MTV’s Urge download shop is moving from Microsoft’s DRM-hobbled, won’t work on iPods technology to, er, Real Networks’ DRM-hobbled, won’t work on iPods technology.

The Inquirer makes an excellent point:

The Urge store – supposed to be the Volish play to head off iTunes – was announced, to great fanfare, at CES last year, with Microsoft rolling out Justin Timberlake to say how awesome the new store was going to be. [Then] Microsoft screwed most of its partners – launching its Zune player and its own-brand Zune music store, and ditching Plays For Sure compatibility – and Urge instantly went from Microsoft’s flagship platform to an also-ran. And being an also-ran to an also-ran to iTunes is not a good position to be in.

So DRM isn’t just bad for punters, but bad for providers too. Although it’s still bad for punters.

the company would stay on Windows Media Player 11 for a while and that discussions about phasing out the service were ongoing. Customers who bought music from the store will face a fun time – although Microsoft could transition their accounts to the Zune store, the DRM is incompatible and so will break their portable players.

As if you needed another reason to avoid DRM’d music your favourite music service deciding to hop camps seems to be one.