Botched Launch for New Music Service

A distributor of internet file-swapping software abruptly postponed the launch of its free online music service until it can finalise music licensing deals — a detail the company omitted when it threw a star-studded coming-out party over the weekend. Qtrax’s ambitious, ad-supported music service promised unlimited, advertising-supported music downloads with the blessing of the major recording companies. That claim began to unravel just hours before Qtrax’s scheduled debut on Monday when Warner Music Group issued a statement that it had not authorised the firm to distribute its artists’ music. Other major record labels soon followed