Qtrax CEO: 'We Are Not Idiots'

We haven't been able to track down Qtrax CEO Allan Klepfisz since our talk with him last week, but the Times Online UK found him at the Midem conference in Cannes, where he offered a more personal response to the controversy surrounding his company's vaporous announcement that it had deals with all four major labels to create "the world's first free and legal peer-to-peer music service."

"We are not idiots," he said."We wouldn't have launched the service in frontof the whole music industry unless we had secured its backing. We feel wehave been unfairly crucified because a competitor tried to damage us.
Everyone is very upset."

Mr Klepfisz's company put posters in Cannes claiming that the launch of theservice would be the "second coming," and hired stars including James Blunt,
LL Cool J and Don Henley of the Eagles for the event.

"We do have industry agreements including the major labels. Even today we areworking on more deals," Mr Klepfisz said. He added that although "ink hadn'tdried" on some of the deals, Qtrax still planned to deliver on its promises"within months."

Update: I've received word that during a panel held at Midem on Sunday, Klepfisz refused to answer questions about which labels Qtrax had signed deals with.