In spite of Microsoft having just introduced a new DRM format for their Zune multimedia player, Bill Gates today confessed to a group of prominent bloggers gathered at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters that no one has done DRM right so far.

Gates stated that DRM "causes too much pain for legitimate buyers" and that there are “huge problems with DRM”. Gates went on to criticize DRM schemes that are device specific. In short, the advice Gates gave people today was summed up by him saying “People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then.”

DRM music is a significant threat to Apple’s iTunes dominance. Currently, non-iTunes DRM cannot be imported or played on iPods unless the file is stripped of the DRM protection. But if consumers began buying non-DRM music, it could easily be imported into iTunes and thus played on the iPod creating additional competition for Apple.