E-mail Becomming Pay to Play?

ClickZ has an extremely interesting article suggesting that major ISPs like AOL are (or are about to start) charging direct marketers for the right to mail into their networks.

I walk both sides of this fence on stuff like this. I am a marketer and I need to be able to get messages to people who want to receive them. I am a user of e-mail, and I jealously guard most of my e-mail addresses to reduce the amount of Spam I get. Even as a marketer, I hate, HATE, HATE Spammers because their bad behavior casts a negative light legitimate marketing efforts. If we can reverse the cost structures, then maybe we can make it uneconomically feasible for Spammers to Spam. Still, I am scared to hell and beyond about the idea that ISPs are going to start becoming gatekeepers to e-mail. That just reeks of negative consequences.