Q: I have music I downloaded over the pst few years and after rev. updates have found they are now protected an will not let me export to a memory stick, what gives?

These songs may be DRM protected, which means you are limited in how many times you share it.  Recently, songs in the US iTunes Store are all iTunes Plus which are DRM-free:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Store :

"While most downloaded files initially included usage restrictions enforced by FairPlay, Apple's implementation of digital rights management, iTunes later initiated a shift into selling DRM-free music in most countries, marketed as iTunes Plus. On January 6, 2009, Apple announced that DRM had been removed from 80% of its music catalog in the US[7] Full iTunes Plus availability was achieved in the US on April 7, 2009, coinciding with the introduction of a three-tiered pricing model;[8] however, television episodes, many books, and films are still FairPlay-protected. As of June 2013, the iTunes Store possesses 575 million active user accounts,[9] and serves over 315 million mobile devices, including iPods, iPhones and iPads.[10][11]"

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1711 :

Can I upgrade my previously purchased music to iTunes Plus?

Yes. If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you can download your previously purchased music again in the iTunes Plus format. To do so:

1. You need to delete the original DRM song from your library first. Doing this enables you to download the song again in the iTunes Plus format from iTunes in the Cloud.
2. Click the Purchased tab in the iTunes Store.
3. Click Music.
4. Locate the artist of the song you want to upgrade.
5. Click the iCloud Download icon next to the song you want to upgrade.