BoingBoing | WalMart now says they'll keep the DRM servers on forever

I wrote about this when WalMart first announced that they were revoking your ability to play the music you "bought" from them, but it looks like they've changed their mind, just like Yahoo. Well, not quite like Yahoo, but the same idea. They're going to leave their DRM servers on for some undisclosed additional time.

BoingBoing seems to think they'll leave them up permanently, but the press release doesn't actually say that. Regardless, WalMart is paying real money for their mistake, and it's always nice to see that. Except in this economy where we need WalMart to keep the entire country from going bankrupt. Then it kind of sucks.

And there's another in the long list of music retailers who decided to turn off their DRM servers, effectively taking back the music you "bought".

As the final stage of our transition to a full DRM-free MP3 download store, Walmart will be shutting down our digital rights management system that supports protected songs and albums purchased from our site.

WalMart is actually telling people to burn their DRMed music to cd so they don't lose it. This is a pretty callous way of telling customers that WalMart doesn't care about them. I don't really understand how there can't be a better solution. Is it really that hard for WalMart to leave a server running that just always says, "yes, you're authorized"?

It is increasingly clear to all those paying attention that any business model that depends on some sort of DRM is doomed to fail. And those who buy DRMed goods are doomed to lose them when the seller decides not to support it anymore. Let that be a lesson - DRM is anti-consumer. Always. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either mislead or lying.

I've gotten into a little discussion on DRM and ebooks over at Feedbooks. If you're interested in potential business models for authors in a world of infinite goods, hop on over there and join the discussion. Especially if you can contribute more than me (That is, if you can do more than parrot what you read on Techdirt).

Techdirt | Yahoo Offers Refunds Or DRM-Free Music In Exchange For Shutting Down DRM Servers

Looks like Yahoo is going to make things right for customers who bought DRM'ed music at their old store. They'll either replace the music with DRM-free editions, or give refunds.

Unlike Microsoft's band-aid (Keeping the DRM servers up for a few more years), this is an actual solution, righting the wrong that Yahoo did to its customers by "selling" them music that could be taken back at any time.

Gizmodo reports that Defective by Design, an anti-DRM group, is going to clog up the Apple Genius Bar this weekend with people complaining about the restrictive nature of the iPhone.

This is an idea (DRM sucks) that I totally support, but a terrible way to protest it. I mean, when I see idiots from PETA dressing up like animals or throwing blood around, it just makes me want to go on the Atkins diet. When I see Truth.com's super-obnoxious anti-smoking commercials, I want to buy cigarettes for minors.

I support treating animals humanely. I support keeping kids from smoking (And encouraging adults to stop). And I support telling Apple and the rest that they're a bunch of jerks with their insistence on DRM.

But this isn't the way to do it. The response to bad behavior is not more bad behavior. Apple's anti-customer policies are not justification to make this much of a nuisance of yourself.

Remember, when someone buys an iPhone, they've made a decision, based on their knowledge of the product, that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. For you, they may not. They don't for me. And really, we all know the only thing that would make me buy an Apple product (Except as gifts for my wife, because she's great) is if all of you stopped liking them.

And yes, DRM is bad for everyone, and everyone who buys DRM-infected content or devices is making it tougher on the rest of us. But this is a free country, and that includes the freedom to make decisions based on your own relative needs and desires.

Anyway, not that anyone listens to me, but I urge you to ignore Defective by Design's request to mess with the Apple Genius Bar. It's not the right way to protest DRM. I mean, really, does anyone think Apple cares?

Yahoo! Music Store Will Compensate Customers For DRM-ed Music

Looks like maybe Yahoo will make it right for people who thought they were actually buying songs, rather than renting. Good for Yahoo. I hope the "compensation" details are actually consumer-friendly.

Boing Boing | Yahoo Music shutting down its DRM server, customers lose all their paid-for music the next time they crash or upgrade

"All those years the music industry spent insisting that the only way they'd sell music is with crippling DRM attached managed to totally discredit the idea of buying music at all."

Techdirt | Did Yahoo Not Pay Attention To What Happened When Microsoft Pulled The Plug On Its DRM Server?

could [Yahoo] seriously not have noticed the massive backlash that Microsoft received for telling people that it was turning off its DRM servers, effectively locking all the songs people had "bought" to their current computers.

I thought I'd written about it a little while back when Microsoft decided that the servers that check to see if the music you've "purchased" from Microsoft's music store is legal or not were no longer necessary. That meant that all the music you thought you "bought" from Microsoft was really just being rented, and now they'd decided to terminate your lease because they didn't feel like complying with the deal they made with you anymore.

And now Yahoo is doing the same thing. All the music you "bought" from Yahoo won't work anymore if you move it to a different computer.

I've said this numerous times, and I'm not alone - if you pay for ANYTHING that has DRM attached, you are NOT buying. You are RENTING at the discretion of whoever is taking your money. Some people may be okay with that. I'm not.

Linux Downloader for Amazon MP3 Store

Amazon's launched a Linux-based downloader for its DRM-free MP3 music store -- fantastic news! Now if they'd only change the terms-of-service for the store to something sensible like "Don't do anything illegal with this music."

Well, this is pretty cool. Now I might actually USE the service. Up to now, you could buy single MP3s on whatever computer you wanted, but to get an album discount, you had to use Windows or Mac.

A lot of good news from the music industry lately. I might actually give buying music a try again. I haven't bought or downloaded any music since I bought the last (disappointing) Cake cd a year or two ago.

NIN - Ghosts

Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

New Nine Inch Nails album announced today. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't get an email, since I am signed up for the mailing list. Luckily, Gizmodo and Techdirt let me know.

This is pretty cool. He's releasing the first nine tracks as free downloads. $5 gets you all 36 downloads, DRM-free. $10 gets you the downloads now, and the cds when they're released April 1. There are two other options at $75 and $300 that I'm probably not interested in.

I'm sure the recording industry is watching this carefully. If this works for Nine Inch Nails, others will try similar things. Radiohead's "pay what you want" experiment worked well, I think. It reinforces the idea that people are not opposed to paying for music from bands they like. We just don't like to be treated as criminals just for listening to music.

Anyway, I encourage you to download the free tracks. If you don't like them, no loss. If you do, buy the rest. Think of it as listening to a few tracks at a friend's house to see if you like the band, and then getting the cd when you find out that the band is awesome.

Except in this case, your "friend" is Trent Reznor, and his "house" is NIN.com.