College nabs new music service FreshTracks provides legal downloading options

Author: Zoey Burrows

When it comes to free entertainment, Middkids are pampered with astounding resources. FreshTracks Music (FTM), a brand-new music subscription service, is just one more resource that will be offered to students by the end of the year.

Director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership Douglas Adams said that FTM will complement the Napster system that the College signed onto two years ago. In comparison to Napster, FTM promotes smaller, independent artists that are not currently owned by major record labels.

The company "provides a distinctly different kind of service" Adams said, giving access to "independent and unsigned bands, like those played on WRMC. What it tries to do is build a community." The site will be personalized for Middlebury (PantherMix) and will frequently feature student highlights and music picks. Additionally, College bands will be able to upload their music to the Web site for free and will be paid according to the number of hits their songs receive.

Soliciting colleges with trend-setting music reputations, FTM first approached the Student Government Association (SGA) in February to see if students would be interested in acquiring the service. FTM has targeted four colleges that are known for being on the leading edge of the alternative music scene, including Vanderbilt University, University of Mississippi, Eastern Michigan University and Middlebury College.

Napster is set up like a temporary rental service, with songs available only while students are on campus or while attending school. In contrast, FTM is a subscription service that interested students subscribe to, downloading music that will be their own for life. Comparing the two services, Jamaican student Lemar Kurt-Haydn Clarke '08 said,"Napster is more inclusive, and I can find music from my own country on Napster."

One major benefit Adams sees in acquiring the FTM service is that it is a legal service, which should help to decrease the illegal downloading that goes on. Another benefit of FTM is that unlike Napster, which all students pay for as a part of their activities fee, FTM only charges students that choose to subscribe and not the student body as a whole. In response to this aspect of the service, Angelica Towne '08 said, "If it doesn't cost anything to the college, then do it!"

At regular rates, it would cost students $9.95 per month, but at Middlebury the subscription will be reduced to $3 per month. Although this is more than the $2 per month that Napster currently charges Middkids, FTM allows unlimited downloading of music that is the student's for life and can be uploaded to an iPod. By contrast, students must pay $0.99 per song if they want to maintain Napster songs in their collections after College.

Student opinion regarding both Napster and the thought of a FTM subscription service is mixed. "My Napster stopped working last year so I just gave up on it with great grief and sadness," says Zeeshan Hyder '07. Philip Picotte '08 said, "Anything I want to listen to I buy from iTunes or already own." Senior Ken Mallot stated quite unenthusiastically, "I'm graduating so…"

When asked if she would use FTM when it comes to campus, Ana Cheung '06 said, "I don't really listen to Indie music and I'm too cheap to fork over three dollars per month." Despite all of this skepticism, it remains to be seen how students will react to the service once it is up and running.