The SJ Mercury on last week's NAMM show, and how the true essence of democracy is participation, not voting. After all they allow you to vote on American Idol, and is that what music aspires to?

Technology helps make music more democratic By Dan Gillmor ... You still need talent, practice and dedication to make good music. No longer, however, do you need expensive equipment and recording studios to tinker with and save the music you create. Technology has married music, and the result is powerful tools that give enormous flexibility to professionals and amateurs alike. In living rooms, garages and bedrooms around the world, people are discovering and rediscovering the joy of the song.

I think if the majors keep pushing hard enough to fence off the commons, people will realize they don't have to go after what is inside the fence, they can make their own, and the tools are affordable and easy to use.