Russia has agreed to shut down Allofmp3.com as part of a general crack down on websites offering illegal downloads. The move is in response to intimations by the US that it would delay Russia's entry into the WTO unless more was done against piracy.
Allofmp3.com counters that it is fully compliant with Russian copyright law and pays royalties via a Russian organisation. The US does not recognise the organisation in question saying that it does not have the consent of copyright holders.
The US claims that Russia has agreed to "investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute copyright works on the Internet." However a spokesperson could not confirm how long the agreement gives Russia to act.
There's plenty of other Russian sites out there doing the same thing they are that'll keep doing what they do. AllofMp3.com just was the popular one, like Napster, and lots of clones were there and just took its place. They never learn well do they?
I hate to say I told you so, but I remember commenting on this years ago. I said that if record companies keep going after companies like Audio Satellite and Napster, sooner or later there will be companies like this one open up in China or Russia, and there will be little anyone can do about it.
Record companies should have found ways to work with these services, rather than desperately trying to attack them. Pushing this industry to countries that don't recognize copyright law is hardly the right approach. They may have closed this one, but they won't close all of them.
a bit of anarchy, i'm liking that. Prohibition is a weird thing, in every instance.
Sure people should be able to warn eachother of dangers. That's how we learn to cope, as humans. When it becomes a written declaration as 'YOU WILL NOT DO such & such..' then we're just being lazy as humans. There's no need learn anymore, you just get told what not to do.
Sure you can't know every possible threat in the world, that's why we have pain. Then when we started conceptually analysing ourselves we could parallel the natural physical pain with emotional pain, instinctivly.
Why cant the companies compete with such fair prices? I buy my music from gomusic.ru, and it sounds like its a legit organization. .10 a song, a fair deal. The artist gets f****d anyway, so I'd rather f**k the hogs who have no reason to be in the business.
I support the artists by going to the concerts.
But honestly, why should people pay $2.50 etc. and pay ridiculas prices, when another is willing to offer them a more than fair bargan. Perhaps, quality of the music would become the selling point. Perhaps they'd bring to light the great underground bands, and sell more high quality music.
I've have wondered before why people like the Nigerians who run the email money scams don't run something like Allofmp3. That way they could make some 'legitimate' money and people would actually like them for it.
... their defense is really weak, if what they are talking about on that press-release is true (and what lawyer would reveal their main strategy via this method?).
How will USA control a Russian companies distribution of non-US copyright music? How can the USA slam the entire site?
I dont have a link currently but apparently the RIAA is attmpting to have the internet 'shutdown' as they are stateing in court that this is the only way to prevent file sharing. Obviously they cant win but they can screw the internet for those in the USA. IE china type firewalling and port blocking. Know your enemy people and take a stance. Boycott all products that have anything to do with the RIAA and its draconian ways. They will do anything in their power to hurt you, why pay them to find new ways?
That site has the BEST collection of music that I want to listen to. It is absolutely unbeatable. Plus you can choose encoding quality and preview music for free. I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened, so I have been downloading interesting music on a big mission, knowing that one day only companies like iTunes will be around, charging ten times as much for inferior products; a smaller (more median populist) collection, DRM, and worse encoding quality.
This dispute is not about copyright issues, since allofmp3 distribute earnings direct to artists. It is purely about the RIAA wanting to keep the cost of music artificially high so that people buy less music and they can market and promote a smaller more homogenised product.
It is as if the RIAA believe they have a right to flout the human notion of trade, where the price of something is determined by what someone will pay for it.
