Pirates are everywhere these days. Johnny Depp trilogies aside, these purveyors of piracy used to be known as the “consumer.” But technology evolved and things like file sharing became a way of life. The industry failed to seize multiple opportunities to make this new practice work for them.

Now everyone is up in arms about music sales being down while piracy is in a constant state of diffusion. Torrentfreak, a blog dedicated to relating news about file sharing protocols without condoning piracy, published an article outlining a solution for the industry and the consumer-turned-pirate. Their plan would allow the industry to stay afloat while the consumer drops the pirate act without having to change a thing. Torrentfreak’s big idea: sell the licenses, forget about sales.

It sounds daunting and uncomfortable at first, but give it a chance. Music industry conglomerates have finally realized that there is nothing they can do, no amount of lawsuits they can file, that will make people go back to buying CDs. Many have embraced the idea of music sharing services. Warner Music Group Corp. has built a partnership with iMeem, an innovative competitor of iTunes, where the online music service continues to do what they always have while Warner now gets a cut of the revenue. And the consumer, none the wiser, continues to pay a (hopefully) small monthly fee.

Finally, things are moving in the right direction where the industry’s big players stop trying to grab the reins of the digital music pony and start letting it take them for a ride—one that will end at the bank. For more on this glorious solution to end music piracy, read the full article here.

Image: Tech News World.

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