Posted on 10/17/2006 2:08:02 AM PDT by Caipirabob
I have a buddy who was telling me about ALLOFMP3.COM, a download site that has dubious legitimacy in Russia. It's service is available to users here in the United States. I'd like to forward the discussion on this forum and get an opinion from FReepers on their take on this site. Legal or not? What are the implications for the users?
Here is some of what I have gathered in my research on the current debate:
10/06/2006 - AllofMP3 Becomes Major Chip in US, Russian Discussions
As Russia pushes for entrance into the World Trade Organization, the controversy regarding AllofMP3.com threatens to derail American approval. The United States has elevated the digital download service to the top of its grievance list, citing the destination as a prime example of Russian disregard for international copyright. The US is demanding that the Russians close the site immediately, or again be rebuffed by the WTO. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters, "I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO and having a website like that up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone's intellectual property rights."
.... Meanwhile, Sony BMG is not taking any chances. The label announced today that it is entering the Russian online music market with $0.60 downloads, part of an attempt offset AllofMP3.com's influence.
(Excerpt) Read more at digitalmusicnews.com ...
It seems that a great effort is going underway to shut down ALLOFMP3.COM. Who knows what the legal implications will be for the users and my buddy (he's a lib, but a good guy if you believe this is possible.) He got me curious and I've done a bit of initial research.
Now I'd like to cast the question into the great pool of knowledge and wisdom and occasional yahoos like myself that is FR...
So what do y'all think?
The irony is that despite the much lower price of the music, recording artists stand to make more royalties then they do in the USA.
So the RIAA is pissed. They wouldn't be able to keep 94% of the money for themselves like they do over here. Despite towering prices for music over here ($15.98 for a CD that costs pennies to make), the average recording act only sees a fraction of that. Which is why they feel compelled to tour constantly and charge $80 for tickets.
What's even better about ALLOFMP3.com is that the music you download is free of DRM. Once downloaded, it is yours to do with as you will.
I was paranoid about giving them credit card information otherwise I would have used allofMP3 a few times. I wuz tempted
What's far more interesting is that the USA is very concerned about this dipshit allofMP3 website which at the most is making $20,000,000 off US customers. While the same Bush administration could care less about the 800 billion dollar trade deficits we rack up annually. Shows how much pull the RIAA/Hollywood scum have in Washington DC. BTW Microsoft's VISTA will make it near impossible to play hacked music video and DVD.
ROMS, (Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems) gives licenses to Russian companies like Allofmp3.com to distribute content which they have laid claim to, without the owner's consent, in effect expropriating property and licensing the right to sell that stolen property to Russian firms.
Licenses given by ROMS "allow using of all works and objects of related rights only in the form provided by such licenses, and are given on behalf of all owners of copyright and related rights, including those who have not given their authority to the organization" (Section 2 of Article 45 of the Law of Russian Federation on Copyright and Related Rights). source
In short, legalized theft.
Free of DRM.... thanks. Microsoft/Hollywood/RIAA are in a big alliance with windows VISTA. They want a cut of all the action, even in Russia. VISTA will require DRM checks before you play anything
Microsoft/Hollywood/RIAA have the USA doing it's dirty work abroad in Russia. The GWBush administration is bought and sold here.
Clown, you are one to talk. You favoring the theft of Kosovo by the Muslims. Your credibility is rock bottom. When it's Christian Serbs versus Muslim we know where you stand
Seems kinda hinky to me. I haven't gone back, even though the prices are temptin' gazelle.
I sure hope so. You are right about the original intent and time limits on music "copyrights" before they entered the public domain. The RIAA scum lawyers want everyone to be for ever, an eternal 3% skim off the tables. These lawyers are lazy bastards who have bribes many in DC so that the US government is doing their dirty week in Russia and China. It seems the only trade issue we have with China is the pirating of DVDs, CDs and software on CDs. You can go to China (Russia too probably) and buy hacked windows XP for a few dollars. We could care less about our 200,000,000,000+ trade deficit with the ChiComs and how they use these profits to upgrade their military. Our only beef is hacked + pirated Microsoft and Hollywood products
Not.
I'm sorry you are a crackpot, pro-Muslim, pro-AlbanianMuslim and anti Russia. How dumb is that?
IIRC the consenus was that the site is legal (in Russia) and US citizens are at the moment legal in shopping there. There WAS some problem with the credit card stuff, but I don't recall just what.
The programs are archived so you should be able to go to dl.tv and look it up.
FWIW there's also thepiratebay.org for bit torrent stuff.
prisoner6
ALTERNATIVELY you can deposit the $10 dollar minimum via a temporary credit card number generated by your credit card company. AmEx does this and CitiCard too I think. If I need some music from allofMP3 that's what I'll do. Easier quicker than a new PayPal account. Plus I heard (in a restaurant) a gawd awful PayPal story the other day involving a $500 fraud on Ebay
BTW, the recording industry has been buying up similar sounding websites such as www.allofmymp3.com and posting links to their own websites to confuse people.
Give me heck, America. Keep Russia out of the WTO.
When I looked into this issue last, Prince's site was selling his material at a discount to members of his fan club, something on the order of $.77 per song vs. $.99 per song on iTunes or the like.
Meanwhile, over on allofmp3.com, the songs were going for around $.10
And while I can't say for sure that Prince hasn't given his consent to allofmp3.com selling his material, I think you'd have to agree with me that it seems highly unlikely, and that if that's the case, then allofmp3.com is harming prince by undercutting the prices he charges on his own site, and the ethical considerations are lost in the delight of getting something at a bargain basement price.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.