For all you Apple fanboys, just chill out for a sec and listen; I bought the Zune at Christmas from Amazon for $90.  The first pain was that I couldn't listen to any of my previously purchased iTunes music on it unless I first burnt all the tracks to a CD then ripped it down and added it to the Zune library manually.  Why do I have to go through this laborious task for music I already purchased? 

Anyway, I opted to by the Zune Pass for $15/month which gives me unlimited listening to any song with any participating record company.  This has been a decent option for me because I have been able to sample a lot of different music that I wouldn't normally purchase.  Well, the catch is that all the music expires as soon as you cancel your monthly membership.  When your Zune is hooked up to the PC, it can connect online to renew your music licenses. 

Well, that brings me back to tonight.  As I'm jogging along with ease (yeah right), and I am about 5 minutes into my run, I get a message saying all my music was expired and I couldn't listen to any of it.  I have been traveling a lot in the last couple of weeks, so I haven't actually had it hooked up to my PC to allow it to renew the licenses.  Well, this sure is a rude way to interrupt my workout.  I was pissed and had to finish up with no music.

So, let me ask you.  Why in the heck do I have to go through all this DRM crap for music I have already purchased?  I can't listen to it except on the device that I purchased it on originally, and when I pay monthly, I have to worry about stupid expiring licenses. 

This is what brings me to this first chapter of Why I Love the Interwebs.  Today, Radiohead released their new album In Rainbows as a digital download from their site.  Freed from any record label contracts, they leave it up to you to put in a fair price. 

On October 8, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, made this announcement on his website.

Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the
following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
Exciting times, indeed.

This is the power of the Internet.  Welcome to the cluetrain.  Without traditional barriers of connection and communication, the global conversation no longer needs a useless middle man.  Record labels and their desperate grasp of DRM is archaic and outdated.  Music companies are holding on to something that is destined to fail.  The Internet brings in a new world where there are direct conversations.  If you don't bring value, then get out of the game. 

To kickstart the revolution, it will take a few big names to stand up for what is right.  For this, I salute you Radiohead and NIN.  You are visionaries and you are my heroes.  Now excuse me, while I first go support these guys and then head over to lastfm and pandora.