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Puretracks Music Store Drops DRM
khendron writes "The Canadian online music store Puretracks (a store I have generally avoided because of their Microsoft-specific solutions) has announced that it will immediately start selling part of its catalog as DRM-free MP3 files. The site's unprotected catalog, which includes artists such as The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan, will initially feature only 50,000 of its 1.3 million tracks, but their number will grow weekly. The Globe and Mail says the move will likely profit Puretracks because its DRM-free-music will be playable on iPods. It quotes one industry watcher saying 'We're seeing the death of DRM.'" Essentially Puretracks is relaxing the major-label mandated DRM rules that it had initially applied to all labels, even the indies that wanted no part of DRM.
I've been into mp3s for so long I can remember when PLAYBACK occurred at 0.5x real time on my standard IBM mainframe.
Judge: Son, why did you steal this Ferrari?
Me: I think Ferraris are too expensive.
Judge: Ah, case dismissed.
Because if it wasn't limited to Canadians only, then you guys would freak out and declare war, and then we'd have to head down there and torch the White House yet again. We don't want to do that - it's a nice building.