Wal-Mart pulls an MSN, reverses cancellation of DRM servers

In case you’re not up on this issue, Wal-Mart briefly foisted their own WMA-based music service on the world and then proceeded to take it offline. The problem, of course, is that since Wal-Mart sold DRM-protected music via this service, users who purchased that music would need to occasionally connect to Wal-Mart’s DRM authorization servers to prove that they owned the music. (This would happen if they reinstalled the OS on their PC or copied the music to a new PC, for example.) Anyway, Wal-Mart announced recently that they would take these servers offline. And as Microsoft discovered previously with MSN Music, this didn’t sit so well with customers. So they’re reversing course. 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 Just so we’re clear. DRM is bad. But anyone who did purchase music from one of these services is advised to convert them to an unprotected format, preferably MP3. Because these servers will eventually go offline for good.' Thanks Alex.