Qtrax

Qtrax Delays Australia Launch; Seeks $50M in New Funding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2009 - 8:27am.
New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported song download service, has missed its planned launch date for Australia, as it seeks to raise another $50 million in funding, the Financial Times reported.
tags: Deals | VC | Advertising | Music | Qtrax | CLSA |

China's Baidu Qualifies Partnership with Music Service Qtrax

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:41am.
*A clarification was made to this story.

Los Angeles
- Chinese search giant Baidu (NASD: BIDU) has issued a statement indicating that it will not in fact be directing users searching for music on the site to ad-supported downloads available from U.S.-based Qtrax -- as that company announced earlier this week, IDG News Service reported. "The partnership with Qtrax regards text-based information, such as singer backgrounds; it has nothing to do with the music itself," a Baidu spokesperson told IDG. Qtrax said in its announcement that Baidu would direct users to Qtrax "wherever Qtrax has the queried...song in its catalogue."

Clarification: IDG News Service has amended its original story, with input from Qtrax CEO Allan Klepfisz. Qtrax links will appear on artist pages on two of Baidu's entertainment-related portals, but will not feature on Baidu's popular MP3 search engine page. The company maintains that users searching on Baidu's Entertainment Portal and Qian Qian Music Online sites will be directed to Qtrax "when Qtrax has the queried artist or song in its catalogue." The Qtrax service isn't expected to launch in China until next month.

tags: Music | China | Search | Qtrax | Baidu |

Qtrax Legal Download Service Inks Deal with China's Baidu

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 8:52am.
Los Angeles - Qtrax, the provider of an ad-supported, legal song download service, on Monday announced a deal with Baidu (NASD: BIDU), China's leading search engine, that will see users searching for songs or artists on Baidu directed to Qtrax.

Qtrax Expanding Ad-Supported Download Service to Asia Pacific

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 3:25pm.
New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported song download service, plans to launch in multiple markets in the Asia Pacific region yet this year, including Australia and New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. The company added that it will expand to other territories in the new year.

tags: Advertising | Music | Qtrax |

Qtrax to Debut Music Service in Asia Pacific in October

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 8:57am.
New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported music download service seven years in-the-making, announced on Tuesday that it will begin a global roll out with a launch in the Asia Pacific region on Oct. 29.
tags: Advertising | Music | Qtrax |

Qtrax Music Service Faces More Lawsuits Over Unpaid Bills

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 17, 2009 - 2:56pm.
New York - Qtrax, the developer of an ad-supported music download service seven years in the making, is facing more lawsuits from vendors who claim they haven't been paid, in addition to one filed by Oracle over a $1.9 million bounced check, CNET News.com reported.

Qtrax Nearing Launch; Sued by Oracle Over $1.8M Payment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2009 - 11:19am.
Los Angeles - Qtrax, an ad-supported download service that stirred controversy when it publicly announced licensing deals with the major labels before they had been secured, is set to announce details for its U.S. launch, the Financial Times reported. Qtrax head Alan Klepfisz wrote in a blog post that the company is "very soon going to launch a powerfully attractive music service, with leading Internet and media companies as marketing partners. That have existing substantial users. And we'll progressively roll it out throughout the world." Meanwhile, CNET News.com reports that Oracle has sued the company for bouncing a $1.8 million check for its database software.

Qtrax Launches Free, Ad-Supported Music Download Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2009 - 12:49pm.
New York - Qtrax on Monday launched its free, ad-supported music download service, after securing licensing agreements with all four major labels and the major music publishers.
tags: Advertising | Music | DRM | Qtrax |

Qtrax Signs Warner to Ad-Supported Music Download Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2009 - 12:35pm.
Los Angeles - Qtrax, an ad-supported, peer-to-peer-based music download service, announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), the last of the four major labels to license its catalog for inclusion on the site.

Qtrax Signs Sony BMG to Ad-Supported Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2008 - 1:41pm.

New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported digital music service, announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal to license major record label Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG's catalog for its offering. Qtrax has also licensed labels EMI and Universal, as well as the major music publishers, for its peer-to-peer-based, ad-supported free song download service.

Universal Licenses Qtrax Legal P2P Service Outside of U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2008 - 12:27pm.

New York - Universal Music Group International said on Wednesday that it has licensed its catalog to the ad-supported, peer-to-peer based music service Qtrax in the territories of Europe, Asia/Pacific, South America and Africa, following a similar agreement reached for North America. Qtrax monetizes its service by selling sponsorships and advertising displayed during the search and download processes, and also provides the option to purchase music and related items throughout the Qtrax interface.

Qtrax Adds Former RIAA, IFPI Head Berman to Advisory Board

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2008 - 11:58am.

New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported peer-to-peer music download service, announced that it has added Jay Berman, former head of the record label lobbying groups the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), as co-chairman of its advisory board. "After assisting Qtrax over the past year, it is both satisfying and exciting to see its ambitious plans coming to fruition. Qtrax represents a paradigm shift for the music industry," said Berman.

Legal P2P Service Qtrax Experiences Hiccups After Launch

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 20, 2008 - 11:13am.

New York - Users have reported experiencing problems with Qtrax, the free, legal peer-to-peer music download service that launched with licenses from the major labels this week, according to reports. Hypebot reported that searches for songs from many artists on major labels EMI and Universal Music returned notices that read "Coming Soon," while Wired.com said that tracks downloaded from the service initially would not play at all, but "are now playing just fine." A company representative told Wired.com, in reference to the gaps in its catalog, that "music is being added each and every day over the next few weeks in large batches."

Qtrax to Launch Ad-Supported Legal P2P Service Next Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 13, 2008 - 10:17am.

New York - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported music file-sharing service, said in a note on its website that it plans to launch its service next Wednesday, on June 18. The company notably misfired with its first launch announcement, claiming it had landed licensing deals with all the majors at an industry conference in January before the deals had been signed. Qtrax recently signed a licensing deal with major label EMI, and has also secured licenses from labels Universal Music, Sony BMG, Beggars Group and TVT, as well as all of the major music publishers.

tags: Advertising | P2P | Music | Qtrax |

Qtrax Licenses EMI for Ad-Supported Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 4, 2008 - 1:09pm.

San Jose, Calif. - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported music download service, has announced a new licensing agreement with EMI Music, which joins Universal Music Group and the major music publishers in authorizing its tracks for distribution on the service. Qtrax fumbled when it announced in January that it has secured licenses from all the major labels before deals were signed, but has since announced deals with two of them.

tags: Advertising | Music | EMI | Qtrax |

Qtrax Signs Warner/Chappell to Free, Legal File-Sharing Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 14, 2008 - 8:50am.

San Jose, Calif. - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported music file-sharing service, has secured a deal with the last of the four major music publishers, Warner Music Group's (NYSE: WMG) Warner/Chappell, to license its repertoire for inclusion on the Qtrax service, Wired.com reports.

Qtrax Licenses Universal Music Group for Legal P2P Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 7, 2008 - 12:27pm.

San Jose, Calif. - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported music download service, has reached a deal to license Universal Music Group's catalog, the company's first major label signing.

Qtrax Licenses Finetunes for Ad-Supported P2P Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 12, 2008 - 11:45am.

New York - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported, peer-to-peer song-sharing service, on Wednesday announced a new licensing agreement with Finetunes. The deal will bring tracks from the more than 1,000 German independent labels that Hamburg-based Finetunes represents.

Qtrax Legal, Free P2P Service Licenses Beggars Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2008 - 1:14pm.

New York - Qtrax, a company developing a free, ad-supported, peer-to-peer file-sharing service, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement to include the catalog of U.K. independent label network Beggars Group. The deal includes tracks from artists on labels including Beggars Banquet, 4AD, XL Recordings and Matador Records. The company also recently signed deals with EMI Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and TVT Records.

Digital Media Week in Review: Microsoft's Bid for Yahoo; Troubles for Google? Implications for AOL?

Authored by Ned Sherman on February 2, 2008 - 7:54am.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

In my column last week, I predicted that there may be a silver lining in Yahoo’s recent troubles and low share price in the form of a possible takeover bid from rival Microsoft. Voilà! In a bold move that sent ripples through Silicon Valley before sunrise on Friday, Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced that it has made an unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid