Penn St. drops Napster for Ruckus music

By The Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, PA Penn State's groundbreaking arrangement with Napster is over.

The university will turn to Ruckus Network Inc. this fall to allow all enrolled students at its 24 campuses to legally listen to the nearly 3 million songs available through the service. Penn State's ties to Napster will be severed in May.

The Napster partnership was the first of its kind when it was announced in November 2003. Students got legal access to streaming music and limited downloads through the Napster 2.0 service and could permanently download a copy for a compact disc or portable device for 99 cents a song.

The idea largely was to curb music piracy on campuses.

Besides offering more features, such as movies and other video, Ruckus will help Penn State save money.

The university had funded Napster through student fees, which came on top of the 99-cent download fees paid directly by students. With Ruckus, students will still pay for permanent downloads, but the university won't have to bear any other costs.

University spokesman Bill Mahon won't say how much it paid for Napster at the company's request.

Software maker Roxio Inc. launched Napster 2.0 in 2003 after acquiring the Napster brand from the ashes of the pioneer file-swapping service, which was forced to shut down in 2001 after a protracted legal battle with recording companies.

Other schools followed Penn State's lead in 2004 in signing up for Napster. Ruckus Chief Executive Mike Bebel was president of Napster when Penn State signed the deal.

Napster spokeswoman Becky Farina declined comment on whether Penn State's departure was a sign that the music service was bowing out of the colleges and universities market.

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