Ruckus, a legal online distributor of music, has shut down its operation after it failed to convince manufacturers of music devices to add fee for every sale of its product that will go the site. Another contributor of the company’s bankruptcy is that it pulled out its monthly subscription fee in November 2006 and decided to rely on advertisers which did not compensate for the cost of operation.
The site, which was sponsored by Sony Music and Universal Music Group, was officially closed down on February 6, leaving users confuse on where to find legal music distributor online.
Some experts believe that Ruckus’ features were constrictive that it barely attracts people from visiting the site. One major criticism is that users were not allowed to burn the digital contents from CDs.
Another downside of the online music distributor is the incompatibility with Linux OS and Apple Macintosh which are used by the two most popular music devices including iPod and iTunes. And since Rukus only supports Microsoft PlaysForSure which is now considered obsolete following the release of its newest version Zune, the site’s service hardly attracts site visitors.
Here are some criticisms against the service: limited selection of music library (it only provides 3 million songs which is considered paltry compared to other online music distributors); inaccurate song titles and albums; and incomplete songs inside an album.
Earlier, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) urged online users to download music files using legal online distributors, adding that there are other legal alternatives for people to access digital contents.
Meanwhile, experts said legal alternatives will only be successful if it will provide better service than online pirates.