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Not sure if you’ve seen the stories about this amazing new online music service that will allow you to download music from Warner Music, Sony, Universal and EMI, for free through Qtrax but it appears that the company had the launch of their product only for people to be told - Psych!

Now if you were running Qtrax don’t you think you’d have checked on that before making a big fancy splash? I sure would have.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world’s biggest music companies, including Warner Music Group Corp and Sony BMG, denied that they have agreed to license songs for a free download service that was launched by Qtrax on Monday.

Qtrax told Reuters and other media outlets last week that it had deals with the major labels representing about 75 percent of all music sales, to let users download songs for free in a new service to be supported by advertising revenue.

But by Monday, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner had publicly denied that they had agreed to back the new Qtrax service.

A source close to Universal Music, the largest of the group, said it also had not signed a deal for the new Qtrax service and is still in discussions.

And a source close to EMI Group said that while its song publishing unit has an agreement with Qtrax, its recorded music arm, EMI Music, does not.

“Sony BMG can confirm it has not signed a deal with Qtrax for the ad-supported service,” said a spokesman for Sony BMG, a joint venture between Sony Corp and Bertelsmann AG.

EMI Music, Sony BMG and Warner all previously had agreements with Qtrax, which was testing a paid music download service. Sources say those agreements expired in the last year and did not cover the new free, ad-supported model now being promoted by Qtrax. - Reuters

Want to know more about this compete and utter business failure? Read this, you’ll either cringe or laugh depending on if you want to have your own business or already own your own business.

Questioned by The Times in Cannes today, Alan Klepfisz, Qtrax’s flamboyant chief executive, insisted that he had not misled the industry or music fans.

“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.” - Times

My guess, either Alan Klepfisz from Qtrax is a raving lunatic or he got played, big time, by the labels to test the idea and then when it came to the day, they weaseled out.

Look, I don’t mind doing business on a handshake, but if I’m spending a cool $1,000,000 on the launch party you better be damn certain that you’ve got legal agreements in place to actually launch your product.

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Steve

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