Ruckus Shutters Campus Music Service; TotalMusic Also Closing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2009 - 9:54am.

Herndon, Va. - Ruckus, a provider of ad-supported online music streaming services on college campuses, has been shuttered by owner TotalMusic, which itself appears to be closing. According to TechCrunch, the site went down early Friday evening, replaced by a message reading, "Unfortunately the Ruckus service will no longer be provided."

In a blog post, Jason Herskowitz, a vice president with TotalMusic -- a joint venture between Sony BMG and Universal Music Group -- lamented the demise of the once-promising company.

"There are very few private investors or venture capitalists that want to get anywhere near this space right now... and rightfully so considering no one has really figured out how to make any money out of this industry [and its products] that so many people love," Herskowitz wrote.

Ruckus had raised nearly $43 million in venture capital since 2004.

The company secured partnerships with 80 colleges and universities, and five statewide network systems, and was supporting over 200 higher education institutions.

Related Links:
http://www.ruckus.net/notice/final.html

http://snipurl.com/bl3t4 (TechCrunch)

http://globallistic.blogspot.com/2009/02/hey-who-tripped-over-that-cord.html

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2009/02/totalmusic-ruckus-shut-down.html