Students in Residence Halls Offered Free Access to Cdigix Digital Media Package

The illegal downloading of music files via computer has been a very controversial issue on college campuses around the nation during the past few years. Universities have had to balance the copyright issues of the music industry along with the privacy rights of their students.

In an effort to find a solution to this issue, DePaul University recently began providing students in its residence halls with a way to download music legally and for no cost. The university has secured an agreement with Cdigix, a provider of digital entertainment and educational media, to provide DePaul students living on campus access to its music library, Ctrax.

Students are able to download and listen to music from Ctrax’s 1.2 million-song library on their own computers for free. Ctrax also offers live radio, genre-specific stations, and custom-created playlists. In addition, students can view more than 500 music videos on demand through the service. For students who wish to burn CDs or transfer songs to their iPods, a fee of 89 cents per song will apply – a 10 percent discount from standard download pricing.

The system is similar to one Cdigix is offering to nearly 300,000 students on more than 20 campuses around the country, including the University of Michigan, Wake Forest University and Yale University.

"As a university that is known for its commitment to technology, we felt it was important to step forward and provide an alternative for our students who want to download music," said Vince Kellen, vice president for Information Services at DePaul. "There’s a strong demand for high-quality, secure, legal digital music, and this will offer our students access to a wealth of available content at no cost, with low-cost options for additional services."

Using their own computers, students are able to access their Ctrax accounts from any location with their campus and account passwords. While the service is currently available as a benefit only to students living in DePaul residence halls, there are plans to expand the service to students living off campus in the near future.

With a total enrollment of 23,570 students on two city and five suburban campuses, DePaul is the eighth-largest private university in the United States and the largest Catholic university in the nation. DePaul is an innovative and diverse university offering pragmatic educational programs that instill values, including a commitment to community service.