AllofMP3 is illegal, says music industry

May 31, 2006

Well,
we knew this was coming. Someone has had a belly full of AllofMP3 and it looks
like the pressure is on to bring this site
down! AllofMP3 sells music at a price that is just
pennies a megabyte and they don't use any DRM. You can even purchase music that
is lossless. Whereas they can exist inside Russia due to a legal loophole, they
may see the loophole tighten to a noose, if the music industry has it's way.
Today, they have accused the operators of the site, MediaServices
Inc., with failure to pay the artists.

It has been suggested that the service falls through a
loophole in Russian law; that public performances of recorded music do not
require the authority of copyright holders; that the website pays ROMS and
ROMS pays the artists; and that AllofMP3 operates within a grey area of
the law.

But this is nonsense, according
to the IFPI which represents the recording industry worldwide, with over
1,450 members in 75 countries, including Russia.

"AllofMP3.com is not a legal
service either in Russia or anywhere else," IFPI head of litigation Lauri
Rechardt told OUT-LAW today.

Rechardt said the site is
distributing music without any permission from the artists or copyright
holders.

"Unlike all the legitimate
sites, it does not pay artists or copyright holders so it is effectively
stealing from those who create music," he said. "Like most things that
appear to be too good to be true, AllofMP3.com is not what it
seems."

Regarding the claim of a licence
from ROMS, Rechardt described ROMS as "a Russian organisation that claims
to be a collecting society."

He continued: "ROMS has no
rights from the record companies whatsoever to licence these pieces of
music. ROMS and AllofMP3.com are well aware that record companies have not
granted authorisation for this
service."

The article goes on to give us a interesting tidbit of information from the AllofMP3 website itself: "You are not able to download audio and video from AllofMP3.com if is (sic) in conflict with the laws of your country of residence."

However, it seems not many are paying
attention to this disclaimer and they are happily downloading entire albums for
50 cents or so! In fact, the service has become so popular, that they are second
only to iTunes. Perhaps AllofMP3 just got too big.

Source: The Register