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Russian Music Site Offering Legal Songs By The MB

Posted by timothy on from the for-small-versions-of-legal dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting on a Russian Music site that is offering legal digital music by the MB. The site apparently has a license from the Russian Music authorities to legally distribute songs for a fraction of the price of what is being offered by iTunes and others. The report from SMH is here. Amazingly, the site offers files in any format and encoding you choose and rips it on the fly. Notifications by email follow when the songs are ready for download. Sounds a little to good to be true :)"

27 of 614 comments (clear)

  1. Dunno why no link by lordkuri · · Score: 5, Informative

    click me

    1. Re:Dunno why no link by guiscard · · Score: 5, Funny


      Maybe the RIAA submitted the story to Slashdot to bring down the server?

    2. Re:Dunno why no link by TedCheshireAcad · · Score: 5, Funny

      Their HTTP 200 error message owns, though. Instead of telling you to 'try again later' its like 'please refresh! we love getting out ass pounded into the floor!'

  2. Allofmp3.com by p0ppe · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.allofmp3.com/

    Been using their services for half a year now without any problems. They're licenced with the Russian equivalent of the RIAA, so I don't see where the problem is.

    This is a great example of the free market combined with the internet. I'm able to buy goods and services from wherever it suits me.

    --


    "Democracy is three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner."
    1. Re:Allofmp3.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If you import legally purchased marijuana you will be in violation of drug possession laws. But can you name a law you would violate when importing a legally purchased piece of music? Private individuals import lots of music all the time with no legal problems.

    2. Re:Allofmp3.com by Rico_za · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a great example of the free market combined with the internet. I'm able to buy goods and services from wherever it suits me.

      That's exactly the same argument that can be used for outsourcing IT jobs. You can't have it both ways people! You can't have your cheap consumer economy in the US, and still want your jobs protected. Why not complain about the poor music industry jobs that are being "outsourced" to Russia?

    3. Re:Allofmp3.com by etymxris · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I don't complain of either personally. Outsourcing is fine for both consumers and businesses in my book.

      As has been said many times before, not all of slashdot speaks with one voice. When you see those topics with 800-2000 comments, it's because there is significant disagreement. If everyone agreed, there wouldn't be much to say.

      You are right that there can be a certain hypocricy in saying that consumers should be able to get cheap wares from Russian markets, yet that our jobs should not be outsourced there. However, the charitable thing to do is to assume that no one holds both those positions until seeing someone that does. What makes you think otherwise?

    4. Re:Allofmp3.com by marc_gerges · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The issue nowadays is just the other way around.

      A company can move, source, produce and sell pretty much wherever it wants. However, as a consumer my possibilities to buy goods and services where I see fit is severely hampered.

      Ever tried to buy something from an Amazon affiliate not in your part of the world? Heck, I'm in Luxembourg, and there's many articles within amazon.de that they refuse to ship to anywhere but Germany.

      A Toyota Prius is 20000 USD in the US, and 25000 EUR over here. Can I import one from the US? Sure. Will Toyota US sell me one? Sure not.

      Of course, I could jump through hoops and get my stuff (I sometimes do). But we're far away from having consumers being able to use globalization to his advantage...

    5. Re:Allofmp3.com by theLOUDroom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's exactly the same argument that can be used for outsourcing IT jobs. You can't have it both ways people! You can't have your cheap consumer economy in the US, and still want your jobs protected. Why not complain about the poor music industry jobs that are being "outsourced" to Russia?

      NO, this is not like outsourcing.
      What this is doing is using the industry's geographical price discrimitation against them.

      They might charge $10 for a widget in the US and only $4 in Cambodia, so what's happening here it that the same goods are still being purchased from the same company, it's just the geographic price discrimination is being avoided.

      Incidentally price controls like this are illegal in the US, it's just that nobody exists to deal with them on an internaional level. Thus, you can ship a DVD that won't play in Korea, but not one which won't play in Kentucky.

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
  3. Obviously not rip... by hanssprudel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It doesn't rip it on the fly, it encodes it on the fly. Big difference (thousands of CD-ROMs???)

    More importantly, has anybody tried this? I found it many months ago, but I am loath to send my credit card data to a semi-shady Russian site, and I am worried that credit card records could be used to go after people who used the site when it (inevitably) gets shut down eventually. What do people think?

  4. The price is right by NSash · · Score: 5, Insightful

    $5 for 500 megabytes. Now this is more like it.

  5. seems legal by VC · · Score: 5, Informative

    Considering that the RIAA sued weblisten for RE-distributing allofmp3.com's content, but didnt sue them, this is probably legal..

    --
    Official GOD FAQ.
  6. Shady spelling by Zagar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dear users!
    We proud to announce a new encoding function called Online Encoding Exclusive, which is a part of the "Online Encoding" service and became available at AllOFMP3.com in the test mode. Online Encoding Exclusive enables you to:

    1. Encode music with LossLess encoding algorithms (Monkey's Audio, FLAC and OptimFrog) using the data of original audio CD as a source.
    2. Encode music with our usual encoders (MP3, Ogg, etc.) using the data of original audio CD as a source.

    Albums, that available for ordering through Online Encoding Exclusive service are marked with a special label . The amount of such albums will grow from day to day. We hope that you'll enjoy our new service.

    More details about Online Encoding Exclusive service.

    AllOFMP3.com team.

    --
    YAFIRL (Yet another Free iPods referral link)
  7. Not legal by Simon+Lyngshede · · Score: 5, Insightful

    allofmp3.com isn't legal, it migth be in Russia, but that doesn't mean that people outside russia can buy from them legally. If they wish to tell to say Denmark, they must have an agreement with KODA (Danish RIAA), THEY DON'T. Same deal as with Spanish weblisten, legal in Spain, not outside.

    It might be a nice service, but I won't recommend using it. If they do not have a deal with the RIAA equivalent in what ever country you're in, it is a waste of money.

    Don't trust sites that sell music that doesn't have an agreement with a record label or the artists.

    1. Re:Not legal by Cred · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'm no expert on the matter but if I buy a CD from Russia that's $15 cheaper than in my country, do I have to pay again to the local RIAA just because I got it cheaper? Does it make the record illegal if I got it cheaper from Russia? No. If I buy legal online music from Russia instead say.. iTunes, does it make the songs illegal? I doubt. Why would it be? The only reason what I really can come up is RIAA way of thinking "it's never too expensive".

    2. Re:Not legal by guiscard · · Score: 5, Informative


      And from this Guardian article:

      The problem is that, according to the recording industry, these sites are breaking the law. As Alan Dixon, general counsel of the London-based International Federation of the Phonograph Industry, says of Weblisten: "They have not less than six lawsuits pending against them, and two criminal proceedings. They are taking advantage of the way the Spanish legal system moves incredibly slowly: they have never been declared as legitimately distributing the plaintiff's recording."

      The issue is that recorded music has three sets of rights to be argued over. The songwriter has the copyright to the song, the artist his own rights in it, and the record label and producers a third set. While these Russian and Spanish sites may be paying the songwriters, via a collection agency, they are acting without the permission of the other copyright holders.

      The Russian sites claim that, under Russian law, foreign record labels releasing music in Russia give up their rights to prevent this. Not so, says Dixon. Such Soviet-era rules were rescinded under "article 47 paragraph 2 of the Russian Copyright Code" years ago. Downloading from such sites would be infringing both British and Russian copyright law, he says.

  8. Re:Seems legit on the surface. by NSash · · Score: 5, Informative

    The website is in English.

  9. you bastards by jaxon6 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh you rat bastards. I thought I had a good thing going. I was getting all the music I wanted for cheap, and the site was under the radar enough not to upset the sue-happy music bizfolk. Now my speeds are going to be shot, the company is going to be closed, and I'll have to go back to buying my four cds a year. So, once again slashdot screws me. To that I say fuck you very much.

    Oh ya, I almost forgot. I found out about them from a slasdot post of somebodys. So, uhh, forget what I just said.

    --
    Do you see the sig? Do you have it in your sights? Why yes, Miss Moneypenny...
  10. Sounds a little to good to be true :) ..Why? by evil_roy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you think that then you must live in some authoritarian state like ....

    Who'd have thought it... Russia..the home of the brave and the free.

  11. Nothing new here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've been using another service from Russia, MP3 Search Club with great success for some time now. Frankly, I'm surprised this qualifies as news. This service, too, is liscenced by the "Russian RIAA". As a Canadian, I find this site an invaluable compliment to my right to make personal copies of music to share with others. ;-P Given, though, that this other site lets you encode in your favorite format, I'll probably soon switch over to them.

  12. Who are "The MB" by nutcracker666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am afraid I am too old to have heard of "The MB" so why would I want their music ? Are they one of those new-fangled rap / hip-hop groups ? All I can think of is The Moody Blues.

  13. Re:Credit Card? by Gryffin · · Score: 5, Informative
    More importantly, has anybody tried this?

    A lot of people, apparently. Including me. I've been very happy with it.

    I am loath to send my credit card data to a semi-shady Russian site

    I don't think they even accept credit cards directly; at least, I don't recall seeing that option when I signed up.

    I signed up using PayPal. That's one reason I took the plunge: a (more or less) reputable American intermediary for the financial end. I have a balance, that's deducted from for each download. When it's near empty, I go to PayPal and fill 'er up again. It's pretty painless.

    --
    Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.
  14. Re:One of these days, Alice by tbone1 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Umm, how do they sell stuff on the internet without charging money?

    They'll make it up in volume.

    --

    The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
  15. Well, it is too good to be true by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's probably great for Russians. But for Americans at least, the site is illegal.

    Our laws prohibit most unauthorized distribution and reproduction of copyrighted works in the US per 17 USC 106. The party that can authorize it is the US copyright holder -- this is prone to be a different entity than rights holders abroad.

    While some degree of importation is allowed per 602 and 109, this doesn't qualify. A copy isn't merely being brought into the country, but rather due to the way computers work (see the infamous MAI v. Peak case, which while wrong is commonly relied upon), a new copy is being made on the downloader's end that did not originate in Russia, and thus wasn't imported as 602 requires. (Though what it was copied _from_ did -- it's the difference betweeen a CD that can be brought from place to place, and making a tape of what you hear on the phone)

    Even the ability to legally import unauthorizedly is somewhat limited; the idea is that if we have copyright laws domestically, to allow people to do an end run around it by operating in a country with less or no copyright, then importing works here en masse would result in things being, well, fucked up, basically. This site basically demonstrates how such a thing might happen.

    The Russians are probably fine -- if they're careful, RIAA won't be able to shut them down. OTOH, Americans using the service could get into significant trouble if they're caught.

    All that having been said, I'd like to see the law changed to better suit the desires of the public, but for now there are problems for this.

    --
    -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
  16. VERY LEGAL. by scum-e-bag · · Score: 5, Informative
    allofmp3.com isn't legal, it migth be in Russia, but that doesn't mean that people outside russia can buy from them legally.

    If you live in Australia, where the article is written, then it is legal The parallel importing of music is legal in Australia. The parallel importing of music helps keep the price down and is evidence of a free market economy working well, unlike the USA with the BSA and MPAA and RIAA and other IP outfits where these gestapo like organisations control the free flow of information.

    We can't see any legal or moral objection to using the site. We're using the material for private use, there is no restriction in this country on the parallel importing of recorded music and none of the artists seem to have been deprived of their rights.
    --
    Does it go on forever?
  17. What makes you think . . . by Idou · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the poster is against outsourcing? Slashdot is a diverse group of individuals voicing their diverse opinions, which all conflict. I am tired of individuals saying "gotcha" when two completely SEPARATE individuals voice CONFLICTING opinions. Btw, if ALL prices (not just wages) were to drop at the same rate, then, yes, nobody would be complaining about outsourcing. The problem is that there are market inefficiencies that are keeping some prices the same while others go down.

    --
    Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
  18. If something seems too good to be true.. by mpk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ..then it probably is, and that's why I treat these claims with a hefty degree of scepticism. Let's look at a few points:

    If they claim they're legal because "we're licensed as if we were broadcasting the material", then as far as I understand you have no right to make or keep a recording of anything they might broadcast. Broadcasting is "we broadcast it and you listen", and there's no automatic right to tape records off the radio.

    It's highly possible that the reason they haven't been closed down is that taking legal action against shady Russian entities is extremely difficult at the best of times.

    If they're interested in people uploading stuff *to* them in exchange for download rights, then the legitimacy of their source material seems doubtful.

    Ultimately, applying Occam's razor to this story makes me wonder that if it's so spotlessly legal, why isn't everyone setting up stores like this on Russian territory?

    Anyway, something here smells sufficiently fishy for me to be extremely sceptical of the wisdom of giving them money.