Quick, what's the most famous thing about Augusta, Georgia? If you're a golfer, even if you are musician who is a golfer, the answer is The Masters. It is one of the four "majors" of men's professional golf, and, some say, the toughest ticket in all of sports. Harder to get into than the NBA finals, the World Series, the Superbowl, or even the Kentucky Derby.

If you're not a golfer but you are a big fan of James Brown and his music, you might say the most famous thing about Augusta is that it was the hometown of James Brown. Now it is where he will be buried, with the funeral being held at 8500 seat James Brown arena. The actual burial will, presumably, be elsewhere. Al Sharpton will officiate. (I would have been happy to officiate, but there are two reasons why I couldn't: 1. I'm officiating at a wedding in San Francisco on the same day, and 2. I wasn't asked.

All that notwithstanding, James Brown contributed a great deal to the world of music. I don't agree with the pundit who is suggesting Mr. Brown receive a Nobel Prize, but he does deserve our admiration and appreciation. He made a difference, and the difference he made was a good one.

Mr. Brown died on Christmas morning, 2006, at the age of 73. He had many nicknames, including The Godfather of Soul, but the one he seemed to be most proud of was The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business. I'm not sure if that referred to his physical activity on the stage or what he did behind the scenes, or just how often he worked. In any case, working hard is almost always a recipe for success, and as far as music is concerned, James Brown was a success.

All that hard work apparently didn't translate into a successful home life, seeing that James was married three or four times. I say three or four because it is now not clear whether or not he was really married to his "widow," who does claim they were married legally in 2004. We'll see.

But it is not Mr. Brown's private life most people know or care about. We know he made a lot of music -- even a lot of good music -- and we know his impact on music will be felt for decades to come. For all of that I'm sorry to see him leave, but I'm glad he's finally getting a rest. May he rest in peace.

That's Merry Christmas in Hawaiian, and in spite of all the fun I had as a kid playing in the snow and drinking hot chocolate to fight the frosty air, I'd just as soon be celebrating in Hawaii as anywhere. I'm pretty sure Santa Claus goes there last and spends the rest of the winter working on his tan.

Whether you are in the snow or on the sands, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Spend at least part of it with family and friends, spend at least part of it listening to good music, and spend at least part of it remembering what Christmas is really all about in the first place.

I know the wise men didn't really show up while Jesus was still sleeping in a feed trough, and I even know that the Bible doesn't say there were three of them. (We get that because there are three gifts named, so we figure there must have been three wise men.) I also know that there is something wonderful in the fact that the first visitors to the Good Shepherd were lowly shepherds. I can imagine one of them saying to the others, "They told us he was some kind of King, but I think he looks like one of us!"

But all those facts and more are unimportant compared to knowing who that baby was, why he was born, and what he did with his life.

That is worth celebrating, worth being joyful and merry about, and worth a few moments of your time and a few words of thanks.

My Christmas wish for you is simply this: that this season will give you a deeper appreciation for God, for those people you love, and for all people everywhere. If that happens, you will have a Mele Kalikimaka indeed!

I was walking out of a fun little Palo Alto cafe yesterday after having lunch with a friend (also a music biz guy) when I spotted an abandoned Wall Street Journal. The Marketplace section was on top, and in the middle above the fold were pictures of two pretty gorgeous models. But that's not what caught my eye.

The headline that grabbed my attention was this: In a Turnabout, Record Industry Releases MP3s.

So I picked up the paper, brought it home, and read with interest the story that starts like this:

The music industry has long resisted selling music in the MP3 format, which lacks the copy protections that prevent songs from being duplicated endlessly. But now, Blue Note Records and its marquee artist, jazz-pop singer Norah Jones, are selling her latest single through Yahoo Inc. as an MP3—despite the risk that may add to piracy problems.

It took a little bit of looking around at Yahoo!, but I finally found the song and, being your dutiful blogger/reporter (and a Norah Jones fan), I bought the song. Same price as iTunes, 99¢, and a bit rate of 192K. In what I can only think of as somebody trying hard not to leave any money on the table, the folks who are selling the Relient K MP3 through Y! Music have two versions available: 128K for 99¢ and a 320K "High Quality" version for $1.25.

Some of you out there can probably tell the difference between a 128K MP3 and a 320K MP3, and if you can you are either listening through incredible headphones or you have names like Spot or Rover. But what's 26 cents between friends?

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that Record Labels, who have a very strong vested interest in keeping things exactly like they were in 1986, are experimenting with selling MP3s that do not have DRM (digital rights management to the techies and lawyers, copy protection to most of us) embedded in them.

Granted, they are only dipping a toe or two in the water, and they are doing that with Jones, Relient K, Jessica Simpson, Jesse McCartney and Panic at the Disco. An interesting mix that speaks to the philosophies of various labels.

(How many of you thought Panic at the Disco was on an indie label, by the way? If you look at their MySpace site you'll see their label name is Fueled By Ramen, which certainly sounds indie, and you'll see that their "label type" is indie, but FBR is part of Atlantic Records, which itself is part of Warner Music Group. They are no more independent than a married man on a business trip who "forgets" his wedding ring.)

And of course that's not the point either. The point is that Record Labels are finally admitting, in a very cautious, very measured way, that it really wasn't piracy that has been killing them for the last 10 years.

By the way, one of the fun things on the Y! Music site where you can buy these unprotected MP3s is some language that says, "Want to know why MP3 downloads are way cooler?" The first reason they give is that these files will play on any MP3 player, including an iPod. Now that's market power. And a very soft slap at Apple, whose iTunes songs will not play on any MP3 player.

But that's also not the point. The point is that Record Labels, who have leaned far too heavily on lawyers and far too lightly on consumers, IMHO, now understand that DRM doesn't stop piracy but does help technology companies (Apple) control the music world. And they don't like it.

Maybe, just maybe, those of who make music and those of us who want to buy MP3s will benefit from this great awakening. And maybe the Record Labels will too.