ANOTHER SPIN ON DIGITAL MUSIC UNIVERSITY OFFERS ANTIPIRACY PLAN

At a time when college administrators are coming under fire forstudents illegallly downloading copyrighted songs, the president ofone major university is urging schools to launch their own digitalmusic services as an alternative to digital piracy.

Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, wantscolleges to license songs and charge students to listen to themonline. He has proposed that schools increase each student's tuitionor fees by perhaps a few dollars in exchange for unlimited listening,though the ability to burn songs onto a CD might cost extra.

The idea is still in early discussions and faces considerableskepticism from the recording industry. Yet Spanier, cochairman of anational committee of university and entertainment leaders thatdiscussed the proposal in Washington, D.C., last week, says heexpects pilot programs to begin at some universities by the start ofclasses this fall.

If schools can negotiate licensing deals, they would enter intodirect competition with digital music services from companies likeApple Computer Inc., RealNetworks Inc., and Roxio Inc., which lastweek acquired Pressplay from Universal Music Group and Sony MusicGroup with plans to relaunch it next year as a paid service under theNapster name.

But the ultimate goal of a university-run music service, Spaniersays, would be to reduce the number of songs downloaded from file-sharing services like Kazaa, whose popularity on college campuses hasswamped computer networks and administrators who field complaints ofcopyright infringement from the entertainment industry.

"If the service is good enough, offers enough songs, has highreliability, and is user-friendly, it can compete with Kazaa andsimilar programs," Spanier said in an e-mail interview.

Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association ofAmerica, downplayed the idea, calling it "Graham's opening thoughtsat the beginning of a dialogue." He said many questions remain aboutthe proposed service - such as whether songs would be available fordownload or streamed over the Internet, how the songs would beprotected from illegal copying and distribution, and whethercopyright holders would grant permission for such broad use - butpraised it as a starting point.

"I think it's a very good step to try to find new ways to providemusic legally to college students," said Sherman, who is cochairman,along with Spanier, of the Joint Committee of the Higher Educationand Entertainment Communities.

Each digital media company would create its own product andnegotiate terms with individual universities, Spanier said. He saidhe anticipates some trial runs by this fall, though his own toptechnology administrator, J. Gary Auguston, in a phone interviewcalled that "a pretty aggressive schedule." Penn State has not evenbegun negotiating with any content providers, Auguston said.

Two business students from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, David Galper and Vince Han, say their venture forstreaming music and movies over the Internet to college students isamong the candidates to run test programs at Penn State and otheruniversities.

Sherman said universities might find it easier to negotiatelicenses for limited test programs, thanks to the early success ofApple's iTunes Music Store. But network administrators say serviceslike Apple's have done little thus far to slow the illegal exchangeof songs by students.

"I really don't think they understand or believe that illegal file-sharing is the same thing as going into Tower [Records], grabbing aCD off the rack, and running out the door with it," said ScottHervey, chairman of California Bar's cyberspace law committee.

That's one reason why Spanier wants to charge each student formusic. If they're already paying for the service, they just may useit instead of Kazaa, protecting themselves - and, potentially, theircolleges or universities - from liability for piracy. "It would makelegal what is now illegal," he said.

But students would still use file-sharing programs to downloadsongs, movies, and television shows not included in a university'scatalogue, said James Bruce, MIT's vice president for informationsystems.

Spanier's proposal also raises questions about whether parentswould pay higher tuition so their children can listen to the latest50 Cent hit. Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., charges allundergraduates in its residence halls $120 a year for access to 20cable channels streamed over the Internet. Students approved the feesin a referendum. But administrators at public universities in cash-strapped states say fee hikes for digital music would be poorlyreceived.

"The university is not in a position to undertake any newinitiatives," said Scott Conti, network operations manager for theUniversity of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Anticipating 10 percent cuts in its technology budget, theUniversity of California at Berkeley has delayed computer labupgrades and renewals of anti-virus software. Jack McCredie, theuniversity's chief information officer and associate vice chancellor,said he appreciates Spanier exploring ways to combat piracy, but withother pressing needs he would only consider a service that studentssign up for.

"We have to somehow fix the culture that thinks it's OK to rip offpeople's intellectual property rights," McCredie said. But he added,"It's a terrible precedent for universities to be essentially payingfor the entertainment of its students."

Chris Gaither can be reached at gaither@globe.com.