Record Companies Deny Qtrax deal

Since Qtrax launched 24 hours ago, the site has received too many visitors for their server to cope with, causing it to crash on a regular basis. However, despite this initial flurry of interest, the site may be unable to provide the 25 million free tracks it promised users.

The site’s glittering Cannes launch party indicated that much was expected of Qtrax, a revolutionary legal file-sharing service that hoped to offer users unlimited free downloads. Qtrax was developed as an antidote to internet piracy, as it would allow users to download music for free, as long as they browsed advertising on the site, which would provide revenue.

Despite being a wonderful idea, Qtrax has hit a major setback. Three of the four major record labels linked to Qtrax have yet to reach a final licensing agreement with the file-sharing service, which considerably reduces Qtrax’s supposed back catalogue of 25 million songs. However, despite Warner, EMI and Universal denying licensing their music for use with this service, Qtrax has said that it expects to sign deals with these labels soon. Sony is the fourth record label involved with Qtrax, although they have refused to comment on the issue, so it is unclear whether they have managed to reach a deal.

Initially, Qtrax had suggested that the four major labels had already agreed to licence their music to the file-sharing service, although a spokesperson later said that, while Qtrax "had the blessing" of all four record companies, "two of the four are more happy about it than the other two."

In addition to its unclear music licensing deals, Qtrax has also faced criticism due to its incompatibility with Apple’s iPod. However, Qtrax hope to resolve this matter and have stated that an iPod-compatible version of the software should be available for use in April.

Source:

BBC
Times