Qtrax.com - (Legal) P2P for Free?

Thought P2P was illegal? Maybe you didn’t care. Now there’s a less worrisome method for getting your music for free. It’s called Qtrax. With Qtrax, you don’t have to fret about Big Business coming after you for downloading a few too many Madonna tunes. Qtrax actually works with record labels and publishers and licenses music for distribution. Advertising supplements the cost for artists and you get the music for free. There’s no spyware or malware. You can choose from 25 million artists including, Feist, Alicia Keys, and the Wu-Tang Clan among others. Simply download the player, search for your favorite artists and bands, download, and listen till your heart’s content.

“Qtrax is the world’s first free and legal peer-to-peer (P2P) digital music site. Music lovers can discover new music and legally download full-length, high-quality versions of their favorite songs while compensating both the artists and the record labels through non-intrusive and relevant advertising. Qtrax has the unparalleled support of the major record labels and all of their respective publishing divisions. Qtrax and its components are developed by LTDnetwork Inc. a division of Brilliant Technologies Corporation.”

Music fans can breathe a bit easier now. Free, legitimate downloads that supports artists and is amenable to record labels is a boon for music lovers and artists alike. P2P has been around for ages. Qtrax takes the trend to the next level.

Is Qtrax for real? It launched days ago, but users still can’t access full functionality. Advertising appears during playback and the music doesn’t work with iPods right off the bat. Will users stick to the old (illegal) P2P method?