[Macworld]

Post your comments for Qtrax shows how to make free, legal music downloads unappealing here

[Boydbme]

I wish I was "ranking in the momney"

[Dan Moren]

Boydbme said:

I wish I was "ranking in the momney"

You and me both. Some people have to mind their p's and q's; apparently I have to mind my m's and n's.

Fixed. ;)

[Boydbme]

that was fast ;)

oh, and about the article. I have a mac and an iPhone so i got down to the DRM windows media files part and realized the boat was already sunk.

[ItunesIsDead]

Dude, are you kidding with this article? Wake up! You fail to mention so many things, and your arrogance is equal Apple's in your assumption that iTunes will retain its current status in the music biz. First of all, Qtrax has all FOUR labels and their publishers and most major indies - something Apple hasn't achieved. Second, Qtrax will be GLOBAL. iTunes is NOT. Third, the iPod has a TINY share if the worldwide player market. Forth, DRM was Apple's, until they saw Qtrax coming (that's why they are going DRM-free. Fifth, DRM was meant to control PIRACY,which does not exist when the music is FREE! In Qtrax's case, the DRM is for counting plays, so than can equitibly distribute fees to the rights-holders. I could go on, but I will simply summarize by saying that Apple's domination in the music space us coming to a close. Monopolies are nice while they last, but they all eventually die. Nuf said.

[adshill]

I love the fact that you talk all about an online service without even giving the website a link :) shows how highly you regard what sounds like a useless piece of crap!

[adshill]

ItunesisDead... sarcasm?
iPod market share is STILL over 50% and still over double its nearest competitor. Apple have been fighting for DRM-free music for years it had nothing to do with Qtrax. By the music being free, the royalty income for artists will be LOWER therefore not dealing with the issues surrounding PIRACY.
Come on... while I understand that Apple will not be a monopoly any longer in the way it has before, its domination will continue for a long time.
And more to the point, anyone releasing music in only the .WMA format has to be either shaking hands with Microsoft in a big financial way, OR just plain stupid.

[Iphoney]

Why can't anyone realize that this COULD be GOOD for Apple. All Apple has to see is that Qtrax DOES HAVE all 4 labels' approval for free music, and then Apple calls Qtrax and says, "Hi Qtrax? Apple, here! We'd like to have your music work on our iphones, so we can sell a lot more iphones". If they don't do that, they will lose more global market share to all of the people in the world that do NOT want to pay for music, or take it illegally.

[ehren]

@iTunesIsDead (cute nickname by the way): Does Qtrax pay well?
I can't say for sure what DRM-free agreements Apple has in place, but I can say definitively that what progress they have made was in response to Qtrax. I think they'd be more worried about companies that actually you know, put out a product.

[JDW]

Unless you can boast to be over 100 years old, it would not seem possible that you have the personal experience that makes you an expert who can blatantly state, "all monopolies eventually die" (which also implies many die without government intervention). Show me the death of the Windows "monopoly," for example. If you wish to argue that these monopolies all do eventually die on their own accord, why then did the Sherman Antitrust Act come about in 1890? Perhaps because monopolies continued and continued without dying in the past? Your stance also assumes that Apple will by and large cease innovation that will allow their iTunes business to remain strong over the next few years.

I will agree with you about the "loss of a stronghold on a market" in the absence of ongoing innovation and new ideas. But we cannot yet say that the simple existence of Qtrax is in any way evidence Apple's iTunes business is on its death bed.

[Stanley]

terrible article. For one, the site in question is Qtrax.com . It has a very nice interface, and is user friendly with very unobtrusive advertising. In the current state of world economies, I'd say any service offering a library for free the size of i-tunes and bigger on a global scale will do very well for itself. Who can argue against the point of buying a song with drm from itunes for .60 to $1.00, when you can get it for free from Qtrax. Once the word gets out, this will spread like quick fire. Not to mention statistics show that people who download free music illegally would rather use a site that offers the same service legally. The amount of illegal downloads far out weigh the market share of itunes. That is the what Qtrax is aiming for, and the numbers are staggering. I-tunes will always be around, but for the father of 4 that is forced to lay off employees, and cut down his childrens' allowance, you know a free service like Qtrax will be very appealing.

[Stanley]

the site in question is Qtrax.com. Very sweet interface. As a father of 4, in these economic times, you know I will be getting my kids onto Qtrax, and off of I-tunes. Why pay .60 to $1.00 for a drm song from I-tunes when I can get it for free from Qtrax?

[AnubisIV]

Stanley said:

Why pay .60 to $1.00 for a drm song from I-tunes when I can get it for free from Qtrax?

Because it is DRM-free from iTunes (contrary to what you said...check the Apple Keynote from last month where they announced that all of the songs were going DRM free) and probably works on all of your devices, vs. Qtrax songs which are DRM'd and only work on a very small number of devices (the iPod line not being one of them).

[Stanley]

You mean you won't be able to buy drm songs from itunes anymore? I thought it was an option you had to pay more for. I heard $1.30 per song for drm free at the upper echelon of their' selection. In any case, if drm worked for itunes for many years, I don't see why Qtrax can't start out that way. One thing I would like to know is, where did you get your information regarding Qtrax songs only working on a very small number of devices? Do you have proof, or are you just throwing that out there? And for the record, Qtrax are working on having drm free songs in the future, as well as ipod compatibility.