Wild.er

I’ve enjoyed the Yahoo! Music Unlimited service for more than two years and today’s news about the transfer of the subscribers to Rhapsody isn’t a surprise after all that has been happening in the world of digital music.

Digital rights management (DRM) is one of the downsides of subscription services because the tracks can’t go on a portable mp3 player unless you pay more per month and then the tracks only work on certain players. You can get around that by purchasing tracks and albums and burning to CD and then rippping the tracks to your computer and then after all of that you can add them DRM-free to your favorite mp3 player. Annoying!

The problem with DRM is hinted at in this question & answer from Yahoo! regarding the migration of the subscribers to Rhapsody (emphasis mine):

I purchased tracks and albums through Yahoo! Music Unlimited. Can I play them in Rhapsody?

Yahoo!-purchased tracks can be imported into and played on Rhapsody. Instructions on how to import tracks after you’ve migrated will be available soon. We strongly recommend you back up your purchased tracks to CDs in the event that they do not play successfully using Rhapsody’s Music Software.

This is exactly why I bought zero tracks from Yahoo! in these two years. I didn’t want to lose them when the software stopped working or the company was sold. Looks like playing it safe worked this time.

Are you going to switch to Rhapsody or take your business elsewhere? Do you have a better way to fill your life with music? (I’m keeping my eye on Last.fm and their upcoming subscription service.)