A legal downloading option offered through Ohio University is now free for students and will remain so through the 2006-07 academic year.
Ctrax, available through Cdigix, eliminated its $2.99 monthly fee for students and $5.99 fee for faculty and staff in hopes that two million tracks of free, legally downloadable music will persuade people to use the service, said Laurie Rubenstein, Cdigix press representative.
Ohio University has been a strong partner for a long time
and while the student response has been in line with expectations under the previous model we think even more people will sign up (with the fee eliminated) she said.
Rubenstein could not disclose how many Ctrax subscribers OU has.
The program offers users the ability to selected an unlimited number of tethered downloads from more than 100,000 artists, Rubenstein said. Music tracks are stored on the individual's computer and are available for the duration of the subscription.
Though Cdigix services are available at more than 40 colleges, only a handful have introduced Ctrax for free, including the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Maryland.
Ctrax accounts can be created at www.ctraxmusic.com. It has not been determined how long the service will remain free after the 2006-07 academic year.
Cflix, a movie and media database, will keep its subscription charge.
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Laura Yates
