It’s been a pretty exciting summer for those who would like to see the demise of digital rights management (DRM) copy protection. The super retail giant chain Wal-Mart announced it will sell unprotected songs at $.94 a pop and allow customers to choose between MP3 and Microsoft Media files. Rhapsody soon jumped on board to undergo a six months test in making a large part of Universal’s catalog available in MP3 format for $.89 a track for subscribers ($.99 for non-subscribers). And Apple joined with EMI to offer much of the EMI catalog DRM-free through iTunes.

Two of the big four record companies—EMI and Universal—have put their considerable support behind this move to DRM-free downloads. But two other music giants—Warner Music Group and Sony BMG—are sticking with copy protection. Isn’t that the way it usually goes?

The jury is still out on what this all means, but for now, DRM is still with us and any predictions of its final demise may, like Mark Twain’s first obit, be premature.