Fix NS_E_DRM_LICENSE_CONTENT_REVOKED (0XC00D27E1)

Quick answer (for the impatient)

This error means the company that sold you the media file killed the license server. You can't get a new license. The fix is to strip the DRM or find the content elsewhere.

Why you're seeing 0XC00D27E1

You bought a song or video years ago from a service like Zune Marketplace, MSN Music, or a similar store using Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM. The content owner—usually a record label or movie studio—decided they no longer support that content. They told Microsoft's license server to revoke all existing licenses for that file. Once revoked, Windows Media Player and other DRM-aware apps refuse to play it. This isn't a bug in your PC. It's a deliberate kill switch. It usually hits older files from around 2006-2012. The file still exists on your hard drive, but the license is dead.

Step-by-step fix

1. Check if the file is the only one affected. Open Windows Media Player (WMP). Look under Library and find the file that won't play. Note the file path. If other files from the same service still play, you might have a one-off revocation. If all files from that service fail, it's a total shutdown.
2. Try to get a new license manually. Right-click the file in WMP. Select "Update license" or "Get license from Internet." Wait 30 seconds. You'll see the same error again. This confirms the license server is gone.
3. Back up the file before modifying it. Copy the file to a new folder. Keep the original untouched so you don't lose the data.
4. Strip the DRM using a tool like DRM Removal. I've used SoundTaxi (paid) and NoteBurner (trial). Open the tool, load the file, and convert it to MP3 or AAC at 192kbps or higher. The tool re-encodes the audio, removing the DRM wrapper. After conversion, the new file plays in any app.
5. If the file is a video (WMV or ASF), try TuneFab DRM Media Converter. Same idea—convert to MP4 or AVI. The process takes about 2-3 minutes per file.
6. Test the converted file. Open it in VLC media player (free from videolan.org). VLC ignores DRM, so if it plays there, you're good. Then copy it into your normal music library.

Alternative fixes (if the main approach fails)

Burn and rip (if original CD or DVD exists)

If you still have the original CD or DVD you bought, you can bypass DRM entirely. Insert the disc. Use Windows Media Player to rip it to MP3. This creates fresh files with no DRM. You lose any metadata like album art, but you keep the music.

Use VLC as your primary player

VLC doesn't check DRM licenses. It'll play the revoked file directly. Go to VLC's website, download the version for your OS (I use 3.0.21 on Windows 10). Open VLC, click Media > Open File, and pick the file. It'll play. The downside is VLC won't organize your library like WMP does. But for playing that one song, it works without any conversion.

Find the content elsewhere

If the file is from a defunct store (MSN Music shut down in 2008, Zune Marketplace in 2015), you might not find a replacement. Check streaming services like Spotify or YouTube Music for a version. If it's a rare track, YouTube may have a fan upload. Download that via a YouTube-to-MP3 converter (legality varies by region, so check local laws).

Prevention tip

Never rely on DRM-protected files for long-term storage. If you buy digital media, strip the DRM immediately after purchase. Use a tool like TuneFab or SoundTaxi as soon as you download the file. Once the license server goes down, you're stuck. I've seen this hit people with 200+ song libraries from MSN Music. They lost everything. Convert to MP3 or FLAC right away, and back up those files to an external drive or cloud storage you control. Also, keep the original disc if you bought one—physical media doesn't get revoked.

One more thing: Check Microsoft's official list of revoked content servers. Go to support.microsoft.com and search for "revoked DRM servers." If your file's server is listed, there's zero chance of getting the license back. You must convert or replace the file.