The experimental music TotalMusic initiative created by Sony BMG and Universal Music Group has officially ended -- a company official from one of the record labels said they pulled the plug on the project.

"I regret that we didn't get to show you guys more about what we built -- but in these extremely hard economic times (particularly for those in the music industry) it's hard to blame them from pulling the plug on a still-highly-speculative offering," Total Music VP of product management Jason Herskowitz said in a blog post.

"Hell, there are very few private investors or venture capitalists that want to get anywhere near this space right now...and rightfully so considering no one has really figured out how to make any money out of this industry (and its products) that so many people love."

A look at the rest of Herskowitz's blog post indicates there are a few people within the music industry who are embracing digital music and understand that online music streaming needs to evolve if the record labels want to turn it into a successful business.

TotalMusic also has been forced to close Ruckus, an ad-supported online music streaming service that was aimed directly at college students.  The site raised as much as $43 million in venture capital over the past five years and worked alongside 80 universities and colleges -- it worked with 200 higher education institutions.

TotalMusic first hit the scene in 2007 and was designed so record labels could offer ISPs a subscription music service that was flexible for music listeners while ensuring artists were paid.  A U.S. Department of Justice investigation, however, sidelined the company in early 2008, and things haven't been the same since then.

Last week, Ruckus mysteriously disappeared from the internet, which led to rumors that the service was done -- but very few expected TotalMusic to also fold.