Wal-Mart rescinds decision to shut down DRM servers

At the end of last month, Wal-Mart announced they would shut down their DRM servers. That would have resulted in anyone who purchased DRM-laden music from Wal-Mart stuck with a worthless purchase down the road unless they burn their music to a CD beforehand. The decision was a reminder of how dangerous DRM can be for the consumer, and how it truly is a method of “renting” content rather than “buying” it. The company has wised up in recent days and now plans to offer DRM-free music on its online store, but that won't help those who jumped on the service when it was first offered.

Naturally this caused a lot of upset among those Wal-Mart customers who felt their paid-for music was in danger. They protested, and as a result the retail chain will be extending the server shut-down deadline. Wal-Mart hasn't given a specific date – only mentioning that they will maintain and operate these servers for the foreseeable future.