Qtrax Off-Track: Is it the Music Version of Vaporware?

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

As I indicated yesterday, I’ll believe it when it happens: free, legal, unlimited downloads from all the major labels and more. Right. So far it hasn’t worked out that way.

For one, the site keeps pushing back its launch. It was supposed to be over the weekend. Then it was 12:01AM Monday. Now the site says it’ll be tonight.

Also, Qtrax said it had deals with all four major labels. This sounded too good to be true, because it was hard enough for Amazon MP3 to sign all four labels with a more conventional offering. Well, although the Times Online announced the new service this morning, it also later posted a later story embarrassingly (for Qtrax) titled “Music file-share site Qtrax forced into humiliating U-turn.” Yep, as many (including myself) suspected, it appears all the deals that Qtrax had been talking about haven’t happened.

All four labels deny any deal with Qtrax, although Universal did indicate it was in discussions with Qtrax.

Alan Klepfisz, CEO of Qtrax said,

“We are not idiots. 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. We do have industry agreements including the major labels. Even today we are working on more deals.”

He added that although “ink hadn’t dried” on some of the deals, Qtrax still planned to deliver on its promises “within months.”

We Say: Hadn’t dried? If you listen to the labels, it sounds like the ink hasn’t even been put down on paper yet.

In addition, as we know, with the Qtrax app being required for searching, downloading and playing of tracks, despite their assertion of “no spyware,” you know there is some “phoning home” going on in order to provide the number of times each track is played for revenue purposes. Sounds like something that will get privacy advocates’ hackles up.

And with no iPod support (at least for now, if ever), will this service be DOA? If it was me, I’d hold off … unless you want to try out their software just for comparison purposes.