Another step in the right direction for the labels, but one major problem DRM. Peter Rojas is way ahead of the game (click here).

Ars Technica
More than a year after its expected launch, free P2P music service Qtrax has finally gotten off the ground with deals with all the major music labels. Universal, EMI, Sony, and now Warner Music Group are now all on board with the ad-supported service, and things can finally get rolling… once the software becomes available, that is.

Qtrax was originally slated to launch in January 2008, when it overconfidently boasted of having deals with the Big Four labels. It turns out that none of those deals had been signed yet, reportedly annoying the record labels and pushing the launch date back indefinitely. In February, Qtrax CEO Allan Klepfisz insisted that the music was still coming, but the first music deal didn’t land until June. Qtrax spent the remainder of the year trying to hammer things out with the remaining labels, bringing us to where we are today.

Qtrax works by offering free, legal music downloads via the Gnutella P2P network. The music is supported by advertising on the site, though don’t go thinking that it’s DRM-free or that your usage won’t be watched. Qtrax music employs Windows Media DRM that will not only prevent copying to your friends’ computers, it will also track how many times a song is played and by which artists. Presumably, this is to figure out what kind of music you like the most and target the site’s advertising better, though the company also says that the artists and labels that are played the most will get the largest payments out of the pool of ad revenue. Continue Reading

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