Yahoo! Music Closing Shop and Pulling DRM License Key Servers September 30, 2008
By Alexander Grundner |
July 25th, 2008 
Bad news Yahoo! Music users (and an other example of why we and others have warned you that DRM sucks for your digital media archive). The service has begun sending out email messages notifying customers that the digital download music service will be discontinued and that the DRM license key servers that allow people to play and transfer their tracks on PCs and compatible portable devices will go offline September 30, 2008. What this means to users? It means you’ll need to immediately start burning your DRM-encumbered collection to CD and then ripping your tracks to MP3 to future-proof its compatibility, else be stuck with having your music playable only on your current crop of devices. Sound familiar? This is practically the same news MSN Music announced a few months back that caused such an outrage that it made Microsoft hold off on cutting their DRM license key servers to 2011. Unfortunately, it appears, Yahoo! Music users will just have a few weeks to embark on their transition. [via]
UPDATE: Yahoo! Music now talking about compensating digital music owners…
Comments | Post via Twitter / Facebook ID or Register“You’ll be compensated for whatever you paid for the music,” Davis told InformationWeek. “We haven’t said exactly what we will do, but we will take care of our customers.”
The company planned to reimburse customers on a case-by-case basis, and has posted an FAQ page that includes a “contact customer care” button at the bottom for former Yahoo Music Store customers. Davis said customers could be reimbursed in several ways, including getting back the money they paid for the music or receiving MP3 versions without DRM technology, which means they can be imported into any music playing software.
Short URL: http://bit.ly/91SIYO [+] Filed in: Content Providers Tags: DRM, Microsoft, MP3, MSN Music, Music, Yahoo! Music
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