Posted on 06/04/2006 3:10:19 PM PDT by Star Traveler
MOSCOW - A Russian website that lets visitors download albums for less than $1 is a smash hit with music fans -- but not with U.S. trade and music industry officials.
The site is a pirate, they allege, adding that Russia's failure to close it down presents a direct obstacle to the country's negotiations to join the World Trade Organization.
[ ... ]
The website www.allofmp3.com just adds to the dispute.
The site's knockdown prices, coupled with its huge catalogue, crisp design and convenient downloading software make it a strong draw.
[ ... ]
"MediaServices pays licence fees for all materials downloaded from the site subject to the Law of the Russian Federation," the site says, citing an agreement with the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society.
That group, which goes by the acronym ROMS, says it collects and distributes royalties for online use of copyrighted music. ROMS claims that under Russian copyright law, it does not need permission from copyright holders to licence the sale of music on the Internet.
[ ... ]
(includes only minimal, selected excerpts; majority of article left off; go to link to read the entire article...)
(Excerpt) Read more at canada.com ...
China - piracy capital of the world has no problem getting in the WTO, but an Mp3 download site could derail the Russians??
the music and movie industry sure is a powerful bunch huh? I'd say even more powerful than the the UN
But American Music Distributors only pay royalties if the music's publisher has joined one of the American Organizations .... either ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC.
The American royalty collection organizations are not interested in American Artists getting royalties. They are interested in American Royalty Collection organizations getting their cut from all sales.
how do you pay? no way I am sending my credit card # to them.
You said -- "What allofmymp3.com is doing is called theft. Neither the artist who produced it, nor the publishing rights holders have authorized their distribution through allofmymp3.com. Just because some corrupt Russian legislators legalized it doesn't change a thing, it just makes them theives too."
If a person believes in the sovereignty of the U.S. and it being a country who has the rights to their own laws (apart from "globalists' agendas"), then one has to also agree with the sovereign laws of other countries, too -- at least "in principle".
What you have a disagreement with -- here -- is simply the mechanism by which *they* (i.e., "the Russians") decide to compensate the artists and how much they decide to compensate the artists. They do *have a system* in place to do that very thing. You just don't like *their mechanism* -- and like RIAA's mechanism better. It's their right to choose their own mechanism.
For example (in "another area" of law and "social issues") -- we could talk about "minimum wages" and whether employers are *stealing* from their own employees by not paying them enough money. They are profiting from their own theft from their own employees (some say). So, we should make the minimum wage laws *as high as possible* so we don't "steal from employee wages" -- right?
You could make that argument that it's *theft* of employee wages, too. But, then again -- if the shoe is "on the other foot" -- all of a sudden the argument "shifts" -- doesn't it?
You also said -- "Just like when some banana republic authorizes seizure of oil company property its theft."
And just like when employers force emplyees to take sub-living-wages and steal from their employees, too -- huh? Except it's "legal" here -- right? Or, rather, because it's a "principle" what we abide by, that we pay *as little as possible* because it's better for "business" in this country -- right?
Well, you get the idea...
You also said -- "What part of taking somebody else's creative property and reselling it without their permission isn't theft? Just because you have a beef with the RIAA (and who doesn't?) doesn't make it right."
You say it's "theft" -- but there *is a mechanism* in place to compensate artists and recognize their intellectual property. So, it's not like you say. It's more like the "minimum wage laws" -- in which you don't like the "wage" amount that is being paid -- and thus you're saying since they are paying "too little" they are "stealing". And likewise, I guess some employees could say that since employers are paying "too little" in minimum wages -- they are "stealing" too -- even if they are complying with minimum wage laws.
You also said -- "And any idiot who would give a credit card or debit card to these jokers deserves what willhappen when this house of cards comes tumbling down."
That's a horse that been "beat dead" a long time ago. They've already *established* a track record and go through an International banking service for their charges. In all these years of operation, they've never had a problem. AND -- if there ever was a problem -- I would make *one phone call* -- and *any charge* would be reversed the very next day. I've never had a problem -- and *in the entire world* -- not a single person has had a problem.
That's a "scare tactic" used by the RIAA -- just to keep people from using it. You can check it out and find *not single instance* of one single fraud of credit card usage.
And, this can actually happen with *any* company or agency on the Internet. The banks have made it so that it's not a problem with their customers -- unless you've got a lousy bank that makes you responsible for it. My bank doesn't -- for me.
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said -- "China - piracy capital of the world has no problem getting in the WTO, but an Mp3 download site could derail the Russians??"
YEAH -- it really sounds more like RIAA propaganda to me.
Regards,
Star Traveler
Exactly, sounds like a front for the Russian mafia to collect credit card numbers.
You said -- "how do you pay? no way I am sending my credit card # to them."
It's protected. You don't have to worry about that. BUT, if you are, some banks have "one-use cards" for you to use on websites. My brother tells me that his bank does -- and he uses a "one-time number" for a single charge. You could do that.
Or, you can get (from your own bank, like I can from mine) a card that you "charge" with (let's say) -- $25. It's a "Visa Card" (a gift card that spends like Visa) and it can't be charged for more than the amount supplied on the card.
So, there are several ways to address your concerns.
But, really..., there are no concerns for charging it. In all these years -- not a *single person* has ever had a fraudulent charge from them. I've checked up on it, extensively and repeatedly -- over the years -- on this very issue. I've never come up with a single problem.
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said -- "Exactly, sounds like a front for the Russian mafia to collect credit card numbers."
Maybe that could be true for other web sites that are unknown or obscure. And I wouldn't recommend anything obscure. But, these guys are not obscure and they are not unknown. They've been "written about" for years -- and in major publications. And this has been looked into, as far back as three years ago -- that I'm aware of. There has never been a problem with them.
Any accusation -- such as the one that you're mentioning -- is simply a vague and undirected accusation that doesn't hold up to over three years of *history* that they've had along with the many articles and "investigations" that have been done on them.
And look at it this way -- what would be an *easier way* for RIAA to "shut them down" than to *prove* credit card fraud. RIAA has been *unable* to *ever* prove that -- and they've got the "resources" to prove that -- for sure.
Regards,
Star Traveler
If it's sticking it to the RIAA, this site is capitalism as it would be for us - if Hollywood didn't own Congress.
You said -- "Dude, the STEAL the property. It's OK by Russian laws."
They don't steal property. Their system of copyright laws do compensate the artists.
See post #25.
By the way, do you think that employers are stealing from employees by not paying them enough money for the work that they do -- and that we should raise the minimum wage laws to compensate the employees "more fairly"? I was just wondering -- since you think that the Russians should compensate the artists "more fairly" and that they are not paying them enough.
I thought you might also be "on the minimum wage laws" too and getting them *raised* to pay people more money ("a living wage" perhaps?).
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said -- "If it's sticking it to the RIAA, this site is capitalism as it would be for us - if Hollywood didn't own Congress."
The RIAA is definitely a "globalist" company. They want the laws of the U.S. to be "under" globalist control (not agreeing to a country's *individual sovereignty*) -- and thus -- they would *also* want the Russian laws to be "under control" of the "globalist community" -- you see...
Regards,
Star Traveler
It seems that with this weekend's publicity (and the URL), this site will now skyrocket in popularity.
You said -- "It seems that with this weekend's publicity (and the URL), this site will now skyrocket in popularity."
They "periodically" go through this kind of "publicity" (over the years). I've seen it several times before.
I'm betting the RIAA just *hates it* when the publicity hits mainline news sites. In fact, I'm betting that the RIAA is trying to "keep a lid" on the "news" that gets on the mainline media about www.allofmp3.com.
I've wondered why there has *not* been *more* news about this site -- since it's 1/10 the price of every other site in the world. I'm guessing that the RIAA tries to "kill" all the news they can about this site.
Regards,
Star Traveler
I'm sure that's great comfort to the owners of the material who are being ripped off by allofmp3.com.
Spare me the half-assed rationalizations. Either Russia changes its laws to protect American property owners, or we're going to bring economic pressure to bear upon Russia until it does.
Simple as that.
You said -- "or we're going to bring economic pressure to bear upon Russia until it does."
I didn't know we had an RIAA agent on Free Republic. This "we" you are talking about must be "you and the RIAA" -- right? It certainly isn't "me" -- that's for sure...
Does Free Republic allow "globalist propaganda" here -- to remove sovereignty from the United State Constitution? I guess we're rushing into the position that the U.S. is simply a "vassal state" of the "world global order".
Regards,
Star Traveler
You also said -- "I'm sure that's great comfort to the owners of the material who are being ripped off by allofmp3.com."
I guess the same thing could be said (in another "area") about the minimum wage laws, too.
Are you in favor of raising the minimum wage laws to provide more money for those people who are getting "ripped off" by their employers? I was just wondering. You seem to fit into that category.
Regards,
Star Traveler
This is the type of deal that can last until it actually begins to mean real numbers. Then the major intellectual property countries use their leverage to get the infringing state to amend their intellectual property laws. This has happened numerous times.
It's theft. Everyone knows its theft, even the infringing country that is using the cloak of sovereignty to get away with it.
As to the credit card issue. I was thinking more of the RIAA tracing the numbers to the infringing parties in the US when Russia gets their arm twisted hard enough to end this blatant abuse of copyright.
This is the type of deal that can last until it actually begins to mean real numbers. Then the major intellectual property countries use their leverage to get the infringing state to amend their intellectual property laws. This has happened numerous times.
It's theft. Everyone knows its theft, even the infringing country that is using the cloak of sovereignty to get away with it.
As to the credit card issue. I was thinking more of the RIAA tracing the numbers to the infringing parties in the US when Russia gets their arm twisted hard enough to end this blatant abuse of copyright.
I've NEVER had a problem using my credit cards in the former Soviet Union (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics, etc.). BUT, I've had my identity stolen (twice if the stolen VA records get used that way) in the US. If the "mafia" is involved in this sort of operation (the website) it would probably make most of its money from demanding "protection money" from the owners. That way the money keeps coming in. One well publicized incident of stolen identity and that site would collapse, i.e., no more money for the mafia.
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