Billy Bragg is one of the first UK musicians to give his opinion on the new file-sharing policing deal between UK ISPs and the BPI, writing in the Guardian.

Under the deal, thousands of suspected file-sharers will be sent warning letters. Bragg thinks its a waste of time, a smoke-screen designed to hide the nature of the crisis music labels face.

“Without some kind of legal framework to back it up, it’s nothing more than a gesture,” he wrote.

Rather than litigation, Bragg would like to see either some form of licence fee paid by fans for the right to download music, or more sites like MySpace paying royalties to musicians and other content providers.

Here’s Bragg performing ‘Great Leap Forward’.