Do you agree that people who download music should have their internet connections terminated? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml;jsessionid=D0NBNCBNRAVP5QFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?xml=/connected/2008/01/29/dlutwo129.xml Music fans who repeatedly download songs illegally should have their internet connections severed, the manager of U2 has said. Paul McGuinness, who has managed the best-selling group for 30 years, attacked internet service providers for failing to clamp down on illegal file-sharing. He said the refusal of internet firms to punish those who download music without paying was "the single biggest failure in the digital music market". He called on them to adopt a "three strikes and you're out" enforcement policy under which illegal downloaders would have to start paying for music or face having their ISP subscriptions terminated.

And does he really think this will stop people downloading illegally? He's deluded. There are how many ISPs out there? And will they REALLY want to cut their subscribers off just because U2 think it's naughty? Doubtful.

he should be shot for a statement like that is he worrying about bills and food this weekend ? plus i wouldnt download U2 if they were for free the over rated wierdos

They earn Millions already, just a shout of greed, if there is anyone to punish its the people who upload the music up illegally

In the immortal words of Mandy Rice Davis, he would say that wouldn't he? Paul McGuinness is a billionaire thanks to people buying records. If we all downloaded our music illegally, where would his next million come from? I think he should have his connections terminated with two bricks.

whats up with him he down to his last 20 million or something. I always thought the idea of the internet WAS to share files and information, the idea of these huge bands whinging because they're missing out on a few quid. so what! they make it all back in merchandising and concert tickets. the smaller bands benefit from the free publicity leading to people turning up at theis gigs

It just won't work. Is he going to pay every ISP a fee to have their service stopped for their customers downloading free music, I don't think so.

He's off his tree. He's just greedy, perhaps if the price of CD's were cut, people would buy more instead of downloading. Bah Humbug, boycott his band for his silly suggestion.

Even though it's wrong, there's not a lot they can do to stop it. Peer to peer - in other words person to person. It's a bit like someone lending you the album, film, game etc. for you to make a copy of. People have done that for years. Remember the logo on some record sleeves that had a tape symbol with a skull & crossbones that said "Home taping is killing music"? http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m131/iampetesmith/taping.jpg - it's the same as what happens today. Only the technology now allows perfect copies to be made by more people and this will have a bigger effect. The thing is, with so many people doing it they can't all be tracked down and it will carry on. They'll catch the odd few people and make an example of them, but these are mainly people who upload the stuff for other people to get rather than download it for themselves (there are people out there who have a few computers all connected to the internet sharing this content 24 hours a day). However most people will never be caught because of complications with IP addresses, internet companies not co-operating, not being able to get court orders to have people's details handed over to police etc. The easiest way is to either reduce the cost of the music, films and games so that it's not worth pirating, or to raise the cost of blank media to give the same effect (but as you can now get huge hard drives to store stuff on, this is probably pointless). I know which one of those I'd prefer.