Two years after the RIAA amnesty program, the SGA requested that UT provide a legal and convenient means for students to download music through a UTUNES program. In spring 2005 the Office of Information Technology, Student Government, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs initiated a pilot program providing students living in residence halls access to a free version of the once-illegal NAPSTER music downloading service. The program allowed downloading of files to hard drives but did not allow files to be burned to CDs or installed on MP3 players without paying $.99 per song. There were 1,800 students using the service on a regular basis and approximately 4,500 downloads per day.
OIT changed partners to CTRAX, which was free for students and $5.99 a month for faculty and staff. Students criticized CTRAX for not robustly supporting Apple IPODS. CTRAX ceased operation in spring 2007.
In September 2007 UT entered into an agreement with Ruckus, which allowed files to be downloaded to computers but not to be burned to CDs or copied to MP3 players unless the student contracted for premium service with Ruckus or made a purchase. Ruckus, funded by advertising, was also not compatible with Apple Macintosh computers. The service abruptly shut down on February 6, 2009.