[JDW]

Dan Moren said:

I wasn't aware that rapidshare was a legal download source for music.

Maybe it is in Canada? :-)
Speaking of which, forget the iTunes. We need more maple syrup competition! It's outrageous one has to pay so much to sweeten one's pancakes in the morning!

[NONfinis]

It would seem to me that Itunesisdead, iphoney, Stanley, and now luckybleu are simply one-in-the-same, and shills, trying to get people to visit Qtrax's site, for some unknown, bizarro reason, and would better be left ignored, their voices to eventually fade away like those of the music services that did try to compete with iTunes all these many years. Common sense and logic both indicate that iTunes isn't going anywhere anytime soon, whereas if it's to be successful, Qtrax has a lot of work, and needs a heck of a lot of luck, to make any inroads.

[Stanley]

"The truth is, these people haven't been rock solid in their message or delivery. I think that warrants a certain amount of skepticism."

you are absolutely right. But that was then and this is now. The deals are done, have a look yourself at he deals if you need help in writing your articles.

"Oh. I wasn't aware that rapidshare was a legal download source for music. "

I was referring to middle america, not myself. Think of all the house wives that listen to music at home from their computer. Under the current economic crises I'd say switching to Qtrax may not be all that bad for current itunes users.(who pay for their music) If I buy music it's from beat port, not itunes. When it comes to major record labels, I'll use Qtrax.

"They've been monetizing their music for a long time. Records. Cassette tapes. CDs. Digital downloads. But it's not a fight between free music and stealing music. iTunes proved?with billions of songs sold?that consumers are willing to pay for a product that is worth their money. I think letting people pay for a good product will win over a free, unusable product every day of the week. "

Dude these products you refer to are practically obsolete. Have you been to an actual music store recently? I didn't think so. My point was specifically about the new age of music distribution. 67 billion downloads illegally a year, and only one billion downloaded legally. That leaves a whole lot of downloads that are not monetized. Mac users are a small percentage of the populate. It just so happens this article was written on a Mac forum, that's it that's all. Why don;t you make yourself usefull, and actually comment on the site qtrax.com

[Chris Breen]

NONfinis said:

It would seem to me that Itunesisdead, iphoney, Stanley, and now luckybleu are simply one-in-the-same, and shills, trying to get people to visit Qtrax's site, for some unknown, bizarro reason

The thought that some might have motives beyond the mere edification of our readers has occurred to us. First-timers voicing such strong passions about a Windows-only service isn't an everyday event.

But it does allow us to talk about broader issues and speak about Qtrax's past and its current limitations. If the point was to pimp the site, those efforts may have backfired.

[Chris Breen]

Stanley said:

>Why don;t you make yourself usefull, and actually comment on the site qtrax.com

OK, I went and looked for some information on how advertising is delivered -- what would I, as a Qtrax user, have to look at? For how long?

Not a word. So, in regard to telling me what I have to suffer in exchange for the service, complete fail.

Quote

67 billion downloads illegally a year, and only one billion downloaded legally. That leaves a whole lot of downloads that are not monetized.

And explain again how Qtrax is going to monetize those 67 billion tracks? The people who downloaded them are suddenly going to have a change of heart and opt for an ad-laden website that delivers copy-protected music to Windows media devices?

[Stanley]

those 4 people you mentioned are all different people. It's all in the IP address, so you will be proven wrong. No one said I-tunes is going away, or necessarily threatened by Qtrax. NONfinis, you sound a little bizzaro yourself. This article was written about the service, hence the site. Don't you think you should check it out before you open your' mouth? This article , had it been unbiased, would have directed you to the site, and let you judge for yourself. In stead it jams an opinion down your' throat. From what perspective can that article be finished with a closing statement that the service is only in the states for now, but that the rest of the world is not holding it's breath. I know people abroad just waiting to test out this service, including myself. What do you know about people abroad?

[Chris Breen]

Stanley said:

those 4 people you mentioned are all different people. It's all in the IP address, so you will be proven wrong.

How can you possibly know this? luckybleu has posted this same stuff in other forums, so he or she is clearly a shill.

[JDW]

Stanley said:

What do you know about people abroad?

As someone who lived 24 years in the USA and the last 14.5 years in Japan, I suppose I can answer that. We have record stores here (Tower is big) and lots of people still buy CDs. They also pay more for them here in Japan than anyone has ever done in North America. The iPod is big here, and so is music on mobile phones.

And yes, Canadian maple syrup is still outrageously priced here in Japan too.

[James_Dempsey]

Quote

No one said I-tunes is going away, or necessarily threatened by Qtrax

Actually, YOU said it. Your username started out as iTunesIsDead.

[Stanley]

Chris, you are a real hero. The advertising is off to the right. If you didn't notice, it's because it's completely unobtrusive. you don't have to watch any adds to access the library. This isn't some free service that makes you watch and add in exchange for free music. The adds are banner style. Much like google.

"And explain again how Qtrax is going to monetize those 67 billion tracks? The people who downloaded them are suddenly going to have a change of heart and opt for an ad-laden website that delivers copy-protected music to Windows media devices?"

All your points are lost because there is no ad-laden. Let me give you a good example of why I would use Qtrax. Let's say I'm in the mood for some old Stones. I can either look for it, or find it. If I go to I-tunes, providing they have it in their catalog, I will find it. No searching on google and going through rapidshare or torrent sites. That is a smooth operation for me. Or I can search for it on the net, go through broken links etc. With Qtrax, much like I-tunes, you find the music, you don;t need to search for it. If I want some old stones, I punch in Rolling stones, all the albums come up, and I download any of them in record speed for free. In this case I am listening right off my Macbook pro, through Adam speakers in my studio. No need to go through these torrent sites which I don't really like. I go straight to Qtrax, and have my music in seconds. How's that for a freakin' good service. Let's hear you argue that one out bud.

[Stanley]

"Actually, YOU said it. Your username started out as iTunesIsDead."

you quoted the wrong person

[Stanley]

"How can you possibly know this? luckybleu has posted this same stuff in other forums, so he or she is clearly a shill."

first of all, I don't see how someone who is positive about a new service is a shill. Secondly, if he was really trying to be a shill, he would change his user name every time. That would avoid guys like you pointing the finger and making false accusations. Some of you seem to be caught up in the politics, and not the service. Here's something that was written in response to one of the comments here on another forum

"These types of articles REALLY show why Qtrax is going to catch on like wildfire. People really don't see the full picture yet. When they can actually download ALL FOUR MAJOR catalogs PLUS the Indies, PLUS international music. Man, oh man! Clear the isles.

We didn't even mentioned the "side" sales that will occur and create revenue for Qtrax - ticket commissions, merchandise, if someone REALLY needs a DRM-Free MP3 version, they can even get that through Qtrax (probably through Amazon) and they will get a piece of that too!

And the guy that responded that ad-sharing revenue will DECREASE what's going to the rights-holders, and therefore piracy will continue. WHAT????? One has nothing to do with the other! Piracy is because people don't want to pay to get the music. Revenue sharing has to do with the labels and the artists. They are not connected in any way (except nobody gets paid through piracy). It will create MORE revenue for the labels/artists. The guy is clueless.

Also don't forget that Music is the first target. There's still the Video/Movie market to conquer One thing at a time, though.....

[ItunesIsDead]

Chris, your perspective is not straight. Look, the iPod is a closed system. iPod/iTunes and that's it. That to me is the ULTIMATE type of restriction. If I buy an iPod, I should be able to put my music on it as if it were a drive, thumb drive, multi-room music system, whatever. And to say you would go to a bitTorrent, Limewire and the like, well, that's illegal. People don't want to be illegal - they just want free music.

Back to the iPod/iTunes lockup. You keep harping on this ONE DEVICE issue. Isn't the iPod ONE DEVICE? You are contradicting yourself. Yes, the iPod is ONE device, but there's a whole industry of add-ons that make that ONE device useful on other platforms (in your car, on your home stereo, even DJ devices, etc.).

Qtrax will cause a QUANTUM shift in the music business. Everything will change. And either Apple will adapt, or it will have to remain happy with a TINY (yes, Tiny) portion of music consumption. Apple figured out a way to monetize this consumption, but the PAID model cannot last. It was the death of the CD business, and it will be the death of iTunes, if Apple doesn't adapt. As mentioned in a previous post, Qtrax is NOT going after Apple's business. They are going after the illegal sites and technologies. And that, my friend is WAY, WAY bigger than Apple's current slice of the pie.

Apple, right now, is like a big ship in a small canal (lots of control) but that canal is leading to the wide-open ocean, where proportionately, that seemingly large ship will become tiny, and must now navigate through currents much stronger than itself. It is doable, but requires smart sailing. Otherwise, it will die.

Hey, Apple has $28 BILLION, it can always buy itself out of this mess. But someone else will just come along and they'll have the same problem all over again.

BTW, just for the record, I am a big MAC user. I have multiple Macs, an iPhone, and various iPods (kids have them too). So, I really appreciate Apple's technology, and my goal is NOT to be an apple basher. My original goal for my first post was to simply tell the author to get his facts straight before posting such a one-sided, un-researched article. It just ticked me off and was irresponsible journalism. But I have to call things as I see them, and in my opinion, Qtrax will be a HUGE success and will really change the music world as we know it. It may not be for everyone, but it will work for MOST people. For the record, I bought my iPhone for the interface, NOT because it's also an iPod.

[ItunesIsDead]

NONwhatever, I am only posting under this ID so don't go there. I suppose that Macworld can check IPs, emails, etc. to verify this. It just ticks me off when people go flapping off at the lip and don't have a clue what they are talking about. I know we have freedom of speech and all, but if someone is going to be a journalist, they should at least make the 'appearance' of presenting both sides of a story.

And for the record, iTunes and iPods work on PCs too, so this is NOT just about MACs. It's about the music business, in which Apple has played a very important (albeit changing) role.

GREAT DISCUSSION EVERYONE!