Softmusic

I wasn’t sure when I started how much I would talk about music, and how much about software. Serendipitously they have been conjoining, although of course not always in a good way.

The other week, for example, I bought and downloaded my first album from the web. (For the record it was Sportscar, by Judie Tzuke). Now the transaction itself was fine, and within minutes I was listening to this currently out-of-stock recording. However I’ve now had my first experience with Digital Rights Management as dictated by Microsoft and I’m not sure I like it. I was hoping to be able to make a copy of the music primarily for backup purposes, and at the point of purchase the license indicated that this would be possible. Needless to say when I came to do that the ever wonderful Microsoft Media Player refused to let me. So is the fault with the media provider, or the software? Will I ever get around to complaining to someone? Or will I just chalk it up to experience and make sure I get REAL CD copies of music that I really want to keep? No need to answer on a postcard.