REM, David Gray and others have teamed up to offer a compilation album on the Net, with money going to charity – in this case, to help Oxfam’s efforts in Darfur. However, if you try to buy it from a Mac or Linux machine you’ll get this:

Sorry, but your computer is not correctly configured to access the www.bignoisemusic.com music download site.

Yep, it’s DRM again: the Darfur album is via OD2, which means it’s in copy-protected Windows Media format. As Simon B from No Rock ‘N’ Roll Fun points out:

helping out a charity at a time of desperate need pales into insignificiance compared with ensuring the record companies can control their copyright, right?

Simon raises another good question: if the album is £7.99, the artists have waived their royalties and Oxfam gets £5, “where does the other three pounds go?” To other charities? To the record companies? To licensing bodies? If anyone knows the answer, please get in touch.