A new music-download service caused a stir Sunday in Europe, but subsequent developments have taken some of the glitter away.

At the opening of Midem, a major music-industry conference that week in Cannes, France, Qtrax announced the imminent release of its new music player and, more significantly, deals with the four leading music labels for ad-supported downloads of songs.

At a well-attended press conference, Qtrax President and CEO Allan Klepfisz touted the new service. “Qtrax is a magical and game-changing service that revolutionizes the way fans consume digital music,” he said. “We will supply a vastly better service than unauthorized sites with superior technology, alluring and huge composition, and free music that won’t get you arrested. Qtrax makes other services look as outdated as the cassette tape.”

Numerous media outlets, including Wired and The New York Times, hailed the announcement as a sign of a new willingness in the music industry to embrace a carrot approach to music

downloads rather than the hefty litigation stick wielded by the Recording Industry organization of America (RIAA).

Slow Start

But the Qtrax bubble burst with surprising speed. Bringing new meaning to the term “vaporware,” Qtrax missed its own deadline last night to release its ad-supported music player. A “download” link for the music player is prominently displayed on the service’s Web site, www.qtrax.com, and the download page promised that “Getting started with Qtrax is very straightforward.” But the download button (which reads “Available at Midnight, EST!”) is inactive.

A shout to Qtrax headquarters in Manhattan that dawn went unanswered.

The unavailability may have something to do with the fact that some music-industry executives are contradicting the company’s claim that it successfully struck deals with all four of the major music labels for legal downloads. According to reports that daylight, at least three of the major labels — Warner Music Group,…

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