This is an intriguing idea, but I dont see it happening. It overlooks a couple of vital factors: entrepreneurship and competition. Those are the factors that drive American business. They are doing it poorly right now because the technological paradigm is changing. But they will adjust.

One paradigm is not changing: people-- particularly young music fans--rely on record companies to determine what they listen to. This is borne out by the facts. By FAR, the most common illegal downloads are the big hit records from the major labels. Kids are not sophisticalted enough, nor energetic enough to plow through 1000's of titles to find something they like. They are perfectly content to like what they hear on the radio. They like what their friends like. They WANT labels to provide them easy access to an attractive product. It is the same with every other thing we buy--from cars to shampoo. We do not want to "test" 1000 brands of shampoo before buying. We are content to let the manufacturers court US.

I fear that the Laskow model caters mostly to people who feel disenfranchised by the current model. Unfortuneatley, we are a minority. The great unwashed horde is perfectly content with their musical choices and the way it is delivered. I don't think the Laskow model addresses that fact.