Qtrax Rebirth: Too Little Too Late

As the way people listen to and access music has changed, so has the business models that drive the music industry. However, the debate remains whether any model, especially where file sharing is concerned, has ever actually met the needs and demands of the public. The most successful model to date seems to be the current offering of unlimited access through subscription services. But one company, Qtrax, disagrees.

If the name Qtrax sounds familiar, that's because it is. In 2008, Qtrax announced plans to launch a free, label-backed, ad-supported music sharing service that offered 25 million DRM-protected WMA files only to be exposed soon after for falsifying traffic data and never actually reaching agreements with record labels. The company quickly retreated from the public eye, but has since sporadically announced developments, including a 2009 partnership deal with Baidu, China's leading search engine, to direct all music-related searches to its legal platform.

Now, following confirmation from EMI that it has entered into a short-term deal with Qtrax, the company is back and planning a full-scale launch later this year. Surprisingly though (and without explanation), Qtrax has chosen to stick with its initial model, opting to limit user access, rather than embracing more current models that offer users unlimited access and/or "cloud" storage, like Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Qriocity.

It is still unclear how this move will fare with consumers, but history leads us to believe the outlook is pretty grim. Other companies, such as SpiralFrog and Imeem, have gone broke trying to make this model work (even when it was considered the "best way") and while its true subscription services have grown in popularity in recent years, Qtrax's lack of freedom and usability may hinder them in the long haul.