I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but in case you haven’t heard: The era of paid music downloads is coming to an end (despite the fact that online sales are growing).
Qtrax, which has signed all four major labels (EMI, SonyBMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group), launched yesterday with 25 million songs (compared to around 3 m for Amazon and 6 m for iTunes). Note: See update below.
It isn’t pretty - the downloaded songs are not compatible with iPods and have to be played via a proprietary player built on the Songbird platform. Ads are displayed during playback, even on music devices. For now the service is Windows only, so Mac users are left out. And right now the service is down completely from all the attention it’s getting.
For most people, BitTorrent and the music search engines are all they need for their illegal-but-highly-convenient music needs. Any additional hurdles means not a ton of usage. And since services like Imeem and Last.fm provide free on demand streaming music with ads, there is already real competition out there for Qtrax.
But the trend is clear - labels have given up on DRM completely and are willing to experiment with ad supported free downloads. Once they give up on the ad supported part of the model and just realize that recorded music is nothing more than marketing collateral for other revenue streams like live performances, we’ll have gotten somewhere. But my guess is that one of the labels has to go out of business first for that to happen.
Update: based on emails we’re getting, it sounds like Qtrax hasn’t actually signed all four labels - at least one or two remain on the sidelines. Silicon Alley Insider says three of the four labels have confirmed that they AREN’T in, making Qtrax look like a bit of a joke right now (I won’t use the word “fraud” until this all sorts itself out and I’ve had a chance to talk directly to the company).
免费的音乐时代即将来临！
Ads with my music ??????????????????????
Forget it.
I’ll happily pay 99 cents per song that is multi platform compatible and ad free.
This sounds like a really stupid initiative.
I think people will support a product without ads. Having an ad supported media product puts the distributor at odds with the interest of the consumer regarding quality. The distributor gets *more* money when they have pages and pages of crap to wade through while looking for what you like. Quality is where the juice is.
Wow! Although it has ads, it is a great iniciative and a huge step forward to stop illegal downloads!
I’m very surprised to see that the major labels joined it!
@Russ, “We may end up with just the “American Idols” and Justin Timberlakes…”
Uh? What? How do you think these folks were able to “make it”? I’ll end the suspense, the big labels made them happen. With these new distribution/ revenue models, they will not make it.
Anyone making claims against TC for these views and talking about other sites reproducing TC content just hasn’t looked around at all. There are a large number of sites that reproduce TC content without attribution at all (check out ’sphere it’ and you will see).
Just because a band does not want to tour, does not mean people will buy their music (”Oh, you dont want to tour? I better buy this instead of using bitorrent”)
I see this as an amazing breakthrough, not just for the average music consumer, but the artist as well.
It’s a common misconception that the artist get’s that whole 99 cents (average price) for a purchased song from popular mediums such as Apple’s iTunes or Amazon’s service.
This, if successful, will ensure that we can enjoy music for free and have a peace of mind knowing that the Artist is getting their fair share of the pie.
And I am so glad, and equally shocked, that the Big Wigs of the record industry are on-board for this amazing venture.
On a second note, even if the “whole music industry” collapses,
I, as a musician, know that other musicians will find ways to explore their artistic cavities and produce the same comforting sounds that they have.
This service just pushes a bit further in the right direction of the freedom of creativity.
And @Russ,
I am going to disagree with your idealized model of how the music industry should and is run. To keep it simple, before the was a record label or even an industry of music, there was in it self: Music. The sound of binding creativity and passion. Money shouldn’t have been involved in the first place, but we are know slowly realizing it and are correcting this situation as consumers who no longer want the capitalistic Music Industry to have a trumping control over music.
See this Yahoo AP news article 21 mins ago which is reproduced by us and have a laugh. There is a screenshot too…..
As a consumer I like music to be free or very cheap. But I am concerned. If all music are free, how can musicians make a living? I am not sure advertising or live performance will work fairly (if at all) for many musicians. The old CD sales was at least fair, though it had a lot of inefficiency. We need to think hard to make a better world for everyone.
I hate music…it’s got too many notes.
they will never take over apple iTunes
john, owner
vanguardsf.net
musicians made their living
by wandering, bards, minstrels, drama teams, they are in all cultures worldwide
by patronage, symphonies, court musicians, also in all cultures
when tech came and allowed capturing sound and playing it back later distribution was invented, and naturally control of this resource made some winners
but music is music, we all do it because we love to do it, that is enough. living comes from something else
it will be great
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A revamped online file-sharing service that promised to offer unlimited, free music downloads from all the major record labels hit an apparent snag Sunday after one denied it had given the service permission.
Qtrax touted in a press release Sunday morning that it was the first Internet file-swapping service to be “fully embraced by the music industry,” and boasted it would carry up to 30 million tracks from “all the major labels.”
New York-based Warner Music undermined that claim, declaring in a statement that it “has not authorized the use of our content on Qtrax’s recently announced service.”
Universal Music Group and EMI Group PLC later confirmed they did not have licensing deals in place with Qtrax, noting discussions were still ongoing. A call to Sony BMG Music Entertainment was not immediately returned.
Justin Kazmark, a spokesman for New York-based Qtrax, declined to comment late Sunday.
Qtrax had been scheduled to make its online debut on Monday, a day after its splashy coming-out party at the annual Midem music business conference in Cannes, France.
READ ABOVE!!! It’s NOT legal!!! At least not yet.
agree Paul
never heaven sent
What the hell, its past midnight EST and I dont see a download link. Of course right at this second the sight is not responding. I hope I dont DDOS it because of how much I am holding CTRL and clicking Refresh
Yeah, I’ve been waiting also … guess it’s not going to happen tonight!
They’ve just made their download page blank … looks like a total no-go.
CasaMan - I’ve had that happen to me a couple times. They haven’t made any changes to the download page; it’s just that the server is getting hit so hard that the load causes weird page loads.
“making Qtrax look like a bit of a joke right now”
lol, I think you mean making YOU look like a bit of a joke right now. “Free (legal) P2P Music Downloads? Told You So.” LOL, gotta love arrogance with no basis.
Nearly 1:00 AM EST and still no download
its says available mid night on the download page… Hmmm maybe 12am isnt mid night anymore…?
Vaporware, Serviceware
1am still no download available.
I’m starting to think they’re marketing it as a p2p service but it will be seeding content so much for such a long time, that they can’t get it to run.
who knows if the first months it will be centralized, no real p2p happening.
Hello Everyone! My name is William Fleming and I am the President and Founder of TurnItUp Media.
While many companies have tapped the ad-supported music model, we at TurnItUp Media have a different philosophy. How about a 100% DRM-Free Ad-based Music Service? The music you download is paid for by the advertisers, so after you watch the ad your part is finished. Okay, so if you “want”, you can click on the advertiser’s link to get discounts and coupons for their products, but that is up to you!
With the music download phase of its Beta Test expected to launch before the end of the 1st quarter (2008), the ad-based music distributor, TurnItUp Media, is coming to the market with a respectable portfolio of over 2.4 million songs and counting — all of which are 100% DRM-FREE.
Why use any system that restricts your use of music with DRM?
Join the TurnItUp Media Revolution!
We are currently running our first phase of the beta test which enables users to test the profile system.
Come check us out at http://www.TurnItUpMedia.com.
@56 - Adam, my view of music isn’t idealized, unfortunately money drives the industry, destroying the business model won’t help music it will hurt it.
Now, is there an opportunity to create a new model? Sure, but simply trying ads is not a model. It needs to be worked end to end.
Anyone thinking this will help the musician or our access to quality content is nuts. If this and other models are the path to a cohesive model, then so be it.
Am I the only one to whom the above displayed QTrax logo looks a lot like the poster for a 70s sci-fi flick about some mind-control cult who plans to take over the world?
I hope not.
Gosh, look at that. Arrington posted something without doing basic journalistic fact-checking, spouting off on crap about which he knows nothing and is wrong. Who’d of thunk it?
I Knew this was too good to be true maybe Qtrax Lawyers got them to rethink their flawed strategy of filtering Gnutella and launching without agreements from 3 of the major labels .
Qtrax might become the laughing stock of the industry today and watch their stock price crash later today .
heddy - happens all the time, the key is that we update quickly. In this case, it looks like the company did some major misleading/lying.
MARDITOS GRINGOS ESTUPIDOS QUE SE CREEN QUE TODO EL MUDNO ES DE USTEDES NO ASI NO ES TAMBIEN DEBE SER COMPARTIDO LAS COSAS PERO NO TODO ES EN INGLES APRENDAN ESPAÑOL O CHINO QUE SU IDIIOMA SE IRA A LA MIERDA.
Silliness,
yes, but what are Michael’s views about the exercise of rights currently legally ascribed to him (his company).
Michael?
As for QTrax, they seem to be in full-launch/lie mode with the PR they’re getting in the UK by non-tech-savvy (i.e. completely ignorant) hacks in the mainstream media.
Yours kindly,
Shakir Razak
confused about the download… it says itll be available at Midnight EST… but lists no date? sketchy….
QTrax is own by a company called Brilliant Technologies Corp (BLLN.PK)
I had high hopes for QTrax, but it looks like they aren’t going anywhere soon. There is a new company coming out called turnitupmedia (turnitupmedia.com) that claims to provide free music, 100% drm-free with apparantly close to 3 million songs. Well have to wait and see
I got Invited to download the Qtrax client this morning and its Songbird with some Qtrax themed plugins they could have done this as a Browser plugin to be honest .
You can download the client from here
http://qtrax-cdod-r1.vitalstre.....s-i686.exe
And you don’t need an Invite to register
Michael,
amazing amount of news today. the team has really been cranking out the articles.
can you give us some insight into the PR world, and tell us how TC and every other blog and major newspapers like the LAT all published on this? who is QTrax’s public relations firm and what do you guys all owe them?
thanks!
wow. just checked techmeme. QTrax was in The Times - the freakin’ Times - the real one. Seriously, the press coverage is unreal. How did it happen? How did a bazillion blogs and stacks of major newspapers all write the same stuff about this? That’s the real story here.
Techcrunch discover the marketing bullshit from music start-up companies. Wow. Told you so.
on the subject of being a professional musician..
The problem with finding alterantive ways of earning money as an artist is that everybody simply can´t be on tour all the time, (and at the same time as everybody else). Some artists arent comfortable on the stage (but are supercreative in the studio) and others make music that isn suited for live performing. I don´t want commercial success restricted to those who are able, willing and good at performing live. And selling T-shirts…
That’s right, musicians won’t be paid. Next will come movies, and then books as online reading gets easier. And where will the writers go for their “alternative revenue streams?” Oh but right, why do people need books when they can Twitter their days away?
This is very bad news for western civilization. It’s a massive and looming tragedy of the commons that will destroy our creative industries. Oh, but you’re a tech guy in the South Bay who could really give a crap? Well guess what, software is information too. It should all be free, right? And the ads served up on your blog are information too, so maybe I can hijack them and serve my own ads on your blog, and that’d be fine, right? No? Your dear property rights you say? But it’s not property, it’s information!
I know the humanities are out of vogue, but maybe you guys have read a little about the bad old days before copyright protection?
I wonder if companies research the words they’re going to use as their official site name. MocoSpace caused me to think about this. The Spanish word for snot is moco, the o’s are long. Reminds me of when General Motors introduced the Nova to Mexico. In Spanish Nova means, “Won’t go”.
sorry if it’s been mentioned already, i’m not going to read all 90 comments above.
but this : “Once they give up on the ad supported part of the model and just realize that recorded music is nothing more than marketing collateral for other revenue streams like live performances, we’ll have gotten somewhere.” really upset me
i earn my living partially by performing live, and partially from tech’ing live shows for other bands. artists and labels together lose a fortune from live performances. business-wise, a show has done amazingly if it so much as breaks even. making any real profit is totally unheard of. at any stage of the game, whether you’re U2 packing an arena or some teenagers packing the local punk dive, performing live costs a lot of money. going on tour and doing a string of shows, in foreign countries, one after another, is a recipe for disaster. you’d quite literally have a better chance of making money by taking what money you already have and flushing it down the toilet.
the whole point of a live performance from a business perspective is that it’s nothing more than marketing collateral for the only actual revenue streams, being selling and licensing records. there’s a reason a band always tours the new album - they’re trying to sell the damn thing.
i love how the author seems convinced that the music industry just generates money “as if by magic”, that selling records is just a massive marketing ploy, and isn’t really there to help starving musicians afford their next round of toast. no the toast just happens by magic, complete with oysters and caviar, consumed gracefully by those lazy good-for-nothing musicians, so when they get out of bed at 6pm they’re good and ready for their next money making venture on stage down the lamb and fucking lion
Wonderful news!
Critics don’t buy records. They get ‘em free.
If the software is open source can it not be built without ads, etc?
Ваааще жиир!
http://www.gratista.com
Oh yeah baby! Gratista you soooo goood to me
Probably too late, but I am writing a few posts (one posted now) about this ‘free’ issue. Before it becomes a dogma, we have to think it through. Here is the link.
http://hyokon.blogspot.com/200.....s-not.html
Qtrax might be the first major P2P to go legitimate, but it won’t close the gap between legal and illegal downloading