A new player in the legit P2P space, Qtrax, has confirmed it now has licensing deals with both the publishing and recording businesses of the EMI Group. The New York based company has entered into a deal with both EMI Records and EMI Music Publishing, giving the newcomer a good boost ahead of the launch of its system.
Exactly how Qtrax will work is still not clear, though it is understood the system will carry advertising which will generate revenues for signed up record and publishing companies. Whether a subscription will be charged in addition to advertising revenue is not yet clear.
Despite the vagueness of exactly how the new service will work, or when it will launch, the EMI companies do seem convinced by the P2P operation's plans, with EMI Music Publishing co-CEO Roger Faxon saying that their model "fits perfectly into the EMI Music Publishing strategy of embracing new, precedent setting business models that have the potential to expand the market for music."