Ruckus: Music service goes silent
Bret Nye
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: News
Ruckus Music Service, an ad-supported free music downloading agent used by Wittenberg University, officially shut down on last month.
The only statement posted as of yet by the failed Internet company in regards to the abrupt shutdown is on their Web site: the home page is now a white screen with a small graphic and the words "Unfortunately the Ruckus service will no longer be provided. Thanks."
The service allowed students on Wittenberg's campus to download songs for no fee, although the tracks were composed as "digital rights management" Files, meaning that students could not actually put said songs onto MP3 players or burn them onto discs.
Joseph Deck, director of computing services, was the university representative who worked with Ruckus in order to reach a deal that provided the service free to all students on campus.
"Actually, we planned to add Ruckus to the game room. (Ruckus' shutdown) caught many universities by surprise," he said.
Though many speculations abound about the abrupt ending of the music service, including failing ad revenue and problems with their DRM music file platform, nothing has been substantiated yet from the music service itself.
Without Ruckus, Wittenberg students will no longer have the quick, easy, and legal accessibility to free music to listen to that they previously had. As far as alternatives are concerned, the university appears to be at a loss.
In a recent e-mail notice, the Wittenberg Computing Solutions Center stated that as of now they are "not aware of any other ad-driven services (meaning no subscription cost for the user) like this."
Deck adds that Wittenberg is considering its options.
"We......are looking for alternatives. Most of the alternatives that have turned up are pay-per-view (or listen) services," he said.
For the most part, it appears that the days of legal, free music for Wittenberg students on campus are over.
The only statement posted as of yet by the failed Internet company in regards to the abrupt shutdown is on their Web site: the home page is now a white screen with a small graphic and the words "Unfortunately the Ruckus service will no longer be provided. Thanks."
The service allowed students on Wittenberg's campus to download songs for no fee, although the tracks were composed as "digital rights management" Files, meaning that students could not actually put said songs onto MP3 players or burn them onto discs.
Joseph Deck, director of computing services, was the university representative who worked with Ruckus in order to reach a deal that provided the service free to all students on campus.
"Actually, we planned to add Ruckus to the game room. (Ruckus' shutdown) caught many universities by surprise," he said.
Though many speculations abound about the abrupt ending of the music service, including failing ad revenue and problems with their DRM music file platform, nothing has been substantiated yet from the music service itself.
Without Ruckus, Wittenberg students will no longer have the quick, easy, and legal accessibility to free music to listen to that they previously had. As far as alternatives are concerned, the university appears to be at a loss.
In a recent e-mail notice, the Wittenberg Computing Solutions Center stated that as of now they are "not aware of any other ad-driven services (meaning no subscription cost for the user) like this."
Deck adds that Wittenberg is considering its options.
"We......are looking for alternatives. Most of the alternatives that have turned up are pay-per-view (or listen) services," he said.
For the most part, it appears that the days of legal, free music for Wittenberg students on campus are over.
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