EAST LANSING, Mich.—Michigan State University is now providing its students, faculty and staff a way to legally download virus-free digital songs, access movies and television shows, and share downloaded tracks.

Ruckus multimedia service is offering its music download service at no cost to any current MSU student accessing Ruckus on campus. Off-campus students, faculty and staff can access Ruckus for a nominal cost that involves a combination of monthly and per track fees.

Ruckus was selected for its ability to form relationships directly with each student, minimizing MSU’s investment of resources, and for meeting the technical and economic terms of the bid request. “This arrangement with Ruckus is one of several things Michigan State University is doing to promote legitimate online trading in music and video files,” said David Gift, MSU’s vice provost for libraries, computing and technology. “We are pleased that Ruckus is working hard to provide an excellent value to our students, faculty and staff.”

With this service students will be able to legally share music, movies and television shows; create playlists; send personal media recommendations to friends; and browse classmates’ profiles and media libraries. Students can build their libraries from Ruckus’ collection of more than 1.5 million songs, thousands of Hollywood movies, and hit TV shows like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” legally available through exclusive licensing agreements with the top multimedia distributors nationwide.

MSU is the second Michigan university to enroll in the digital entertainment network. Michigan Technological University announced a similar agreement with Ruckus in July 2005. “As an alumnus of Michigan State University, I am most excited to see my alma mater enroll in our groundbreaking college-only service,” said William J. Raduchel, CEO and chairman of Ruckus.

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About Ruckus

Ruckus is the premiere digital entertainment network designed specifically for college students. The Ruckus experience blends college students’ top interests – friends and entertainment – to create a strong sense of community at universities across the country. Whether looking for a roommate with similar interests or someone who enjoys R & B as much as they do, Ruckus members are able to find friends through media and media through friends. Today, the Ruckus service is available to hundreds of thousands of U.S. college students and is quickly becoming the brand of choice for higher education institutions nationwide. For more information, go to www.ruckus.com

About Michigan State University

Known internationally as a major U.S. public university with global reach, Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and engagement for 150 years.
As a pioneer land-grant institution, Michigan State University strives to discover practical uses for theoretical knowledge, and to speed the diffusion of information to residents of the state, the nation and the world. In fostering both research and its application, this university will continue to be a catalyst for positive intellectual, social and technological change.