Qtrax backtracks while digital talk dominates.

SpiralFrog is adamant that Qtrax's botched launch at Midem will not affect the international roll out of its own ad-supported music service, which it predicts will arrive in the UK later this year.

Despite claiming to have attracted 440,000 users since its US launch in September, SpiralFrog maintained a relatively low presence at Midem.

This was in stark contrast to Qtrax's own controversial and lavish media debut. Qtrax launched on the Sunday of the event, the second day of MidemNet, promising to be the first free and legal P2P service with the support of the music industry, only to be forced to backtrack as, over the course of the day, all the major record companies denied signing agreements with the company.

It is understood that talks are still ongoing between Qtrax and the four majors, despite Qtrax jumping the gun with its announcement. A spokesman for Qtrax says that it is declining to comment at the moment, although it will probably "re-surface" in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, SpiralFrog vice president of marketing and public relations Matthew Stern says that the controversy over Qtrax will not have a negative effect on his company, saying, "The more sites that launch ad- supported businesses can only be a positive thing. It verifies the viability."

Stern explains that the company is looking to launch in the UK in mid- to-late 2008, but this depends on being able to clear rights for the tracks. "Midem has been great," he says. "People come to the stall to ask the question of when we are going to launch in the UK."

SpiralFrog already has deals in place with Universal, EMI Publishing, aggregator The Orchard and many independent labels and offers around 1.3m tracks, up from 800,000 at launch.