Walmart Drm Servers Get A Reprieve

Walmart has backtracked on its decision to shut down the DRM servers authenticating music tracks purchased from its MP3 Downloads store.  In a message sent to service users, Walmart cites “feedback from our customers” as the motivation for the turnaround, having announced last month that it would take the systems offline as it transitioned to DRM-free MP3s.

Customers are still advised to circumnavigate the DRM by make CD backups of the tracks and then re-rip them as unprotected files.  There’s no word on how long Walmart will maintain the servers beyond “the present time”.

Yahoo! Music caused similar controversy at the end of July 2008, when they announced they would be shutting down the DRM servers used in their online store.  Coupons for downloading the equivalent DRM-free MP3 tracks were issued to pacify customers.