CdigixCtaxs goes out of buisness?! I Was Going to Cancel Anyway

A really sad story I must tell you. Last Sunday I lost access to my music. It has a great selection of hip hop/rap, electronic, and some punk music. I panicked: I tried calling Ctrax customer service: Nothing but answering machines that don't call back. Tried emailing them to help me regain my access, they have not replied in for three days. I even upgraded Windows Media Player from 9 to 10 (Probably that's a good thing). I asked myself what the bloody hell's going on? But now I know why I can't access my account anymore.

CDigix will end its partnership with the university by April 30, ending a nearly two-year run as the university-sponsored digital entertainment service providing legal music downloads to students, CDigix officials said yesterday.

The announcement came as CDigix said Monday they were pulling out of the digital music business altogether, a decision made because the marketplace had become too "crowded" and "volatile" for the company to survive, CDigix vice president of university sales Mark Brodsky said. The University System of Maryland adopted the service as a legal downloading tool in spring 2006, following a yearlong trial on the campus.

Office of Information Technology Communications Director Phyllis Johnson said the university system's 11 colleges and universities hope to expedite negotiations to find a replacement for CDigix, discussing Apple's "iTunes U," a downloading service offered to universities, as a replacement. She added download service Ruckus, already at use at Frostburg State, is also a possibility.

I was going to cancel my account next week and considering switching to Ruckus. It's ad-supported but it's better than this screwover Terps are going to get come April 30. There's actually no need for the University to get into a contractual agreement with Ruckus, all they need to do is to promote it since anyone with a .edu university email address can sign up.