Qtrax

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Qtrax
Developer(s)LTDnetwork Inc.[1]
Stable release
V 0.2 Beta[2] / January 28, 2008
Operating systemWindows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista (Mac OS X beta release scheduled May 18, 2008)[3]
TypeMedia player, P2P Network
WebsiteQtrax - Homepage

Qtrax is a service promising an advertiser-supported legal P2P music jukebox, with free downloads for its users.[4]

Description

The service was announced at the 2008 Midem conference, with the company claiming to have made license agreements with the four major record labels: EMI, SonyBMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.[5][6] However, all four companies have stated that no deals have been made, and Qtrax has since retracted the claim.[7] For this reason, P2P functionality has been disabled.[8] Qtrax also claims to have 25 million copyright songs available for free legal download,[9] even though just over 6 million are believed to have ever been digitized.[10] The files will have Microsoft's Windows Media digital rights management technology applied, restricting usage of files in as-yet-to-be-determined ways.[4] Songs can be loaded on to portable media players compatible with WMDRM; this currently excludes Apple Inc.'s iPod line of portable media devices, which use FairPlay DRM. However, company representatives claim to have discovered a work-around that will allow for iPod support in the near future and hope to have that functionality as soon as April 15th.[11] However, doubts arose when it came out that the application does not support Apple's DRM-ed Music.[12]

The Qtrax beta software was originally scheduled to be released at midnight EST on January 28, 2008 (5:00 AM GMT, January 28, 2008).[13] It missed this milestone for unspecified reasons. As of 3 March 2008, the client is available for download, but the vast majority of music downloads are currently disabled with the exception of certain artists on the TVT Records label. Qtrax has claimed that the service had 61,000 unique users per hour between the hours 7AM and 1PM EST, averaging 1,464,000 unique users per day.[14] The press release also suggests that the disabled download/P2P functionality will be activated at a later date by means of a special key.

If a user attempts to download a song which is currently unavailable, a message will appear informing the user that download functionality is not available yet. Album artwork and other artist-related images were not displayed originally, but as of 11:00am GMT 29th January these images began to appear. A newsletter has been sent to registered users, in which Qtrax explains the lack of the ability to download songs as "initial technical issues" due to "overwhelming response"; the information has also appeared on the website. However, it is likely that the lack of the ability to download is due to the lack of signed license agreements.[15]

The Qtrax client is based on Songbird, a GPL combination of a media player and a web browser. Songbird itself is based on components from the Mozilla project.[16] A version for Mac OS X is scheduled to be available on May 18, 2008.

As of late February 2008, some songs became available to download on Qtrax. The songs are all by bands who belong to TVT Records, such as Sevendust, Ying Yang Twins and New Year's Day .

Qtrax has sponsored the BAM Racing Nascar Sprint Series car driven by veteran racer Ken Schrader in several races.

On March 18, 2008 Italian digital music website MusicBlob[17] found that apparently several cd compilations of the "Ultra Rare Trax" series, a pirate cd series circulated on cd during the 1990s and dedicated to artists such as KLF, Kraftwerk, Duran Duran and others, are listed in the Qtrax catalogue as if they were legitimate releases.

Contracts

Recently (as of March 12, 2008), Qtrax has begun to sign contracts with some major record companies. The following is a list of the currently signed contracts:

Criticism

Since Qtrax was announced, its two domains (www.qtrax.com and music.qtrax.com) have been in various states of functionality, ranging from fully operative (except for downloads) to being offline.

Qtrax representatives have promised that the ability to download will be unlocked very soon, but that this decision rests on the labels, not on QTrax.[15] John Kennedy, CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, states that he doesn't know "how Qtrax has resolved the challenge of providing adequate revenues".[22]

The reaction of users has been largely critical due to the website gaining advertising revenue, but only offering minimal services.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Qtrax - Legal Disclaimer".
  2. ^ "QTRAX V.2 Beta Launches at Midem-Service Sees 61,000 Unique Users Per Hour".
  3. ^ "Qtrax - Download Page".
  4. ^ a b Levine, Robert. "New Model for Sharing: Free Music With Ads", The New York Times, April 23, 2007. Accessed January 29, 2008.
  5. ^ "New York Post - FILE-$HARING".
  6. ^ "Wired - Major Labels Allow P2P Music Sharing on Qtrax".
  7. ^ "Qtrax offtrack with all the major labels".
  8. ^ "QTRAX V.2 Beta Launches at Midem-Service Sees 61,000 Unique Users Per Hour".
  9. ^ "Wired - Major Labels Allow P2P Music Sharing on Qtrax".
  10. ^ "Music Biz Pushes Piracy Blame To ISPs; Digital Sales Up 40 Percent".
  11. ^ "Qtrax hopes to be iPod compatible by April". Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  12. ^ http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/01/qtrax-cant-play.html
  13. ^ "Qtrax - Free and Legal Music Downloads". Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  14. ^ "CNN - QTRAX V.2 Beta Launches at Midem-Service Sees 61,000 Unique Users Per Hour".
  15. ^ a b "Meet Qtrax, Digital Music's Latest Non-Threat to iTunes".
  16. ^ "Songbirdnest.com - Songbird Media Player". Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  17. ^ "MusicBlob - Hey, there's pirate music in my Qtrax!". Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  18. ^ http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2006/press25.htm
  19. ^ http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/CLW02212032008-1.htm
  20. ^ http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2008/03/03/prnewswire200803031710PR_NEWS_USPR_____CLM149.html
  21. ^ http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/qtrax-has-activ.html
  22. ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iyWs82_A8Xu8Uj8ko1R4QxJH5xZgD8UF64F80

Sources

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