College students often are seen walking down the street, working out or studying while listening to music. However, the music most listen to doesn’t come from the radio or store-bought CDs, but from online music servers.

Downloading music may not always be legal. According to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is considered legal to purchase a music CD and record the files for personal usage. However, uploading these files on peer-to-peer networks such as LimeWire is breaking the law.

In February, the Recording Industry Association of America filed 750 lawsuits against individuals who illegally distributed copyrighted music on peer sharing networks.

“Our goal with these lawsuits — and all our anti-piracy efforts — is to protect the ability of the recording industry, to invest in new bands and to give legal online services a chance to flourish. The law here is quite clear. The illegal downloading of music is just as wrong as shoplifting from a local record store. Anyone using illegal file sharing networks should remain on notice: You can be caught, and there are consequences to your actions,” said Jenni Engebretsen, a spokesperson for the RIAA.

Because of the consequences of downloading from peer-to-peer sharing networks, NIU has found a solution to offer to students.

For three years, NIU has partnered with Ruckus, an online music server that is entirely legal, and for NIU students, free.

Ruckus is a program that, as of this spring, allows music downloads free of charge to NIU students. The only fee involved comes when signing up for the movie downloading package.

Eric Gilbert, a sophomore communication major, has taken advantage of this free service offered by NIU.

“I was satisfied with Ruckus’ service, especially how fast it could download entire albums,” he said.

For those who would like to transfer music from a computer to other devices need to pay for “Ruckus to go.” Without this additional component, the music stays on the computer. For many, this negates the positive aspects of the legal service.

“I just started using Ruckus a little bit ago. I think the service is pretty cool. It’s a pretty convenient online setup and there are a lot of choices for music out there. It would be nice if you could burn to CDs, though. That way, you’re not lugging your computer around everywhere. I mean, it’s nice that it’s free through the campus, but burning the songs would make it a lot easier,” said Chris Szydlowski, a junior history education major.

While some are unhappy because they can’t burn the music they’ve downloaded, Ruckus still feels they are providing the best service available to students.

“Not being able to transfer the music is not in our hands, it’s according to what the labels say. However, with Ruckus, you still have the ability to discover new music and the songs are unlimited,” said Brad Vaughn, a representative from Ruckus.

Cindy Phillips, the director of ITS Customer Support Services, is happy with the service Ruckus provides.

“We were telling students they shouldn’t illegally download music, but we weren’t giving them an alternative. Ruckus is that alternative,” she said.

This alternative has grown in popularity at NIU this past semester especially.

“This spring, we had 2300 students sign up for the free downloading service,” Phillips said.

Kelly Kohley, a freshman undecided major, is thinking about signing up for the service.

“Ruckus is a lot safer then LimeWire and now that it’s free, I may think about using it,” Kohley said.