New anti-piracy measures are to become law after the government's Digital Economy Bill was approved by Parliament.

The bill, which has been passed by the House of Lords and House of Commons, will include powers to send warning letters to file-sharers - and suspend their internet account or throttle their bandwidth if they do not stop.

It could also see websites hosting unlicensed music and films being blocked.

The music industry has hailed it as a victory for the rights of artists and record labels, but opponents say it is draconian and will be impossible to police.

As well as introducing the anti-piracy rules, the government has told the music and internet industries to give fans more attractive legal alternatives to file-sharing.

Innovative legal download services must be developed urgently, according to UK Music chief executive Feargal Sharkey.

UK Music represents record labels, songwriters and managers, and Sharkey said all sides must now get back to hammering out such deals.

“Over the next couple of days I would like to genuinely reach out to the ISPs and technology companies – we need to sit down as quickly as possible and start developing these new services,” he told 6 Music.

“Personally I’m very happy to give people whatever music they want on whatever platform they want it.

"I’m throwing down a gauntlet to all of us and I hope that really quickly we can now get down to business."

Feargal Sharkey

“It’s going to take all of us – the music industry, the games industry, the film industry, the ISPs, the technology companies.

“It’s a challenge and I’m throwing down a gauntlet to all of us and I hope that really quickly we can now get down to business.”

But plans to offer unlimited legal downloads for a flat monthly fee remain stuck on the drawing board.

Virgin Media is among the ISPs that have tried to launch an "all you can eat" offer - however that has stalled because record labels are worried about how big their cut would be.

Some companies were waiting to see the progress of the new Digital Economy Bill, Sharkey said.

“Clearly the legislation disrupted things because some people wanted to sit and wait to see what the outcome was going to be,” the former Undertones singer said.

“I’m hoping that very quickly we can get back to doing what should be the most exciting thing we should be doing over the next nine to12 months – making sure we can press whatever button we want, turn whatever tap we want and all this extraordinary music will come out of it.”

In October, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said anti-piracy laws would “only ever be part of the solution”.

“The best long-term solution is there in front of our noses. It’s the market – but it has to be a market in which those who love music and film, for example, can find a deal that makes breaking the law an unnecessary risk,” he said.

“I know how complicated building these networks and services can be, but in that respect, the industry needs to move faster in a much more agile, commercial and market response orientated way to help itself.”