My friend Mark emailed me this morning about Microsoft’s Plays For Sure technology. Looks like Microsoft is turning off the DRM servers in August 2008 which will eventually orphan your music.

Ever wonder why we loath DRM around here as much as we do even when companies come along offering free, all you can eat deals? Well, if the Sony ATRAC debacle didn’t serve as a warning there’s always this: Microsoft just announced that it will no longer supply authorization keys for songs purchased from the defunct MSN Music service. That means that the PlaysForSure music you purchased will only play on your registered computers (up to 5) for as long as they shall live. As Microsoft puts it, “If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play.” It’s worth noting that the move also locks the registered PC into whatever OS it’s running — any major update or switch to Ubuntu for example, would kill all your music, dead. Now imagine what would happen if iTunes shuttered its store — Steve won’t be around forever you know

Link: Microsoft Plays for Sure
Link: eWeek Microsoft Watch: Copy of Dear John Email sent to Plays for Sure Customers

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