Another broken music service

Much fanfare announcing Puretracks today, a Canadian service that offers tunes for sale. I won’t sign up. Why? You can only listen to tunes through Windows Media Player, which of course would render my TurtleBeach Audiotron or any other Ethrenet based jukebox device irrelevant. Plus, it only supports Windows — I’ve a bunch of Linux systems too……It also seems that I can only play a purchased tune on the computer that I downloaded it to — does that render the fact that my Mp3’s are stored on servers in my basement irrelevant, i.e. I can’t store tunes there? And there are 17 PC’s in my home — I can’t listen to it anywhere else? My sons can’t listen to a song that I bought on another computer?

Bottom line: I won’t buy any online music that features digital rights management and such onerous restrictions. I’m not a thief, but I don’t want the music industry to automatically treat me like one. Give me unlimited digital downloading of Mp3’s at $20 or $30 a month, and I’m there. Until then, I buy Cd’s, rip ’em, and put them on my music servers…