In the United States, recording labels want a bigger slice of Apple's success in digital music by seeking higher prices on downloaded songs. Japan's music industry has a different idea: putting a fee on iPods.

If you think of this like the old UK "TV license" that was used to fund the BBC, this isn't all that outrageous. Another flavor of "flat rate, all you can eat," plus the price discrimination falls out naturally -- if your fee is 5% of the sale price of your device, for example.

Japan's Music Industry Wants Fee on Sales of Latest Digital Players