The major music labels agreed to support a new music service, Ruckus Network, that will offer free music downloads, with some substantial restrictions, to any college student.
Though it offers free music, the company has still struggled to find a way to pay for the service and may struggle to generate interest with students because the free songs are delivered with Microsoft’s PlaysForSure DRM, making tracks incompatible with both iPods and Zunes.
The service, from Ruckus Network, will be supported by advertising on its Web site and in the software used to download and play songs. The four major record labels and several independent labels agreed to license their music to Ruckus at reduced rates on the theory that college students would rather steal songs than pay the $10 to $15 a month that such services normally charge.
Phil Leigh, president of Inside Digital Media, a research firm, said that the move also represented a way for labels to experiment with advertising-supported music, a model that he said might be better for the labels than radio, because they could share in the advertising revenue. Music publishers, which represent the composers, are paid by radio stations, but the labels, which represent performing artists, are not.
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