Ruckus Music Service -- Which Was Supposed To Save The Industry -- Now Dead

from the how-about-that dept

Mon, Feb 9th 2009 4:14am — Mike Masnick

Remember Ruckus? That was the attempt by a former recording industry guy and a former Napster employee to create an online music service that colleges would pay for, but which students could use for "free" (free in the sense that students wouldn't be paying for it directly). When we pointed out how lame the service was, we actually got angry emails from some folks who insisted that it really had revolutionized the campuses who had bought into it. In fact, the recording industry used this argument in its big push to force universities to sign up for Ruckus.

Apparently the revolution was short-lived -- and without government help to force colleges to subscribe, Ruckus has shut down. For some of those who got their music from Ruckus, the DRM on the tracks means that the music will be unplayable. Some tracks are still playable, but will apparently die once they hit their "renew date" and can't find a DRM server to renew. Yet another recording industry backed solution to the "piracy problem" that wasn't. At what point does the industry finally realize that piracy isn't the problem at all?

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Filed Under: music, online service, recording industry, subscriptions, universities

20 Comments

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Jeff, 9 Feb 2009 @ 4:39am

Agreed!
When will the RIAA just realize that pirates are under-valued customers?
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- Schizm, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:01am
  
  Re: Agreed!
  Wow, that is one of the most insightful comments I have seen. You arr so right!
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Quack Quack, 9 Feb 2009 @ 5:30am

Limited Time License
What was it that was purchased ?

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck .....
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- Daniel, 9 Feb 2009 @ 5:51am
  
  Re: Limited Time License
  Then it's the RIAA :)
  
  Stupid ducks all they do is follow the leader, with no intention on looking if they should be walking that way or not!
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Marc, 9 Feb 2009 @ 5:56am

I wonder how the astroturfer(s) from the "Sorry, But You Don't Compete With Free By Being Lame" entry will try to spin this? Once again, Mike is proven right.
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dwind, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:05am

why do you say dumb?
I don't see it as dumb at all but pretty smart.
This gives the record company a chance to sell the track(s) twice or, if he person pirates it, a chance to sue.
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ben, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:05am

I liked it
The service wasn't great but it was free and my computer is my main entertainment center anyway so I didn't mind not being able to port the mp3.
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- hegemon13, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:11am
  
  Re: I liked it
  Free? Hahahahaha. Do you REALLY believe that your university just paid the bill without passing it on in your tuition and fees? If so, I have a bridge out back...
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  - Anonymous Coward, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:42am
    
    Re: Re: I liked it
    Well, for the universities that entered agreements with ruckus it may have cost the students more(through fees). But the students of the universities that did not make a deal with them where still able to access the service(as long as the student had a college email address)
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  - still..., 22 May 2009 @ 3:40am
    
    Re: Re: I liked it
    OK, maybe it wasn't free. But, we're not going to notice any big change, even though it's gone.
    
    In other words, ruckus being gone isn't making my tuition any cheaper. Tuition and student fees will go up, even despite the departure of the ruckus fee.
    
    I agree that it was a great program. I was able to download albums at a time of my favorite artists. It never made my computer crash either, and mine's a pretty shitty one...
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ben, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:06am

I liked it
The service wasn't great but it was free and my computer is my main entertainment center anyway so I didn't mind not being able to port the mp3.
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Steve, 9 Feb 2009 @ 6:36am

For me this is a sad loss. I loved using ruckus, and kept it open on my machine at all times. While the quality wasn't always the greatest, usually 128 or 192 bit, the price was right.

For those who are saying that the students payed for the service through tuition, Ruckus went completely ad supported a few years ago. While it was initially a pay for service that campuses would sign up for that was not the case the last 2 years or so.
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Some former Student, 9 Feb 2009 @ 7:35am

I also liked it.
The DRM was especially easy to get around and I found lots of music that I would have never listened to otherwise. I will miss you Ruckus, thanks for the all the tunes. Now I guess my business will just have to go to the Pirate Bay...
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His Shadow, 9 Feb 2009 @ 8:50am

Ha Ha Ha
I only noted the passing of Ruckus because that twat Rob Enderle predicted Ruckus was going to take down the iTunes "monopoly" by, well, around now. More blood on the iPod's Click Wheel.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Feb 2009 @ 11:50am

The problem with Ruckus is that the user interface sucked. It was slow and crashed my computer half the time, but it was still better than stealing music like a bitter loser.
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BRad, 9 Feb 2009 @ 7:24pm

RUCKUS WAS FREE, get it? FREE!!!
Ruckus was not paid for by colleges or students. When it first came out colleges had to subscribe, but then they opened it to ALL students with a .edu address!!! It was funded by advertizers, not schools or students (get it? No it was not put in tuition...)
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joe schmoe, 18 Feb 2009 @ 2:41pm

Change the system date
I can still listen to my Ruckus DRM'ed music tracks if I just change the system date / time to before the renew date. And, to my knowledge, as longs as I don't run Ruckus (I just play via Windows Media Player) these tracks won't disappear.

Hope this helps.
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- LD, 2 Mar 2009 @ 12:58pm
  
  Re: Change the system date
  Hi Joe,
  
  I'm a senior citizen who isn't very computer savvy. I was a graduate student when Ruckus became available to me. I saw it as a way to access "oldies" that are very difficult to find through other services AND I didn't pay anything for the service. I suppose that should have been a red flag.
  
  What hurt me most is that I didn't have an opportunity to save the music or renew licenses before Ruckus folded.
  
  I can only access about 20 - 25 of the songs I downloaded. I downloaded hundreds. I get an error message about the license when I try to use a different server like Windows.
  
  I'm bummed.
  
  Do you know of another way I can get the music without spending an arm and a leg?
  
  Thanks for your comment; and, take care.
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- GENIUS!!!!, 22 May 2009 @ 3:48am
  
  Re: Change the system date
  You, sir, are a genius. thank you thank you thank you.
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cong, 28 Apr 2009 @ 8:23am

Ruckus.com was indeed FREE
Ruckus was Free, by the time it was introduced by my university, I didn't find any extra charge on my tuition fees statement, so it's free for whose university signed up for their students, also free for others, because after 2007, you only need a college email address to access this service, which means, most students whose university didn't even make a deal with ruckus, can also signed up for this service for FREE.

Those who said ruckus wasn't free are total idiots.

I loved ruckus too, I remember downloading zillions of music and then illegally converted them to DRM-free mp3s using "protected music converter". And yes, i kept nearly 9,000 FREE songs FOREVER.

Sigh, the good ole days are gone. I miss ruckus SO MUCH.
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