn their focus to the Internet service providers, those that deliver our broadband to our RJ45s

This is like trying to make the companies that build the roads to be responsible for speeders, or like making transport companies responsible for alcoholics and binge drinkers. The gun is pointing at the wrong target.

If the laws get passed, it will become your broadband provider's responsibility to police the data that you download. Woe betide if you are caught downloading a torrent stream. You will instantly be guilty of piracy and will be the recipient of a "cease and desist" note from your service provider. Get caught a second time and the message will be stronger. Get caught a third time and your connection will be terminated.

Of course, there are a couple of problems with this approach

1/ Some torrent traffic is legitimate. It is a legitimate distribution route for some software applications, the download model of the BBC's iPlayer uses torrents to share legitimate material and, more telling, the pirates are already one step ahead of the game. They now use encryption to mask the type of data streaming across the Internet and so become undetectable (again)

2/ What happens if a broadband provider is not based in the UK? A number of companies have moved their HQs out of the UK to benefit from slightly advantageous VAT rates. These companies will be outside of UK law and if outside of the EU, then outside of EU law as well - Switzerland springs to mind here.

Why do the media creators not just admit that the golden age of making money hand over fist is over and look to re-invent themselves in a more 21st century manner.

With bands like Radiohead making their latest album available effectively for free, some of the artists are already embracing the model. Thousands of new acts are springing up and using MySpace and YouTube as their route to market - cutting out the major producers at source.

They may not generate the vast up-front signing-on offers (which are only advances after all, and have to be paid back out of the profits from sale of CDs) but they build incredibly loyal fanbases who DO pay for downloads and who WILL pay to go and see the artists perform live and WILL buy T-Shirts and other ephemeral memorabilia.

So, with this in mind, why don't the studios embrace all the BENEFITS offered by new media - -the potential access to a vast new market . . . for example, touring China or selling CDs. and DVDs in China may be difficult - providing content via the web is not much easier but it is more achievable.

And why don't they make the content available for free - at a low quality, (VHS or audiotape quality) for example.

That way, the cheapskates who would NEVER pay to view or listen could actually access the material, others could sample the quality of performance and if they then wanted a higher quality then they could buy the higher quality version - with various qualities on offer

MP3 player quality or audiophile quality for the aficionados (who will pay)
TV quality and Hi-Def quality for the real fans - who will also pay.

As far as I am ware, this has never been put forward as an option worthy of consideration. Therefore I consider this to be the AP New Media Business Model and claim it as my own.