Rodent Regatta

THE US VS. THEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA

Earlier this week, I posted something about digital rights. I’m afraid this debate is now between the lawyers and politicians, and frankly I’ve lost track of ”the right idea.” I have no problem with a musician, composer or film maker wanting to be paid for their work. I also see their concern about posting their work on the Internet under some honor system for payments. Further, I can see that sharing music or sharing video might prevent appropriate payments.
What I’ve lost track of is the ”other side.” Has someone pointed out the right idea? Clearly, I’m opposed to lawsuits against ISP’s and heavy-handed snooping inside personal computers to search for *.mp3 files or whatever else they think they might find. However, assuming the tech side of this debate agrees that people deserve to be paid, what ideas have come up? Is it simply the ”I pay a monthy fee for x downloads” idea? Doesn’t that leave the art in digital form and subject to the same open sharing system. In other words, will that really work?
I’ve heard all the stuff about being accused of being a pirate, etc. That name calling isn’t the part of the debate I’m asking about. Are there practical solutions that permit both sides to get what they want? If anybody knows where I should look to come up to speed on this, please let me know. Thanks.