For online music services, an endorsement from colleges is the kiss of death. Ruckus Network, in which more than 200 colleges had signed up with to provide a free and legal alternative to unauthorized file swapping, shut down without warning on February 6, reminding some officials of two years ago when another company, Cdigix, abruptly announced the end of its college-focused music service. At this point, it's safe to say that the whole business model for campus music services is not working. Perhaps, suggests the author, it is time for something completely different, noting a meeting of the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities that mixes colleges officials and music-industry executives, whereby record companies would essentially legalize file trading by developing a system that tracks which copyrighted works are traded and assessing fees to colleges or other Internet providers each time a file is traded. Unlike previous services, students would be able to do whatever they are doing now, except someone would be paying the bill for them, possibly passing it along in a student fee. a new system is being considered in which colleges would pay into a voluntary collective license based that