There are entire classes of information use which are exceptionally poorly served by the present pay-as-you-go (if and only if it's available, for your platform) model: the poor, children, researchers, the unwired or poorly wired, those in poor countries (see up-thread comment), and more.

There's an exceptionally strong argument for a simple access fee or tax (built into broadband service provision or income tax, preferably scaled to wealth), for which you have all-you-can-eat access to content, with authors paid based on a pro-rated basis of usage of their works, based on some cost-of-production scale (algorithmic computer-generated music really shouldn't be rewarded on the same basis as high-calibre investigative journalism or technical research). Possibly even taking the concept of payment for work out of the equation and providing some number of professional slots rewarded on a sliding scale based on measures of talent or quality. After all, what matters in producing considerable content is occupational stability in doing so. Periodic (annual? More or less frequent?) assessments could be made to compensation, number of openings, etc. Yes, it's complex, but then, information goods are too.

Oh, and that argument's compelling enough for Amazon to consider it. Don't buy their DRM'd crap myself, but those I know are being offered $10/mo all-you-can-eat access. O'Reilly's Safari service has had a similar offering for years (though at a different price-point as I recall).