News organizations around the world are quickly correcting a story regarding Qtrax, a new P2P website set to launch today, which claimed it would offer free, unlimited downloads of 25 million songs (more than both iTunes and Amazon)—legally. The ad-supported site stated that it had deals with all four major record labels to distribute their music, but execs at Universal, Warner, Sony BMG and EMI said that while discussions are ongoing, no deals have yet been finalized (Universal said a possible deal was close). Qtrax had said its service would stem illegal file-sharing, and that money lost on sales would be recouped through ad revenue.
According to PCWorld, the confusion over what, if any deals have been reached is the likely the reason why the site is currently offline. While Qtrax said that its service was “fully embraced by the music industry,” the Silicon Alley Insider reports that a company exec admitted that deals were actually still in the works and that “two of the four labels are more enthusiastic about the site than the other two.” Beyond the current crisis over music rights, the site’s credibility was further damaged by its unfulfilled promise to make its DRM tracks available for play on iPods—something that has never been done before but Qtrax had said it would be able to do. As it is, they reported to be working on an “iPod solution” to be announced in April.
Qtrax isn’t new to the online P2P scene—it first launched in 2002 but shut down within months to avoid the same legal troubles then facing Napster and similar sites. Perhaps the P2P learned little from the incident: even as talks with EMI reportedly continue, the Rolling Stones website says albums from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd remain available for download. (Apparently RS was able to access the site; as mentioned earlier, others, including NGT, have had trouble signing on).
Qtrax follows a long line of sites that have hit snags trying to free up music (think Napster and AllofMP3), but their concept is the soundest. The ad-supported model is likely the most viable for the future of music. While the industry at large is trying to stem change, it’s just a question of time before they get with it. Understandably, they’ll be picking their partners wisely, and there are a number of players in the game. Yahoo is weighing the possibility that its upcoming music site will have ad support, and SpiralFrog.com already offers free downloads that stay active as long as users remain members. RCRDLBL uses advertisers to pay artists for exclusive tracks, which can be downloaded for free. On the streaming music front, CBS’s Last.fm announced last week that it would offer free on-demand music with mini billboard space beside every track. They join the already-established Imeem, which also has an ad0supported model but doesn’t limit play.
Still, there is no perfect platform. That will depend not just on the labels, but Apple who has consumers, and thus the industry, by the iPod. In the meantime, P2P sites like Kazaa, XTorrent and Limewire will thrive and musicians will continue to lose out.
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