May 22nd, 2010
What if Ruckus Still Existed?
The Ruckus Network, in the beginning created by David Galper and Vince Han, was shut down just a short year ago . Back in the early 2000’s Just a few years ago, however, the Ruckus Network was an imaginative brainchild – a method for downloading music albums that made hundreds upon thousands of graduate students very excited .
David Galper and his partner developed the Ruckus Network with one main idea in mind. The two hoped to fill a gap in the downloadable music market while addressing concerns about illegal file sharing . Financially strapped undergraduate students wanted inexpensive music the most, and they were willing to do almost anything to get their hands on it.
After building relationships with venture capitalists like Shelter Capital and Battery Ventures, the guys were able to raise more than $41.5 million dollars to use in developing the network . Galper and Han began approaching colleges and universities, negotiating with each one directly to offer free music services to college students .
The arrangement was really pretty sweet . University students with valid .edu email addresses were given permission to download files for free . Graduates would then be able to continue downloading via a paid subscription after commencement. Past graduates and those without .edu addresses were not permitted join the network . Students could download songs and add songs to their iPods , but they were not allowed to burn them to disk .
Everything seemed to be running smoothly . By November of 2006, the Ruckus Network had contracted with more than 80 school systems , supporting a network of more than 200 different schools . By 2008, the Ruckus Network had grown to more than 215 partnerships with over 1,000 different schools .
Unfortunately , for reasons unknown to the public , Ruckus ceased updating its library in late 2008. By early 2009, the Ruckus network had been absorbed by Total Music and, within a couple of months , it was gone .
Students have always wanted one question answered . How did such a successful network fail? It was obviously profitable enough to substantiate the level of financial backing it had received, and it was apparently worth purchasing almost 10 years later. So why leave all of these financially strapped undergraduate students in a sad situation ?
These are answers we may never have answers to , but we often ponder one key point . How would the music industry be impacted if something like this incredible network still existed in today’s society ? Would schools find it useful to offer as a perk to students, or would it become a distraction ? No one will ever know.
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