Former EMI exec Ted Cohen has a piece in the latest issue of Billboard that is making the rounds (for those of us who do not subscribed and are locked outside the password-protected website). Cohen left EMI to form a consulting group. A few months ago, Reuters reported that Cohen was hired by P2P company Limewire to lobby on its behalf for the type of proposal he had now put in writing, so keep that in mind when reading this opinion piece.

If music is about freedom, Cohen says, then it's time to give it a shot. His short-on-details plan is for a six-month trial period to gauge the effectiveness of a legitimate, revenue-sharing P2P network.

"What I propose is an aggressive six-month trial by a major P2P service (any takers?) that could finally give us clear insight into the behavior of P2P users. Is it about interoperability, community and deep catalog, or is it all about free? We need to know.

Here's how it would work: Leave the service exactly as it is: no filtering, no DRM, no changes to its current offering of unprotected MP3s. The rare tracks, bootlegs-they all stay there. Just charge for each piece of content and split the revenue between the service and the content owners.

Yes, I know. Deals aren't in place with labels and publishers. Some content out there (bootlegs, etc.) isn't 'cleared,' and yes, it might keep some accountants working overtime. But wouldn't it be better to figure out how to allocate all the revenue than not to have it at all? For the 'gray' content, I suggest labels consider a 50/50 percentage share with the artists, obviating arguments on who owns it.

Cohen's idea comes at a good time, and the fact that this piece ran in Billboard and not Wired means his idea will probably gain a lot more traction within the industry. After years of tooth-and-nail litigation, the RIAA has made its point as well as its going to make it. Consumers, through their P2P-loving behavior, have also made their point. Why not try out Cohen's plan? Putting a sunset clause on this kind of experiment gives labels and publishers an exit plan and should cause them to be a lot less squeemish about the whole idea.

[music jobs] Director of Content at Dada Entertainment; New York, NY.