February 11, 2009

By By Antony Bruno, Denver

Ad-supported music service Qtrax has finally secured licensing agreements with the four major music labels, more than a year after originally claiming to do so.

Warner Music Group is the last to provide its catalog to the service. Qtrax first launched at MIDEM last year, claiming to have completed agreements with all major labels. However that proved to be premature, and the company has spent the last year in painstaking negotiations to bring all four onboard.

The service operates like a hybrid of a subscription and P2P model. Banner ads are displayed in a media player while users stream songs, and the company further monetizes the service through sponsorships and ads displayed in the music search process.

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