Looking for free MP3 downloads? Then you might want to move to the Isle of Man. It’s just launched a scheme to offer all residents unlimited music downloads. Legally.
It’ll involve each resident paying a compulsory music licence, after which they’ll be allowed to download whatever they like. It’s a bit like a TV licence, but without the pictures.
The Isle of Man’s inward investment minister, Ron Berry, explained that since the island now has 100% broadband penetration it’s able to levy the tax and side-step file sharing. “At the end of the day, we’re not going to stop piracy,” he said, stating that instead governments should “embrace it”
“Hd the music industry embraced [Napster the first time], we’d have a very different medium today.”
The Isle of Man currently has 80,000 residents, and while there’s logic to the plan we have to question the fairness of it all. What if you’re just not a music fan? Could you stomach a compulsory music licence? Give us a shout below.
Out now | £TBC | Isle of Man (via Music Ally)
