Just when one thought DRM restrictions on content is bad enough, the requirement to authorise content with the content provider has the potential risk of locking customers out of their content if the content provider goes out of business or later gets rid of their authorisation servers. So one would think that a good idea would be to only purchase DRM-protected content from a well established company, such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. where the risk of such an issue would seem less likely.
Well now that Microsoft has replaced its MSN Music store with the Zune service in 2006, they have decided to drop support for its former MSN Music customers by planning to shut down its PlaysForSure activation servers after August. As a result, anyone who purchased music from the MSN Music store has until August this year to authorise the DRM on any equipment they wish to continue listening to their tracks on. Once August hits, their tracks will be locked to what ever equipment that has been authorised to play the music. According to a c|net interview with Microsoft, Microsoft's executive Rob Bennett says that it is impractical to try making the DRM work properly with OS upgrades and this justifies its decision.
In my opinion, this is one very good reason DRM should gotten rid of for good on all pay-to-keep content and those who already bought DRM infected content should be offered DRM-free replacements. One thing I know for sure is that many of these consumers who bought their music on MSN Music are going to get their tracks from some unofficial source once they find out they can no longer authorise them and I'm sure some of these customers will lose their trust in paid content download services. While MSN Music may have only made up a small fraction of the market at the time, if these customers start telling friends about their problem, the number can quickly add up.
This is not the first time a content provider has shut down its DRM authorisation servers. About two years ago a few former Dutch OD2 providers closed down their DRM authorisation servers on January 1st 2007, which left its customers with unplayable tracks. Last August, Google stopped providing access to its former paid and rental video service, showing that it's not just music that's affected by DRM. I'm sure this problem will grow rapidly once movie download services take off, since just as quickly as stores start up, others go out of business and there's no guarantee that those that later shut down will continue to provide a means for customers to authorise their DRM infected content.
