Students Tune Out Music Services

Filed in archive Commentary on July 25, 2006

In "Can You Give it Away?" William Patry notes the failure of campus music subscription services from napster and others. The services haven't met subscriber count expectations. Some colleges have dropped them.

The reasons given in the article are not surprising. DRM prevents students from retaining songs after graduation when they must leave the service. Students want to own their music, not rent it. The services weren't compatible with the iPods owned by 42% of students.

Colleges are an ideal venue for music services with benefits for everyone. Administrators avoid recording industry lawsuits. IT budgets save on huge P2P bandwidth charges. Students are easily and inexpensively marketed to through the college. Music fees are conveniently bundled in student services. Students get low pricing through volume discounts.

If RIAA-authorized music services with DRM can't succeed in a friendly environment place like schools, they have little chance with the general public.