I don’t know why I even bothered to watch the VMAs. I suppose, by default, they managed to win a controlling share of my vague, morbid curiosity last night.

Rihanna sucked, and so did Pink. I only remember them because their tits almost came out. Even master show-stopper Kanye West’s closing performance was underwhelming, and Kid Rock, who blew the fucking roof off the 1999 VMAs with Run DMC and Aerosmith, was indeed only maybe memorable. And that’s largely thanks to Lil’ Wayne.

For years, a heated discussion raged on about the atrocities of ruthless internet pirates and the crippling impact their cruelties had on the music business, the artists, the record stores, and even the music itself.

Finally, that ridiculous discussion is being put to rest, as more and more artists and music listeners are educating themselves beyond label rhetoric, and challenging antiquated business models and distribution paradigms.

The record labels are still trying to charge for a product that others (more and more brave souls each day) are providing for cheaper, or free, as convenient as a couple clicks of a mouse button. Even when the record labels timidly test the water by giving a little bit away for free to “see how it goes,” they do it wrong. They do low quality so as not to devalue CDs. Or they only release samples. Or they make you sign up to a mailing list you don’t want spamming you every Tuesday when they try and cram their brand new garbage down everyone’s throats. Their websites and online tools don’t work right. They don’t understand the internet like the kids do, and they don’t have the passion or vision that artists like Trent Reznor has.