It doesn't have to be this way. There are alternatives. That's why EFF launched the Let the Music Play Campaign, to create a showcase for reasonable solutions that don't involve endless lawsuits. None of them is perfect; all of them have flaws and drawbacks. But all of them are preferable to thousands of lawsuits against individual American families. A good solution will get artists paid, while protecting the privacy and free-speech rights of fans.

Some critics worry that changes made in the copyright law for music may be detrimental to changes in the copyright law for software, books and other copyrighted works. This is a perfectly legitimate concern and has been addressed in several of the plans on our site. For example, the "voluntary collective licensing" plan is specific to the music industry and does not apply to software or other copyrighted works. Just as ASCAP and BMI collect blanket licensing fees from radio stations today, so could similar organizations collect fees from P2P users for file-sharing music. No other copyright owners would be affected by such a plan.... I will say what I always say: I want to see creators get paid - I'm a creator of sorts myself and I could sure as hell use more money - but the current system is illogical, counterproductive, and serves no one other than the copyright industry and superstars. Love is the answer, or large guns, make that licensing via broadband.