Today at 9pm PST, QTrax beta will be available for download.
According to the Time’s Online, QTrax is supported by all major record labels and would allow users legally to download some 25 million songs. According to reports, users would also be able to transfer songs to mp3 players, burn CDs, and rip CDs to the QTrax player. According to QTrax’s website, the QTrax application is the world’s first, 100% legal and free peer-2-peer music application. However, a number of record labels are reporting that they have not entered into a license agreement with QTrax.
Napster and Rhapsody already have plans where users can listen to unlimited songs over the Internet, but both require fees for the service, which then allow you to transfer tracks to digital music devices. These plans have monthly fees ranging from free to listen to $14.99 for music “to go”. iTunes, requires you to buy each song and works only with iPod digital music players.
QTrax will be supported by ad revenue and will pay license fees directly to the record labels for use of their content. End users will pay nothing.
Is this the future of file sharing?