From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally

[lpara]

From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally
Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent, in Cannes

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.

Hubba, Hubba (http://entertainment.timeso nline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainme nt/music/article3261591.ece)

[CSchultz]

It's about time.

I have never understood why for the past 40 years I could hit "RECORD" on my stereo, and record a favorite song, and take the tape out to my car, but it is illegal to do the same thing with a CD?

It probably comes down to money somewhere.

[javajoy]

It really is about time. I figure since I bought the CD it should be mine and I should be able to make the songs into MP3's to play on my Computer or in my car if I want to. With me it was always a matter of available space and an MP3 takes about 1/10th of the space.

[stormy]

When you read the article, did you see this one up in the upper right-hand corner?

Music file-share site Qtrax forced into humiliating U-turn (http://technology.timesonli ne.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3264556.ece)

A website which promised to give music lovers the world's first legal file-sharing service was forced into a humiliating climbdown today after it emerged that the company had not secured the backing of the record industry.

Qtrax, a New York firm, unveiled its service with a glitzy £500,000 launch in Cannes at the weekend, hiring stars including James Blunt, LL Cool J.

Today it emerged that none of the four major labels had done deals with the site, putting a large dent in the promised catalogue of 25 million songs and prompting allegations that the site's founders had misled fans.


Doesn't this negate the first article altogether? Or, am I missing something?

[lpara]

Qtrax Debut on Hold Amid Licensing Snag

By EMMA VANDORE and ALEX VEIGA – 1 hour ago

CANNES, France (AP) — A distributor of Internet file-swapping software abruptly postponed the launch of its free online music service until it can finalize music licensing deals — a detail the company omitted when it threw a star-studded coming-out party over the weekend.

Qtrax's ambitious, ad-supported music service promised unlimited, advertising-supported music downloads with the blessing of the major recording companies. That claim began to unravel just hours before Qtrax's scheduled debut Monday when Warner Music Group Corp. issued a statement that it had not authorized the firm to distribute its artists' music.

Other major record labels soon followed.

More here (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iyWs82_A8Xu8Uj 8ko1R4QxJH5xZgD8UF64 F80)

[lpara]

I was able to download everything fine last night, but I haven't been able to confirm the registration--evidently a lot of people must be accessing the page--or maybe the page is just down indefinitely.