Qtrax debut put off after burst bubble

I'm guessing the people behind Qtrax are feeling a bit red-faced and silly now after the somewhat premature launch of their music service at the weekend, writes Jillian Allison-Aitken in this week's Online.

The plan was that users could listen to unlimited free music online in exchange for taking in an ad before each track. Sounds good in theory but, unfortunately, it seems the Qtrax dudes and dudettes hadn't actually come to an agreement with all the music execs.

There's been buzz online about the plan for a while now and the whole thing got under way with a big coming-out party at the weekend.

However, on Monday, just hours before the official debut, Warner Music Group burst the Qtrax bubble by saying it had not authorised the firm to distribute its artists' music. That opened the floodgates, and other major labels echoed Warner's statement.

Oops.

Qtrax now says the launch of the service will be put off for a "short time" but still says it has the support of "rights holders" .

Kiwis appear to be a bit unimpressed with the Qtrax concept (www.stuff.co.nz/ 4377943a28.html) but I'll wait until it's up and running before I pass judgment.

However, I do think it's a good sign. How we listen to music is changing because of the internet so it stands to reason that our way of paying should have to change, too.

Music piracy isn't a new problem: people have been stealing music for years, taping from the radio or a friend's vinyl. The only thing that has changed is it's now easier to steal good-quality recordings.

We hear so much about piracy and how damaging it is to the music industry so any effort to move with the times should be given a chance. Um, so long as the company concerned actually has the right to distribute the music.

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I spent last weekend with no cellphone coverage, no internet and in fact no computer at all.

Surprisingly, it appears the world is still rotating.

Phew.

I was in Waikaia (http://tinyurl.com/ 352vx2), staying with my sister and her hubby at their crib. And falling off the wagon after a 6-month drought brought about by a particularly long course of antibiotics. No cellphone, no internet, but I did have wine. And killer moths.

I'd forgotten just how big the moths grow in that little town. I swear, some of them are as big as budgies and delight at launching themselves at the heads of unsuspecting drinkers.

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