DRM Is Dead, Finally, I Hope

Wal-mart has joined Microsoft and others in first saying they will stop supporting tracks purchased with DRM, and then reconsidering and continuing support the DRM'd files after public outcry. Now these companies are stuck with the cost of upkeep on those technologies.

I hope all companies now realized that DRM is not only a pain for consumers, it's a pain for sellers, too.

Here's the message Wal-Mart sent out today:

NOTE: This is a follow-up to our email titled "Important Information
About Your Digital Music Purchases" from 9/26/08.


Based on feedback from our customers, we have decided to maintain our
digital rights management (DRM) servers for the present time. What this
means to you is that our existing service continues and there is no
action required on your part. Our customer service team will continue
to assist with DRM issues for protected windows media audio (WMA) files
purchased from Walmart.com.


While our customer support team is available to assist you with any
issues, we continue to recommend that you back up your songs by burning
them to a recordable audio CD. By backing up your songs, you insure
access to them from any personal computer at any time in the future.


We appreciate your support and patience as we work to provide the best
service possible to you. As we move forward with our 100% MP3 store,
we'll continue to update you with key decisions regarding our service
and your account via email.


Thank you for using Walmart MP3 Music Downloads.


The Walmart Digital Music Team

Today's Rhapsody MP3 Deal

Michael Jackson Thriller for $3

Today's Amazon MP3 Deal

Echo & the Bunnymen for $5

Good for October 9 only.

MMW releases Radiolarians 1

Medeski, Martin, and Wood released Radiolarians 1 on September 30. This is the first of three Radiolarian albums the group aims to release this year. The premise: go on the road with some songs, workshop them, then record them. Repeat. And repeat again.

An interesting experiment, but we'll have to see if the variety proves enough to warrant three albums worth of material.

Check out Free Go Lilly (MP3) from Radiolarians 1