Plays For Sure - for now

Gloomy news for people who did what the RIAA wanted of them, and bought music legally from Microsoft's MSN store, bolstered by the promise of "Plays For Sure": the DRM is being switched off:

"As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers. You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play."

In other words, you're going to have to guess what computers you'll be using in the future, and authorise those before the end of summer. Or keep using the same computer forever if you want to be able to play the music you've paid money for.

If we might adapt a metaphor beloved of the RIAA, if filesharing is akin to stealing CDs from a shop, this is on a par with the storekeeper smashing your car's quarterlight and making off with the CDs you'd previously purchased from him.

Microsoft still flog music through the Zune store - you'd have to think twice before buying stuff from a company which just decides it's too much trouble to let you enjoy the products you've paid for, surely?

[Thanks to Michael M]