In an aim to curb the piracy of music within colleges and universities, many of these have teamed up with music download services including Napster and Rhapsody to either offer subsidised flat rate or free unlimited music downloads. At a first
glance, it appears like the ideal solution - why download elsewhere if students can be legally download their music for free? However, as with anything else, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. This is where the catch comes in.
Unlike music one buys on iTunes or even traditional media like CDs, Vinyl Records, Tapes, etc., Napster's subscription music is infected with time-limited DRM, which expires when the subscription ends. So, even if a student has spent quite a lot of their time building up a hefty music collection, the whole lot will disappear in a flash at the end of their term unless the student either pays for a full subscription after graduation or forks out 99c for each song they wish to keep. Worse still, the service does not work with iPods or operating systems other than Windows, thus leaving out iPod and Mac owners, those who received an iPod as a graduation gift as well as those who use a non-Windows PC. Finally, the cost of the 'free' service is actually buried inside the student's activity fees, so even those who never use the service effectively end up paying for something they never actually use.
With
these drawbacks and issues, students are gradually turning away from these free offerings, with many others simply refusing to even give the music service a try after reading the service agreement. As a result, a few universities have decided that they will not renew their agreement with Napster after receiving a lot of negative feedback from students. On the other hand, despite the decreasing interest by students, the RIAA is actually pleased with how well the services are getting on.
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Currently, over 120 schools have deals with the likes of Rhapsody and Napster under which students have access to the services' music libraries, often for a fraction of the regular price, if not free. However, many undergrads are turning their noses up at the opportunity to use the legal download services. Cornell student Angelo Petrigh decided not to use Napster, which inked an agreement with the Ivy League school, because he won't be able to take the music with him when he graduates. "After I read that, I decided I didn't want to even try it," he said. The full article can be read here. |
With most music loving students owning an iPod, it is quite obvious that unless the service they provide offers support for the student's players, chances are that they are going to look elsewhere for their music. The RIAA should also find a better strategy in dealing with illegal sharing in colleges, since suing students is definitely over the top. First of all, most students are already in debt as it is with their tuition fees. A lawsuit on top of that just makes things worse as it potentially puts those students out of education if they are unable to pay for the essentials like rent, food and transport, not to mention the longterm effects after this.
Source: Ars Technica
