RSSMicrosoft gives three-year reprieve to MSN Music users
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published June 19, 2008, 3:12 PM
Bowing to end user pressure, Microsoft has admitted a change of heart with regard to a decision it announced in April, to discontinue authorization for music downloaded through its old MSN Music service.
Those who downloaded music through that service will now have three more years -- instead of a little over two more months -- to get license keys for authorizing their music downloads, or authorizing new computers and devices for playing that music.
Microsoft informed users about both the original decision and its reversal by e-mail, telling users back on April 22 that as of August 31, 2008, support would stop for "the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased on MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers."
Under the previous scenario, although music would continue to play on computers authorized by that date, users would no longer be able to transfer tunes to any machine -- or even to play them on the same device if they installed a different OS, such as migrating from Windows XP to Vista on the same PC.
That's because Microsoft then planned to turn off the authorization servers on August 31 for MSN Music, a service essentially replaced by Zune Marketplace in 2006.
But a number of users signified their displeasure after receiving or hearing about Microsoft's letter in April. One of them offered an online definition of Janus -- previously the codename for the "Plays for Sure" DRM technology behind MSN Music -- as a Roman god "with two faces on opposite sides of his head."
In a second letter, issued this week, Microsoft told MSN users that, after "careful consideration," the company has revised its plans.
After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided to continue to support the authorization of new computers and devices and delivery of new license keys for MSN Music customers through at least the end of 2011, after which we will evaluate how much this functionality is still being used and what steps should be taken next to support our customers. This means you will continue to be able to listen to your purchased music and transfer your music to new PCs and devices beyond the previously announced August 31, 2008 date.
Microsoft continues to recommend that you back up your music on CD or hard drive along with other important data.
If I buy some music, as far as I'm concerned I have the right to play that music as often as, and whenever, I wish. The moment any seller starts dictating to me how often, or for how long, I have the 'right' to play that music, is the same moment they lose my money.
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Sorry Ingram old boy, but in this case the consumer is NOT the content owner.
And you will find that the 'vendor' has the right under their terms of usage with the content owner, which you astute consumers either ignore or think is meaningless compared to your self-entitlement fantasy.
Here's a better idea than your advocacy of being a stupid consumer and then circumventing the DRM. How about either buying items that are sold with acceptable terms of usage, or exercising your right as a consumer to NOT pay for product that does not suit your standards?
You and/or I don't have to agree with the TOS. But neither do we have to buy it.
You see, THAT is our REAL choice!
Or is that too complex for a self-entitled and self-professed thief?
Funny how your big "NO THANK YOU" extends to everything but your sense of self-entitlement ot others property which is sold according to a defined term of usage?
Don't like it? Don' buy it. And don't steal it.
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The point is as with some of these store fronts, YOU the customer Purchased a product in good faith assuming it would work. I didn't purchase a subscription, I purchased a product. When that store goes out of business for having such bad policies and misleading the public that product no longer functions. Your product is nullified, so too should your money be returned, or your fair use rights be preserved for that product.
Now as to content owners. Whatever, I don't give a flying fig if they ever make another thing, unless they evolve their business model to make everyday common use legal. Meaning if I buy a product I can put it on whatever the heck I want and expect it to function. The consumer owns nothing, Fine thats the same dam Software excuses they put off on you when they make a lousy product to begin with and you have a problem with it. "WELL you don't own anything you just gave us money for nothing really, so tough." After you shelled out Hundreds in some cases for their product. Music is just the same. I purchased DRM music when that's all there was to buy... And was burnt twice (two different stores) on many songs for it, others in my family the same way. Might as well have taken a few hundred dollars and set fire to it cause thats all you got for our money, Ashes... I protect MY investment now and Make my product secured for MY fair use forever. As well as Never allowing myself to be suckered into this DRM propaganda regime that you things like to spew.
And as far as me being a thief, well if that what you want to call it fine. Come down and arrest me... I would love to see this country having to pay out the nose in taxes for the millions of others that do the same thing for being housed in jail for 5 years per infringement. Cause I'll Die before I give a dime to the RIAA or the MPAA in extortion for legitimate actions of fair use. I would rather be burned to death by public example over their and your contempt for consumers rights.
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See this is why people get pissed at the entire concept of DRM in any form. At the whim of the vendor, NOT THE CONTENT OWNER; customers that paid for the music or video, are screwed and that content is lost to them unless they perform an illegal act and UNDRM (can't say what the process is generally called cause its a swear word and blocked) their music to Unrestricted MP3 format for continued access before the DRM authorization vanishes. I know people that have stuff from ages ago still on their machine that they paid a small fortune for that is unplayable now cause the store is gone... Complaint after complaint filed, and only answer is to go buy it again on a new store with same scheme... NO THANK YOU!
When I buy something in this way the VERY first thing I do is remove the DRM and make it a pure file, then dump the DRM file forever. Problem solved. New problem, that very act, even though I have paid for the content makes me a Felon in the eyes of the industry. UNJUSTLY I might add...
Now in other things I plead the 5th, But I think I can prove sufficiently that when it finally becomes available I DO buy the DVD Sets. TV shows are my crack... I like so much stuff that a lot of it is NOT played in the US, and some of it has never been released on DVD (though more and more is popping up thankfully). But my collection grows more every month with old classics I wish they would release to dvd someday. Especially now that regular Television programing in the USA is so lousy... I have been turning to classic stuff online instead.
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Oh and content owner, being the artist for the ignorant one in the thread now...
What I mean by that is you the fan bought a product in good faith from a store and that artist was paid from that store supposedly, NOT!! RIAA was but that's another matter... That means you did your part, so you should be able to listen to your product you purchased. And when the store vanished all that content goes away? sorry, NO.. Thats not a legitimate argument of a market system. Its like saying you can buy an car, but when we close tonight that car will disappear. But we get to keep your money. If you want another car tomorrow you go to that new store and they will do the same for you so you get to buy it again!! Hurray for you right!!?? Thats the bull the RIAA MPAA tries to put off on the consumer all the time.
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Just offer them the ability to deauthorize their music in exchange for the ability to download from Zune Marketplace. What's so tough about this one?
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alright now- don't start making sense here!
This is, after all, M$ we're talking about here....
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Probably a bunch of "partner fulfillment" contracts and legal agreements. These days, hardly anything Microsoft does is handled 100% in-house. There's always various vendors involved. I have no doubt that the set of vendors involved with Zune are different than the set of the vendors involved with MSN Music. Getting everybody to cooperate is never as easy as it ought to be.
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