14 DAY TRIAL // Looks like this formerly too-good-to-be-true rumor is finally taking shape. Sources on the Internet indicate that Qtrax, a once controversial peer-to-peer file sharing service, is relaunching this week under an ad-supported model, offering a 25-30 million tracks music catalog (and this is just for the iPod). The songs will reportedly be made available as free downloads!
There's more, of course. Qtrax has dubbed itself the "World's First Free and Legal P2P Music Service," promising to dish out between 25 million and 30 million "copyrighted tracks" over a file sharing network, according to AppleInsider. The figures, however, do little to impress anyone who hasn't actually used a service like this EVER. It seems impossible to even begin thinking about free original downloadable content. But do think about it. If Qtrax is indeed in business, they'll be bigger than rival services such as Apple's iTunes.
According to the same source, Qtrax claims to have struck a deal with every major record label out there. Artists are supposed to be acquitted through advertising revenues garnered by the service, while the end users will benefit from a FREE unlimited music downloading service, offering songs that come wrapped in digital rights management (DRM) software to prevent duplication.
The service was launched on Monday, but without iPod support. Qtrax now claims to have come up with a way to make tracks compatible with iPods: "We've had a technical breakthrough which enables us to put songs on an iPod without any interference from FairPlay," Allan Klepfisz, Qtrax's president and chief executive, told the Associated Press. Of course, Klepfisz refused to let the press in on how exactly they'd be making audio files perfectly compatible with Apple's players, but he did state that "Apple has nothing to do with it."
Following this breaking announcement, Warner Music Group, one of the world's biggest record labels , denies having reached an agreement with Qtrax to offer their content: "Warner Music Group has not authorized the use of our content on Qtrax's recently announced service."
As for Qtrax, they claimed they were "in discussion with Warner Music Group to ensure that the service is licensed" and that they "hope to reach an agreement shortly."
Universal Music Group (only the largest music company out there), told Reuters pretty much the same thing: that they didn't have a deal with Qtrax. However, Universal did confirm that discussions were being carried on.
Whether Qtrax is changing the music download fashion as we know, it remains to be seen, but if this proves to be 100% true, iPod users may just be in luck starting as early as March, this year. Stay tuned for updates on this hot topic, and rest assured, there will be updates!