A partnership with Ruckus Network, Inc., provider of the college-only digital entertainment service called Ruckus, will give University of Rochester students, faculty, and staff a new service to get legal downloads from a library of 2.75 million-plus songs.
"The University has been a pioneer in legal music services for students and we pay close attention to that marketplace," said Charles E. Phelps, University provost who has been a leader nationally on issues that support legal file-sharing. "The breadth of the offerings by Ruckus and the rapidly growing list of other colleges and universities using the service got our attention."
The University had been providing Napster and Ctrax free to students for music and movies, but some of those services are no longer offered. The Ruckus contract took effect in April.
The music service is free for all matriculating undergraduates and graduate students throughout the University and the Medical Center. There is a fee of $8.99 per month for faculty, staff, and alumni. Ruckus-to-Go, an extension of the music service that allows people to transfer songs to a compatible MP3 player, is an additional $20 per semester—for anyone, including students. Video is an additional $15 per semester—also for anyone, including students.
In February 2004, Rochester was the first private university in the nation to sign a digital music agreement, giving students free access to Napster's popular Premium music service and legitimate digital music. About one-third of undergraduates living in dormitories have signed up for Napster each year.
"Unauthorized downloading on college campuses continues to be a major problem, not only for the copyright holders but also for managing our own campus networks," said Phelps. "We believe that providing legal music services helps solve these problems and contributes to our educational discussions about the differences between legal and illegal downloading."
Ruckus places a dedicated server on campus for the local traffic. Students can decide to purchase songs or buy a higher-level of service for an additional charge. Even during the summer, students can download from home, which wasn't possible with the Napster service.
Some other Ruckus features include downloading albums in less than a minute, new music each week, playlists and album reviews, and exclusive artist and music label spotlights, interviews, and photos. All songs are certified as 100 percent legal, virus-free, and spyware-free.
About Ruckus Network, Inc.
Ruckus Network, Inc. provides the premier digital entertainment network designed specifically for college students. The Ruckus experience blends college students' top interests—friends and entertainment—to create a strong sense of community at universities across the country. Whether looking for a roommate with similar interests or someone who enjoys hip hop music as much as they do, Ruckus members are able to find friends through media and media through friends. Today, the Ruckus service is available to hundreds of thousands of U.S. college students and is quickly becoming the brand of choice for higher education institutions nationwide. For more information, visit the corporate site at www.RuckusNetwork.com or the service site at www.Ruckus.com.