Qtrax nabs Universal for its legit P2P music service

Universal Music Group has confirmed that it has agreed on terms with file-sharing site Qtrax to make its catalog available at no charge to the site's users.

Qtrax originally had hoped to launch in January, and claimed it would carry legal downloads from the major labels. However, the content owners pulled back on the reins and said that while in negotiations, no deals had been reached.

That changed in April, when the company signed a deal with Sony BMG to allow free access to songs for a predefined number of listens before a click-to-purchase option is offered.

Qtrax is also busy negotiating with a group that represents several independent labels, although the status of those talks is unknown. It is also unknown how the negotiations with the two remaining large labels are going.

The site previously existed for a few months during 2002 as a standard file-sharing service, but its owners shut down the service amid an increasingly hostile legal environment for P2P companies at that time.

Details of what the deal between Qtrax and UMG entails are unknown, as the label only confirmed that a deal had been reached. It is likely, however that the P2P site will share some of the ad revenue it generates to keep the service afloat with content owners.

It hopes to launch in September of this year, according to earlier statements to the press.