Ruckus Network, one of the major players in the DRM-ed “free music” download space that targeted universities has closed its shop over the weekend. The Ruckus Network is owned by TotalMusic LLC and it has been launched in 2004 at Northern Illinois University, being the first of its kind and the first to be closed too.

Ruckus had partnerships with over 80 campuses and offered free music to subscribers, as both students and administrations avoided legal troubles. However, the music downloaded from Ruckus only worked with Windows computers and the rise of Mac computers really caused a problem to many students. Furthermore, the DRM was not compatible with iPods.

The experimental music TotalMusic initiative created by Sony BMG and Universal Music Group has officially ended and everyone will sure regret this decision to pull the plug on a highly-speculative offering. Over the past five years, Ruckus has raised as much as $43 million in venture capital and worked with 200 higher education institutions.
 
Even if many were sure TotalMusic will still be active after Ruckus’ death, they also folded. TotalMusic first hit the scene in 2007 and it was designed in order for the record labels to offer ISPs a subscription music service that was flexible for music listeners while ensuring artists were paid. However, a US Department of Justice investigation sidelined the company in early 2008, and things haven’t been the same since then.

It remains to be seen if anyone else will try and revive this type of service and if it will have the same success Ruckus and TotalMusic had.