Manage updates with the Download AppOctober 18, 2006 11:35 AM PDT
Visa halts its service for allofmp3.com
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"It's no longer permitted to accept Visa cards," said Simon Barker, a Visa International spokesman. "The action we've taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and international copyright law."
The news comes as allofmp3.com launches a public relations campaign to counter claims by the U.S. government that the site is an outlaw operation. On Tuesday, allofmp3.com announced plans to give away hundreds of thousands of albums for free, according to a story in the International Herald Tribune.
U.S. trade representatives say allofmp3.com is profiting from unauthorized music sales. Executives of allofmp3.com say that the company carefully adheres to copyright law in Russia. That doesn't satisfy U.S. music labels' concerns about copyright infringement, however.
Like music download sites that came before it, such as Napster and Kazaa, allofmp3.com offers unlicensed music for deeply discounted prices.
After years of court battles, Napster and Kazaa now cooperate with record companies. Other sites around the globe, such as Spain-based Weblisten.com, have succumbed to legal pressure and shut their doors.
The U.S. has indicated that by allowing allofmp3.com to continue operating, Russia could be jeopardizing its bid to join the World Trade Organization.
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Visa International, music download, Russia, copyright law, Napster Inc.
38 comments
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RIAA nazis are always mad that they aren't ripping off the consumer as much as they did in years past.
I don't know if I agree with this. allofmp3 states they are absolutely licensed "in Russia" and that they regularly make payments to the RIAA equal in thier country. I have no way of verifying this but its their argument.
I don't think its fair to compare them to Kazaa and Napster which were free for all peer2peer networks. Without even the scent of legitmacy as per music files.
AllofMp3 is more accurately described as a really cheap iTunes for Russians. (not that I am defending them).
Sure... there are laws in the U.S., and their are laws in Russia. They do differ.
But, there are also International Copyright Treaties, of which the U.S. and Russia have both signed. Violation of these treaties, especially by allofmp3.com, is one major roadblock to Russia joining the WTO.
Basically Allofmp3.com was getting away with this due to a loophole in Russian copyright law. Essentially they were operating as an on-demand internet radio station, charging for the bandwidth for you to download and listen to the songs. They weren't selling you the music so you never had ANY legal right to *OWN* that music, you could just listen to it just as you can listen to a regular radio station.
This loophole in Russian copyright law was closed on the 1st of September of this year. Ever since then Allofmp3.com has been operating fully outside of the law. They are now 100% illegal in Russia and, as such, it is fully illegal to import (buy) music from them.
The RIAA and its lackies can all burn for all I care.
What if Visa decided that they didn't want to handle donations to Deomcrats? Or to certain non-profits that oppose big business? Or to adult video stores? Where does it end? Does Visa have the right to decide where, when, and how I spend my money?
You can spend your money however you want. But if you want to use Visa's system of credit, you have to abide by their rules. You've already signed the agreement, and so did allofmp3.com. The difference, is that allofmp3.com violated the agreement - so they can no longer use the Visa system.
But I have used the service for a while now and I have never found a discrepancy in the quality of music I paid for and what I received.
AllofMp3.com is an amazing service. And I am not just talking about the price. I would be willing to pay $.99 a song if, and only if, I received DRM free music and a 192 bit rate. I have never shared the music I have downloaded from AllofMp3, I see no need to expose myself to lawsuits. I only use the service because I do not want buy any content, books, music, movies that are not guaranteed to play on a device I buy 5 years from now.
What the music industry needs is to allows DRM free downloads or a standard DRM scheme (meaning the music I buy from napster can play on my iPod). Online music will never truely take off until these hurtles are overcome.
It's a simple fact that if the Big 5 actually listened to their customers and fans, people would buy more "legal" music.
1- DRM, unfortunately, is here to stay. Why not make it as unobtrusive as possible? I don't want to be locked into having to use the song on my iPod only. What if I get a new device that uses WMA? Make the media and DRM interoperable.
2- Better value. When I purchase a CD at $15, which has an average song count of 15 songs.... suddenly, iTunes doesn't look like a good deal. Sure, I can go subscription, but I actually want to have a copy of the song "of my own" (and yes, I know I'm just buying the "rights" to use the song). One of the key factors to AllOfMP3's success, is it's pricing. Tiered pricing, if launched properly launched and accepted, can give customers a good deal. That, however, is NOT an excuse to charge more than a dollar per song.
The "Wal Mart Effect" will win if you allow it. Sell lots of songs for little money (say, as low as $.30/song) and you WILL sell more than you would at a much higher price. Stop ripping us off, and we will show you loyalty. Screw with us like you have, and now you see where we go.....
3- Stop assuming everyone is out to steal your content. By integrating root kits and other nasty tech into digital media files and CDs, you are basically saying that you don't trust any of your customers. If I love a song that I just listened to, and I want a friend to hear it and give them a copy- you should feel HONORED. Honored that you may have a new fan/customer that may want to buy your content. Let us share, stop locking everything down, and again, we will reward you with loyalty.
AllOfMP3 would not last very long if the Big 5 accepted their fate and evolved. Using some tips from above and giving customers more incentive would go a long way to ensuring we all have a better digital media experience. Until then, AllOfMP3 is on my bookmarks list.
useful as not having DRM. It has to limit what you can do with
the song otherwise its not doing its job and if it limits you in
some way than some people will consider it obtrusive no matter
how unobtrosive it is. I have no problem with iTunes because I
like the iPods and thus thats what I'm going to buy. However I
think the makers of MP3 players should agree on a way to "pair"
a player with your computer. That way you can use whatever
player you want but still can only transfer music to "paired"
player. And the iTunes DRM format is one of the most
unobtrusive forms I have seen all you have to do is burn your
music to a CD and you can do whatever you want with it. $.99 is
not a lot to pay in my opinion, sure if you want all the songs on
the CD then its not much less then buying the CD but how often
do you like all the songs on a CD? Most of the time I only like 2
or 3 songs on a CD, so the CD would be a waste of money. With
all that being said I'm not a big fan of DRM, I just understand
why its there.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.potomacflacks.com/pf/2006/10/firm_arranges_s.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.potomacflacks.com/pf/2006/10/firm_arranges_s.html</a>
Most interesting is that the RIAA is not accepting payments from ROMS. They seem to neglect to mention that they are turning down money offered when they claim they are not compensated for sales by allofMP3.
Typical smoke and mirrors on the RIAA's part.
This is one of the best looking and operational sites I have ever seen. As a member you can preview the whole cut/album instead of just 30 seconds. The site is very pleasant on the eye (clean and professional). Navigation is European logical and not American expected. Tough, once you understand, you'll do just fine. The ability to choose your format and quality level and the way the product is delivered, is shear genius. We won't being seeing this in the states.
I agree that the Artists and the Record Companies should get their "FAIR" share. But enough is enough. I use to work for several record companies and the gluttony and monetary waste was/is appalling. But their over zealous money grubbing is coming to an end and anything that promotes that scares them and the purveyors of this become fair game in their eyes. Get over yourselves and be thankful we want your over priced music. I was told by a Peaches/Sound Warehouse Regional Manager when the CD was coming out that I would love the new format and that it allow them to "Lower" the price since they were cheaper to make. I haven't seen CD's any cheaper than vinyl and vinyl is still better sounding. It's obvious that we're over their antics. Look at the demise of Tower Records.
All this threatening and cutting off services is only going to push those "buyers" to peer-to-peer DL services and no one will get any cash.
This and the crippling DRM are the reasons I don't and probably never will "buy" songs online. But you're right, the RIAA will never correct this problem.
Why is it a problem? Well, although the RIAA would rather have me re-purchase the same song over and over for different applications, no consumer in full understanding is ever going to support that idea. However reality is that at home on my stereo, MP3s at 160K sound like crap. I want lossless audio for my permanent collection. (Perhaps I'm stange in that I have every CD I've ever purchased and view my music collection as a growing asset I have invested in and accumulated over my lifetime.) However in my car, on a player used for running etc, lossless files are overkill and huge space wasters. I have a justifiable need to be able to convert the music I have into different formats/rates for different uses. I really shouldn't have to go through some crazy burn to CD, re-rip gyrations to accomplish this with music I have paid for.
Rock On!
So no big deal, they didn't miss a beat. Miss a beat, get it? That's a funny. A music download site, not missing a beat? Music? Beat?
Oh, nevermind.
The fact that the record labels have elected to not sign on with the Russian version of performance rights organizations BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC is not AllofMP3's fault. And the truth is that I buy more discs now from Amazon et al BECAUSE I have been exposed to so much more incredible music at great prices from AllofMP3. The RIAA and the U.S. gov't have absolutely got to end the Gestapo-like policing of this issue. Enough said.
I use AllOfMP3 all the time and, in all honesty, I think AllOfMP3 is an awesome site! So far, the best part about AllOfMP3 is that, due to the fact that AllOfMP3 contains far more artists and albums than most other music sites, AllOfMP3 has introduced me to some of the most interesting artists and music (from around the world) Ive ever heard--much of which Ive NEVER heard of before!
Although I do feel sorry for the artists losing some money due to the cheap downloads, I think its time for all of todays musicians to realize that music is ripped and shared for *free* a few billion times per month worldwide! I think its also time that, with all-due respect to the musicians, if musicians care about making lots of money--especially those who are greedy, they should consider at least finding other jobs as well *in addition* to their music career. Look at some of the acting careers many musicians have, for example!
After all, this IS a changing world and, as for most other non-musicians these days, people are changing careers more and more often. Considering that, if I was a musician and/or someone that produced material that can easily be freely distributed and copied all over the world, I would consider holding at least one second profession in addition to music.
Bottom line is this. Is it better to have a site like AllOfMP3.com continue running so that there is *some* money being made, OR take the site down and risk all of its former users getting into the habit of file sharing--thus increasing the amount of file sharing worldwide substantially?
Lee
if for you allofmp3 is great than you can use it! But i know more russian mp3 stores than cheaper allofmp3 - check my hub <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://hubpages.com/hub/russianmp3site.." target="_newWindow">http://hubpages.com/hub/russianmp3site..</a>.