The best two programs I have seen for removing the DRM from WMA or iTunes songs are FairUse4WM and myFairTunes6, respectively. To tell the truth, I am surprised it has taken this long for these tools to come out. The most obnoxious things with either type of service, purchased or subscription, are the restrictions placed on what and how many devices you can use them on. And now that the encoding has been broken, it will be a never ending game of changes from the music companies to reestablish their restrictions.
The digital music stores will have to modify their encoding, if for no other reason than to keep the music publishers happy. They have fought long and hard, and probably ultimately in vain, to keep non-encoded versions of their music catalog away from the consumer. But even having these tools out there for a little while could lead to millions of unprotected songs being available. I don’t expect to see a rush to put those newly freed songs on file sharing websties, but I do think that people may finally feel they have gotten their money’s worth out of what they paid for these songs.
I don’t think very many people would feel it was wrong for them to remove the DRM off tracks they have purchased. Once you have purchased something, it should be yours, regardless of the music publishers position that you are just purchasing a license to use the music in the manner they prescribe. Maybe stripping it off of a rented copy that the subscription arrangement allows could be considered a bit more on the shady side, after paying that monthly fee for a while I can see feeling that you have paid enough to justify having your own copy. Right or wrong is not really the point, customers have gotten used to purchasing music and doing what they like with it, and trying to change that paradigm could end up being an impossible obstacle to overcome for the music publishers.
