The emperor's new downloads
Updated on 29 January 2008
Qtrax promised 25 million free music downloads. The only trouble was, it wasn't quite true.
Qtrax, it seems, didn't have the backing of the record industry - despite throwing a £500, 000 launch party in Cannes last weekend with the likes of James Blunt and LL Cool J in attendance.
The swaggering confidence with which the New York based firm launched the new site - filled with the promise of around 25 million free songs - belied the fact not one of the four major record labels had confirmed deals.
Qtrax admitted that "the ink hadn't dried" on their deals with EMI, Warner, Sony BMG and Universal but insisted that it hadn't misled fans.
Alan Klepfisz, Qtrax's chief executive told the Times today: "We are not idiots," he said."We wouldn't have launched the service in front of the whole music industry unless we had secured its backing. We feel we have been unfairly crucified because a competitor tried to damage us. Everyone is very upset."
The idea behind the site is that fans download music for free, and that advertising revenue pays the record labels.
What the bloggers say
Webware says getting the record companies to sign up is just the first hurdle: "Should troubled file-sharing site, Qtrax, eventually strike licensing deals with the major music companies, it may still be confronted by a significant hurdle.
"Web Sheriff, a company representing music acts, such as Prince, Van Morrison and The Black Crowes, has notified Qtrax that it shouldn't think about offering their music, photographs or other intellectual property until it has secured the artists' okay."
Alley Insider meanwhile, warned: "you won't be able to actually download free music until the lawyers are done. If you believe Allan Klepfisz, that's going to happen any day now. But we wouldn't blame you if you were skeptical about that."
TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld wasn't particularly impressed by Qtrax's marketing strategy: "In what may be the dumbest business move of the year so far, Qtrax announced its free music download service this weekend before bothering to sign contracts with three of the four major labels."
He is critical of the company's CEO: "The company's CEO, with a straight face, told an audience at a music conference in Cannes and members of the press that all the major labels had signed on. That was clearly a misrepresentation, possibly a fraudulent one. Hyping your product is one thing. Telling an outright lie is another."
And as for performance, Tom's Hardware isn't impressed: "It's not often that we put "sucks bad" in a title, but the beta Qtrax music player truly disappoints. After all the hype of allowing millions of freely playable songs, the so called "Songbird" beta program is excruciating slow, crashes often and doesn't even offer any music."
