Small Glitch With Qtrax. No Deals?

Wow. The other day Qtrax announced they had deals with all of the major record labels. It turns out they didn’t. I mean they don’t. Ouch.

A revamped online file-sharing service that promised to offer unlimited, free music downloads from all the major record labels hit an apparent snag Sunday after one denied it had given the service permission.

Qtrax touted in a press release Sunday morning that it was the first Internet file-swapping service to be “fully embraced by the music industry,” and boasted it would carry up to 30 million tracks from “all the major labels.”

New York-based Warner Music undermined that claim, declaring in a statement that it “has not authorized the use of our content on Qtrax’s recently announced service.”

Universal Music Group and EMI Group PLC later confirmed they did not have licensing deals in place with Qtrax, noting discussions were still ongoing. A call to Sony BMG Music Entertainment was not immediately returned.

Isn’t this kind of like moving a bunch of heavy stuff in your truck and after the backend gets all scratched up, going out and buying a bed liner? Why on Earth would they do something like this? I hope the next time they decide to issue a press release they actually tell the truth, it may help in the long run.