Betrayed MSN Music Customers Deserve More from Microsoft
By NEWS RELEASE |
April 29th, 2008
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging Microsoft Corporation to fix the problems it will cause when it shuts down the MSN Music validation servers, making it impossible for customers to transfer their music files to new computers or even upgrade their operating system.
In an open letter sent to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer today, EFF outlines five steps Microsoft must take to make things right for MSN Music customers — including a issuing a public apology, providing refunds or replacement music files, and launching a substantial publicity campaign to make sure all customers know their options.
“MSN Music customers trusted Microsoft when it said that this was a safe way to buy music, and that trust has been betrayed,” said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. “If Microsoft is prepared to treat MSN Music customers like this, is there any reason to suppose that future customers won’t get the same treatment?”
MSN Music sold song downloads encumbered with digital rights management (DRM), allowing the music to be played only on approved devices. If you upgraded your computer or operating system, you needed to “reauthorize” your music files with MSN Music’s DRM server. But last week, Microsoft announced that it would deactivate those servers because of the complexity of maintaining the technology — meaning that customers face losing the ability to play their purchased music if they get a new computer or if the hard drive crashes on the old one. Microsoft’s only suggestion for customers so far is to export all purchases onto a CD and then recopy it back onto new computers.
“Microsoft is asking its customers to spend more time, labor, and money to make degraded copies of music that was purchased in good faith,” said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. “This outcome was easily foreseeable from the moment Microsoft chose to wrap MSN Music files in DRM. Microsoft customers should not have to pay for Microsoft’s bad business decisions.”
EFF’s letter also calls on Microsoft to eliminate DRM from its Zune music service now — or at least to publicly commit to compensating future customers for the inevitable future DRM debacles.
“With MSN Music, Microsoft has admitted just how expensive, clumsy, and unfair DRM is. It’s time for Microsoft to reject this sloppy technology, and for customers to demand something better,” McSherry said.
[Related: CNET News - Defunct MSN Music has a DRM controversy on its hands]
For the full open letter:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/04/28/microsoft-open-letter
Microsoft DRM: An Open Letter
April 29, 2008
Steven A. Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-7329Dear Mr. Ballmer,
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is deeply troubled by your announcement last week that Microsoft will be deactivating the digital rights management (“DRM”) servers that allow MSN Music purchasers to “reauthorize” music files after upgrading operating systems or buying new computers. As you know, this decision means that every customer that bought an mp3 from you — with the good faith expectation that despite the irritating DRM she would be able to continue to play the song on a variety of devices — faces losing music if she upgrades her PCs or her hard drive crashes after August 31, 2008.
Microsoft’s only suggestion for its customers — that they export the music to a CD and then copy it onto their new computers — is woefully insufficient to redress the problem. Microsoft is asking its customers to invest more time, labor and money in order to continue to enjoy the music for which they have already paid. In fact, Microsoft’s best customers will be the most heavily burdened — the more music they bought, the more work they’ll have to do. What is worse, this suggestion could put customers at legal risk, as they may not have documentation of purchase. Furthermore, there is no certainty that all relevant copyright owners would agree that making such backup copies without permission is lawful.
While this announcement has directly affected MSN Music customers, users of other Microsoft products (particularly current and prospective Zune customers) are deeply concerned as well. Your customers are forced to ask, “If Microsoft treats its MSN Music customers so shabbily, is there any reason to suppose that it will treat other customers any better?”
We are skeptical of the claim — expressed by Microsoft general manager Rob Bennett in an interview with CNET News — that “no one ever foresaw being in this situation.” This situation was easily foreseeable when Microsoft shut down the MSN Music Store back in 2006. Indeed, as you may know, EFF has long warned consumers that they might lose DRM-restricted content if vendors decided to withdraw support for it. See http://www.eff.org/pages/customer-always-wrong-users-guide-drm-online-music
Mr. Bennett also said that Microsoft wants to make the shutdown “as easy and painless for our customers as possible.” In light of this stated goal, Microsoft should immediately and publicly take the following steps:
- Issue a full public apology to your MSN Music customers.
- Offer to refund the purchase price of the affected downloads or, at the customer’s option, provide replacements from an online store that offers the same tracks in a DRM-free format.
- Ensure that all MSN Music buyers have (or have permanent access to) receipts identifying dates, amounts, and titles purchased, so they have proofs of purchase. Or, better yet, offer to cover their legal costs if they are hit with a copyright infringement claim based on a song purchased through MSN Music.
- Work with your content industry partners to eliminate DRM from the Zune music catalog now. Microsoft has said it would like to provide DRM-free tracks — it is time for the company to make that happen. Unless and until DRM is eliminated from the catalog, publicly commit to compensating customers along the lines outlined above should Microsoft’s business decisions cause Zune customers to lose the full value of the content they purchased through the Zune Marketplace.
- Widely publicize the above measures so that Microsoft customers know their options. That publicity should include, at a minimum, advertising in major music magazines and newspapers in every major U.S. city, as well as targeted keyword advertising.
We look forward to hearing that you have begun taking these steps to win back the trust of your customers.
Sincerely,
Shari Steele
Executive Director
cc:Robert J. Bach, President, Entertainment & Devices Division
Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Filed in: Content Providers, Industry Buzz