I received several emails today from folks regarding a story that was circulating around concerning Walmart's Digital Music Service and DRM protected music.  Since the story was news to me, I decided to reach out to Tom Welch, lead buyer for Walmart Music.  The information below is from Tom and I wanted to share it with you all.

DRM-protected music has been a sensitive issue and we recognize how confusing it can be to customers.  We sincerely apologize for any confusion or frustration our initial email has caused you, and we hope this post and the below points clarify some confusion and alleviate some frustration.   
 

1. To be very clear, we are not removing, deleting or disabling the DRM-protected .wma (windows media audio) files you previously purchased from Walmart.  The many ways in which you currently enjoy playing and listening to .wma files you previously purchased from Walmart is not changing.  In fact, you will still be able to:

•         Play .wma music files on your current computer

•         Listen to .wma music on your portable music device

•         Play .wma music on audio CDs you’ve burned and now enjoy at home, in your car, etc  

2. Also, we will continue to offer MP3 downloads through our online music store.  For the past seven months, we have exclusively offered MP3s, and will continue to expand this offering going forward.  We believe MP3 music downloads provide a better overall experience and gives you greater usability and flexibility with multiple music devices (including the iPod). 

3. The key change is that we will no longer be able to provide server support if you encounter an issue with existing licenses on .wma music that you purchased from walmart.com.  What that means for you is that if the computer with all of your .WMA music licenses crashes, for example, and you have not burned your music files to an audio CD, you will lose the music.  It also means you won’t be able to transfer your music to a new device, whether it be a new computer or a new portable music player.  The inability to easily transfer files to multiple devices has always been a limitation of DRM-protected files, and one of the many reasons we worked to push the industry away from them.    

For those who have followed these stories, transitions away from DRM-protected music have been difficult and other digital music providers have had similar issues as they’ve announced plans to move away from DRM-protected music and/or discontinue their service.  Walmart.com continues to be committed to offering the best values on digital music in the format that you – our customers – have asked for, MP3.  We are proud of our current ability to offer high-quality, DRM-free, MP3s from all major music distributors at great prices to our customers.  We believe the MP3 format provides you with superior quality, usability and flexibility, and we look forward to bringing you the best values in MP3s through our online music store. 

Again, on behalf of the Walmart Music Team, we’re sorry for any confusion we may have caused. 

There you have it; straight from the Tom himself.  I hope that helps clear things up. 

RH

Walmart set a pretty great goal yesterday...to reduce plastic bag waste by an average of a third by 2013 for all its stores globally.

That was cool for 3 reasons:  1.  It will have tremendous impact (reducing bag waste by 1/3 will reduce the need for 678,000 barrels of oil).  2.  It is focused on solutions that reduce the waste to start with (paper bags and biodegradables have a higher carbon footprint, but cutting the bags all together makes the most impact).

Third, it was especially cool to hear what Bill Clinton had to say as he announced the commitment to reduce bag waste by 1/3.  Bill said:

 Wal-Mart’s commitment gets to the larger point I have been trying to hammer home like a broken record since we’ve started on this climate change thing.  All the talk in the world is fine but you must have a specific strategy.  People have to have operational plans that they can all be a part of.  Matt Kistler and the whole Wal-Mart team are geniuses at breaking big problems down into very bite-sized, chewable component parts and then chewing through it until you add it all up.  They have made breathtaking savings in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the income of their suppliers and balancing economic growth while reducing the problem.  Wal-Mart’s commitment gets to the larger point I have been trying to hammer home like a broken record since we’ve started on this climate change thing.  All the talk in the world is fine but you must have a specific strategy.  People have to have operational plans that they can all be a part of.  Matt Kistler and the whole Wal-Mart team are geniuses at breaking big problems down into very bite-sized, chewable component parts and then chewing through it until you add it all up.  They have made breathtaking savings in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the income of their suppliers and balancing economic growth while reducing the problem.  Yesterday, we made an announcement that Walmart will cut its bag use by a third globally.  This is pretty cool for a lot of reasons...first 9 billion bags makes a huge impact (saves the equivalent of 678,000 barrels of oil).  Second, this is about cutting bag use, not replacing the problem with another problem (biodegradables/paper bags actually have a higher carbon footprint than normal plastic bags). 

 This is high praise, and we will keep working to be worthy of it.

I feel Russell's pain on the blog front....if you would like to know something specific or have an interest you would like me to expound upon, feel free to make the request; otherwise, you will be subjected to my ramblings.