Qtrax, a free music download site once seen as a digital white knight for record labels fighting a losing battle with illegal downloads, will launch its service in the US on Thursday, almost 15 months after its first attempt ended in embarrassment.

Allan Klepfisz, president and chief executive, told the FT on Wednesday that a “US preview” of what he billed as the world’s first free download service to be licensed by all the major record labels was now ready to launch.