Microsoft has announced to all of its MSN Music Store customers that it will be shutting down its PlayForSure licensing servers on August 31st. What this means for users is that their purchased DRM-protected music will only be playable on computers that have been authorized before the September deadline. This is of course little consolation if your computer decides to go south after this deadline and you end up losing all your purchased music.

So, what are your backup options? There are two routes to safeguard your music that immediately spring to mind - either burn your music to audio CDs which obviously removes the protection, or use a DRM removal tool. If you've only got a handful of songs from the now defunct MSN Music Store then burning an audio CD isn't going to be a big deal. But what if you've got hundreds? Burning this many songs onto audio CDs will quickly turn into a long and laborious process. Programs such as Tunebite, which forms part of the recently reviewed Audials One, is one such DRM removal tool that could be used as a backup solution.

This fiasco highlights the dangers of owning DRM-protected music and demonstrates that the user doesn't fully own the right to play the music which they have legally purchased.

Why not have your say and join the discussion on this very subject in the Digital Music forum.