Music downloads to become free

[Bren]

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.



here is the hitch to us...

Qtrax, a subsidiary of Brilliant Technologies Corporation, has raised $30 million (£15 million) to set up the service, which is available in the US and Europe from today. Allan Klepfisz, president of Qtrax, said: “Customers now expect music to be free but they do not want to use illegal sites. We believe this . . . has the support of the music industry and allows artists to get paid.”
Full Article http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3261591.ece


take what you like outta this article, but it seems to me IMHO that the music industry is admitting defeat. How will the small bands survive...CD sales are down another 10% this year...

[Kendog]

It may be over already.

Reports that new download service Qtrax has struck deals with the four major record labels to offer their catalogs for free, legal P2P downloading may have been greatly exaggerated.

Qtrax’s program was supposed to launch last night at midnight, but as of 12:30 PM EST, it’s still not available. This morning, reports indicated that three of the four major labels (Universal, EMI, Warner Bros.) denied signing a deal with Qtrax. However, Qtrax music site is still offering up albums by EMI all-stars Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.


http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3261591.ece

[bugjuice]

I don't think many artists and companies are going to be happy to let people download their music for free..

Nestlé are doing an iTunes offer at the moment, buy a choc bar, and get a song from iTunes for free (max 5 per account. so get more accounts!!). I think that's about as free as they're happy to let it get

[Steam]

Who's going to listen through ads, when everything is out there as torrents?

[jrandom]

Who's going to listen through ads, when everything is out there as torrents?

Personally, I don't mind paying for music, and when a film's good enough to spend a couple of hours of my life watching, it's good enough to pay $15 to go to the theatre to see.

And it's easier (and often cheaper) to rent a DVD of an older film than it is to download it via torrents.

Et cetera.

But I do like to check out new artists via MP3 before spending money.

:yes:

[Skunk]

Personally, I don't mind paying for music, and when a film's good enough to spend a couple of hours of my life watching, it's good enough to pay $15 to go to the theatre to see.

And it's easier (and often cheaper) to rent a DVD of an older film than it is to download it via torrents.

But I do like to check out new artists via MP3 before spending money.

:yes:
Ditto. I wouldn't want to do my job without pay...

[RantyDave]

here is the hitch to us...
The hitch is they are DRM encumbered. So, it won't work on your iPod. It probably won't work on my mac. And if the company behind it goes broke, or they change their minds, they won't work anywhere.

No, the music industry has got to sort it's life out. Music needs to become the razor for the blades. It needs to be the loss leader that sells concert tickets. Prince, IIRC, made a pretty tidy packet doing this in the UK last year. And "In Rainbows" became the biggest selling CD in the US despite being offered as a free download.

The other option is for the music industry to set up as a kind of extravagant PR company - you pay them and they'll hype you witless, sell your CD's, and set up gigs. It's up to you to set up a label, find investors and make the music. It would mean the end of the label's obscene contracts and would mean that someone who is an early stage investor in the next U2 would make a farking packet. This, in turn, would mean that other early stage bands have a chance of getting some funding and, hence, publicity.

Make it work like the IT industry. Kinda. Maybe.

Dave