Ruckus Digital Music and Entertainment Network Now Available on USM Campuses

ADELPHI, Md. (June 28, 2007) - The University System of Maryland (USM) has contracted with Ruckus Network, Inc. digital entertainment service to provide free downloadable music to students at its nine residential campuses. Students will be able to access nearly 3 million music tracks and, for a nominal fee, more than 4,000 movies, television shows, and music videos. The Ruckus Network replaces the Cdigix digital music service which was discontinued in April 2007.

"Frostburg State University independently adopted the Ruckus Network in summer 2005 and are very pleased with the service," said Suresh Balakrishnan, USM assistant vice chancellor and deputy chief information officer. "We now have an agreement with Ruckus that covers all of our residential campuses. Ruckus not only offers a free, legal music service, but also videos and social networking features that will appeal to our students."

In addition to access to its library of more than 2.8 million songs, Ruckus offers other services that can be purchased for nominal charges. For those wishing to download songs to compatible portable players there is "Ruckus-To-Go" for $20.00 per semester. Those who wish to burn songs to CD can purchase tracks for $.79-.99  each and albums for $9.99 each on average. Students can also access Ruckus' movie and video library for $15.00 per semester.

Ruckus' social networking features let students create and share playlists, send personal music recommendations to friends, build personal media libraries, browse classmates' profiles, and meet new friends. All one needs to sign up is a valid .edu e-mail address.

Ruckus is also available to USM faculty, staff, and alumni for a subscription charge of $8.99 per month.

In addition to FSU, which already offers Ruckus, Coppin State University (CSU), Salisbury University (SU), Towson University (TU), University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will join the network this summer. Bowie State University (BSU), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), and University of Maryland, Baltimore County will be implementing Ruckus for the fall semester.

For more information, visit http://www.ruckusnetwork.com

Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu