MUMBAI: UK ministers have proposed a plan that envisages millions of broadband users coughing up an annual levy which would allow them to download music from the internet. Users could face an annual charge to ?30 to download music, reports The Independent.

Online piracy has lowered the physical sale in the market, with studies indicating that about 95 per cent of music downloads from the Internet are illegal. The money raised from this initiative would be channeled back to the rights-holders. Artists responsible for the most popular songs will receive a bigger slice of the cash.

The six biggest internet service providers of the UK market that make up 90 per cent of the broadband industry have already signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Phonographic Industry and the Motion Pictures Association of America.

It is believed this initiative would prevent criminalizing large sections of the public. This can help the music industry to compensate for lost sales. If successful it could be extended to cover films and television programmes.

The UK minister plans to send 12,000 letters over the summer to repeat downloaders, warning them they are breaking the law. They hope the shock tactics will deter internet users from illegal file-sharing.

Other initiatives will be followed later in the year after studying the impact of the warning letters. Legislation could be in place by next spring. The government plans to imply the idea of a "three strikes and you're out" policy adopted in France under which people who illicitly download or share music are disconnected after ignoring two warnings.

Adding on to such initiatives, the internet service providers will have to disclose the identities of regular downloaders. This move would be costly and could breach data protection controls. They could also be ordered to install filters that would prevent downloading, says the report.

Authorities accept that implying such measures for practical problems is very expensive and impossible by internet providers. But they say the scale of the problem, and its impact on Britain's creative industries, means doing nothing is not an option.

The service providers have agreed to the code for dealing with offenders, setting out agreed sanctions.