Digital music is set to take another kick in the teeth. Have you got any tracks you downloaded from the MSN Music service? If so, think again, because on August 31 Microsoft is going to turn off the license servers. This means those tracks that you bought with your hard-earned cash will eventually become nothing more than digital detritus on your hard disk.

Microsoft’s attempt to topple iTunes from its number one position started in 2004 and lasted two years before it realised it was yet another failure and stopped the service. Instead, the Zune Marketplace took over, presumably destined to go the same way at some point unless Microsoft can persuade iPod users that the Zune is a better device. That will be on the same day as the porcine air show no doubt.

Closing the MSN Music servers will not mean that tracks become unplayable immediately, because the currently authorised computer will remain unaffected. But the tracks will not be usable on another computer or operating system because Microsoft’s digital rights management (DRM) stops the tracks being duplicated or transferred.

The only solution is to burn the tracks to audio CD, never 100% effective because they have already lost quality when the compressed versions were made, and more quality would be lost if you re-ripped them. Or you could find some nefarious means to crack the DRM.