[Rocketfan]

After a decade fighting to stop illegal file-sharing, the music industry will give fans today what they have always wanted: an unlimited supply of free and legal songs.

With CD sales in free fall and legal downloads yet to fill the gap, the music industry has reluctantly embraced the file-sharing technology that threatened to destroy it. Qtrax, a digital service announced today, promises a catalogue of more than 25 million songs that users can download to keep, free and with no limit on the number of tracks.

The service has been endorsed by the very same record companies - including EMI, Universal Music and Warner Music – that have chased file-sharers through the courts in a doomed attempt to prevent piracy. The gamble is that fans will put up with a limited amount of advertising around the Qtrax website’s jukebox in return for authorised use of almost every song available.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 261591.ece

[Ed Dantes]

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist...

And the greatest trick the music industry ever pulled was convincing us that the crap that passes for music these days is actually worth money.

What this is, really, is an attempt to cripple Apple's strangehold on the industry because of its outrageously fair pricing of $.99 per song...

[thepostman]

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist...

And the greatest trick the music industry ever pulled was convincing us that the crap that passes for (MAINSTREAM) music these days is actually worth money.

What this is, really, is an attempt to cripple Apple's strangehold on the industry because of its outrageously fair pricing of $.99 per song...

fixed it for you...because there is some great independent music out there today....

[SuperJon]

The reason most bands don't care about downloading music is because they don't make money off of the cd sales. As long as their name is getting out there, and people are hearing they're music, they're ok with it. They realize that the more people that know their music is good because that increases their merch sales and the attendance at their shows, and that's where they make their money.

[ALUmnus]

Or, maybe not:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/arti ... article.do

doh!

[TDDance234]

That didn't take long.

[PAmedic]

I was gonna add : imagine being the poor sap who got sued over Napster downloads- and now its ok

but maybe not, after all.

[Hold My Own]

it hasnt been free for years???


I'm confused

[PAmedic]

Legal Free vs. Questionably Legal Free

[DeathCab4LU]

Qtrax launched last night at midnight and it is already blocked by the University....lol

[Hold My Own]

Hmmm...well they could just use the method Thepiratebay.org uses....offer EVERYTHING on earth for free...get 1.5 milliion users online at the same time and make MILLIONS in advertising and when the sweedish govt wants to shut you down just buy your own island


I've been spoiled now with the pirate bay...i dont have to download songs individually anymore...i know can download albums with just one click and a discography where it has all of their albums that artist has made


then of course i see if I like the music so I'll go buy the album

[PAmedic]

then of course i see if I like the music so I'll go buy the album

nicely done.

[Hold My Own]

I think I can still get sued for not buying the albums I dont like...so I will correct myself I will buy all the albums someday

[phoenix]

Qtrax was a bad idea that got worse as it went along. Download all you want -- unless you actually want to listen to it on your iPod. WE have deals with the labels -- well, not really. Download our software if you want to actually listen to the music, and check out these great ads we're making you look at.

http://www.podcastingnews.com/2008/01/2 ... c-service/
http://www.podcastingnews.com/2008/01/2 ... vaporware/