June 19, 2008 2:20 PM PDT
MSN Music extends DRM deadline
Earlier this year, I gave Microsoft some flak for its decision to stop issuing DRM licenses for MSN Music downloads in Aug. 31 2008. That would have meant that consumers who'd purchased downloads from MSN Music before it became defunct--Microsoft is putting its focus on Zune--would no longer be able to transfer their songs to new computers after that date.
Now the company has reconsidered, and will extend the deadline until at least the end of 2011, according to this IDG story. I still think DRM is a poor way to address the very real problem of music piracy and intellectual property rights, but Microsoft should be given credit for doing right by its customers in this case.
Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995, and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattrosoff. 
