DMB encourages Windows users to bypass the DRM

For once, it's Mac users who are free to pop a shiny new CD into their computers without fear of it bringing down the entire system or becoming stuck in the optical drive. Windows users, however, are getting the shaft this time if they want to copy the Dave Matthews Band "Stand Up" CD to their iTunes Music Library and onto their iPod, due to the disc's copy protection which effectively locks it into Windows Media Player 9.0 and higher.

Don't fret, though. DMB has posted a few tips to help PC users circumvent the restrictions. It's simple really... you just have to agree to an alternate End User License Agreement and burn a CD of the tracks from within Windows Media Player. Once you have this duplicate CD, you can rip the tracks from that CD into iTunes, much like Mac users often do to circumvent Protected AAC restrictions.

DMB stresses that they think Apple is really to blame for this inconvenience since iTunes and the iPod aren't compatible with WMA or protected CDs. They say "Please note an easier and more acceptable solution requires cooperation from Apple, who we have already reached out to in hopes of addressing this issue. To help speed this effort, we ask that you use the following link to contact Apple and ask them to provide a solution that would easily allow you to move content from protected CDs into iTunes or onto your iPod rather than having to go through the additional steps above. http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html."

I'm not as anti-DRM as C.K. is, but I'll stick to blaming the record companies and the artists (although mostly the record companies I think) for restricting their CDs to begin with. If I've bought a physical CD I should have the right to play it in whatever format suits me without jumping through hoops to do so.