This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Digital
Qtrax announce global expansion
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 30 October 2009
More digital music services, and Qtrax, the ad-funded sort of licensed P2P network (“sort of” P2P, it’s definitely licensed) which caused a flurry of interest for about 19 hours when it was first announced, has confirmed it will roll out across the Asia Pacific region between 5 Nov and 24 Dec. So far Qtrax has only been available in the US. Further global expansion is expected in the New Year.
Qtrax CTO Chris Roe says this: “We think our product has evolved very well over time. As the only global free and legal download service, we have been committed to creating a great consumer interface to allow very efficient search, download and play. We will also be introducing a series of unique upsell features”.
A press conference announcing other Qtrax news is due to take place on Monday. As previously reported, Qtrax’s main weakness is that it provides downloads in files with very limiting digital rights management embedded. As with Nokia’s Comes With Music, this DRM-heavy service launched just as the a-la-carte download market was going DRM-free, with MP3 downloads the norm. Given Qtrax’s DRM requires users to be online to play tracks it really puts the service – although download rather than streaming based – more in Spotify territory, rather than competing with iTunes style download platforms or, for that matter, illegal P2P file-sharing services.
