How is it that the two top selling MP3 players are the two most DRM-encumbered? I think, though, that a survey would be more relevant. Something simple, like "What Do you use to listen to music on the road?" It would answer my nagging doubts: How many of those iPods go to repeat buyers? How many people use something that's not an MP3 player to play MP3's?

I fall into the latter category, the wifest into the former. I use my blackberry for music playing (with a decent pair of headphones and a decent music player, that scrobbles). I spent a long time worrying about what type of MP3 player to buy, so that DRM wouldn't be an issue. Then Amazon MP3 launched, and it all became moot. There's now (almost) no MP3 I can't find on Amazon, DownloadPunk, or Bleep. My music player is a MSD, so there's no worry about adding files from multiple machines.  I don't have to use special software (yes, iTunes is special in a short bus kinda way) to load music either.  Any fears of running out of battery are assuaged by the fact that i can charge it off any usb port.

The really ugly thing, though, is that they're ripping off everyone except themselves and UMG. A music tax is not a new idea, nor is it a bad one. But it is a difficult one to implement, because it requires such an overhaul of the current system.

Microsoft's system gives 1 dollar to UMG for every zune sold. once. There is no provision for non-UMG artists to get paid. UMG is only giving half of that dollar to artists, and they have thousands of artists. (And you thought CD's were a bad deal for artists). And does paying this tax on your Zune exempt you from the RIAA's jon doe suits?

These are the exact problems that blur/banff set out to solve. Microsoft should be paying out a higher tax, and they shouldn't be paying it out to 1 record label, or even to the RIAA. They should be paying out that royalty to an ASCAP like organization, who could dole out the tax to artists according to the number of times that their songs were shared by Zune users. (if they're already wrapping the shared songs in DRM, you can bet they know what songs you've traded).

But it won't happen. because then the RIAA would have to agree not to sue users who were paying the tax. and they would miss out on their half of that tax.

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Originally uploaded by mjrtomjr.

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Pay attention, microsoft: compatibility = complicity. this is a war, you are choosing a side.