The Ruckus About Ruckus

After I mentioned a new startup called Ruckus Network last month, a few people e-mailed me and asked me if I knew more about it. Well, here some more details…

The startup is among a handful of companies in U.S. trying to develop university and college digital media distribution networks…one is Cdigix (which just changed its name from Cflix and signed up a bunch of Univs, through MusicNet). Another one is a company called Digonex which also runs MusicRebellion.com (it recently signed up with DePauw University). Then there’s Napster and RealNetworks…

Ruckus (formerly College Entertainment Network) recently got $7.6 million in venture funding from Battery Ventures…interestingly, the company had been founded by two MIT graduates. It has launched its beta client (beta here, though not publicly available) at two Universities: Northern Illinois University and North Carolina A&T State University. Some more details of NIU here.

Northern Star Online (via Slashdot): NIU pays $5 per student per month and is allowed unlimited access to the media for the testers. Of course, the proof is in the pudding: depends on how many content players Ruckus can sign on, and the technology itself. And then there’s University politics, which may be the biggest hurdle startups such as these may have to cross..

Related:

Illinois Univ Tests Music And Movie Download Service

New Name, New Clients For Cdigix

Napster Signs Six Univs

GWU Students Will Get Complimentary Tunes

Penn State Online Music Service Launches

Napster Cuts Deal With Rochester U

Audible To Be Distributed Through Penn State

Will Sony’s Campus Action Network Work?

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