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Visa Cuts Off AllOfMp3.com
denebian devil writes "On the heals of allofmp3.com's press conference trying to clean up its image, Visa has suspended its credit card service to allofmp3.com. From the article "[Allofmp3 is] no longer permitted to accept Visa cards," said Simon Barker, a Visa International spokesman. "The action we've taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and international copyright law."
Almost simultaneously, allofmp3.com has announced that it is shifting over to an ad-supported model. For those who don't want to (or can't) buy allofmp3's DRM-free music, they are providing DRM-laden music that can be played only within a restricted player provided by the website."
For those who don't want to (or can't) buy allofmp3's DRM-free music, they are providing DRM-laden music that can be played only within a restricted player provided by the website." ... that anybody can promply record/reencode DRM-free.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Not to worry.
I never had any issues with paying for my music. I had issues with the DRM that was applied to that music. AllofMP3 offered that same music without DRM. If they turn out to be illegal (because the group they pay royalties to turns out not to have to license the music to AllOfMP3) then so be it.
I found an alternative, that better suits my taste of music and is completely legit, but a lot more expensive.
http://www.beatport.com/
Dave
They want money just like every other corporation. I'm sure that they don't entirely care where the money came from. I'm pretty sure that you can still use Visa to pay for pornographic content that may be illegal in your particular region of the country (sodomy anyone?).
"It's a tarp!" -- Dyslexic Admiral Ackbar
No one wants DRM music. That was a primary reason everyone used AllofMP3.com. That and the price of course. Now instead of AllofMP3 customers paying a small fee for music, I bet a lof of them will hit Shareaza and the file share networks again.
Great move RIAA...
Take care,
Brian
Looks like you can point your browser back to Mother Russia at Alltunes.com and be back in business pretty quick (incl. payment with Visa).
>So if you live in Russia and have a VISA card can you still not use your VISA card at
>allofmp3 even though it is legal for you to use that site?
What does were you live have to do with it? What law makes it illegal for you to buy the music from Russia if you live in another country? Or are you claiming that USE, Turkey, Japan, South Africa (or whatever other non Russian country you might prefer) have some law forbiding you to purchase from another country? And what would that have to do with copyright who for sure doesn't have such limitations (we are talking of purchase of single number of copies of each song and for personal use, just like if you have bought the CD while in Russia and bring it home with it, just mentioning it so that you don't have to claim anything about import and I have to reply to tell about what is covered by the import part in copyright law and what is not).
allofmp3.com = Beautiful business model. If it is truly not legitimate, this should be a cue for a ligit company to start up stateside using a similar model. RIAA = Epitome of how an organization should not be run for 3 reasons. #1 is they screw over thier cash cows (the "artists"). #2 it screws over its buyers (us). #3 Thier suckyness is impacting the health of thier business, and will eventually, although it'll take a while and require alot of kicking and screaming, they will fail. Had they created a site like allofmp3.com in 1996 when I began using electronic copies of music...they could have saved themselves. iTunes sucks. Plain and simple. iTunes doesn't carry much of anything I listen to, its DRM is a pain in the balls, and $0.99 is too much to pay for a track with the fraction of the overhead of a record (conventional)store. That is all I have to say.
several multimedia corporations have recently signed an agreement stating that the only available form of payment in their soon-to-be-opened electronic music stores will be Visa credit cards.
Absolutely, used media - CD, DVD - is the best way to go. You get the same thing ; re-use the original materials instead of creating waste ; and trade with other individuals (transferring ownership of goods) without going back and paying the marketers (RIAA, MPAA)
What's amazing is that Visa ever allowed it in the first place.
(picking myself up off the floor)
Its amazing that a soulless multinational mega corporation took money ?
They only fall in line when the lawyers deem the risk larger than the reward.
music lover since 1969
>Once you bring your purchase into the US, US law applies.
Yes, but please tell what specific law you have in mind, there really is none.
>The fact that you bought the item in Russia doesn't necessarily
>mean that Russian law applies.
The purchase is done under Russian law if done in Russia. That is allofmp3's responsability. If a person then wants to use what they buy there to break the law in another country is that persons responsability. In the case in question, there is no such law violation though since it is perfectly legal to brgin a copy of a song or music into USA from other countries.
>I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that the AllOfMp3 site violates
>the spirit, if not the letter, of international copyright law.
What spirit? Are you claiming that there is a spirit that says any product with a work protected by copyright can not be moved from one country to another? I suppose someone should tell that to all the stores on international airports selling music CDs. For the record, no, there is no such restriction or anything at all about such restrictions in copyright laws, treaties or that like.
>That being the case, you're correct that the user isn't breaking the law. It's just a
>convenient way for AllOfMp3 to shift the blame:
So allofmp3 is not breaking the law and the buyer is not breaking the law, who is and what law?
>We can't be responsible if US or EU users are downloading content that they shouldn't.
What do you mean "shouldn't"? Either there is some law making it illegal or there is not. It happens to exist no such law.
I'd say that they only quit because someone put pressure on them, not because they want to stop making money on those transactions.
Possibly because Visa in the US is being floated on the stock exchange. I guess that is because the USA is moving in a rather insular direction, and they didnt want Visa in the rest of the world to be hit by legal problems in the USA. See the recent problems with online gambling for an example of the kind of exposures companies like Visa have if they wish to do business in the USA.
Confirmation of this would be if the non_USA Visa goes back to servicing allofmp3.
**TODO** Steal someone elses sig.
eMusic doesn't have the music that people want. Of course, what people wants depends on the marketing and airplay, but still. Saying that eMusic can replace the iTunes Store is like saying an Intellivision can replace a Wii.
I'd rather go get free music on overclockedremix.org than 0.25$/tracks on eMusic.
"As far as I know, allofmp3 does not have license to distribute its songs in the US. Therefore, selling songs in the US is an act of copyright infringement in the US."
They aren't in the U.S. There are no treaties involved, no trade agreements either. U.S. law does not apply outside of the U.S., with the exception of us kidnapping people around the world and torturing them to death, which apparently is legal whether anyone else in the world objects or not.
And, to clarify the issue, think of it as people *phoning* a Russian server and listening to recorded music on the phone for a fee. Imagine them recording the sound with an old-fashioned tape recorder. This would break no law in the U.S. or Russia. It's not even a metaphor, it's what we're doing.
mod me a troll?
this isnt' a troll post people, get a clue.
it IS true that the mpaa is not the same as law enforcement. and visa is also not law enforcement.
if I wanted to buy playboy mags, will visa 'use their morals' and stop me? no? oh really!
how is this any different. they claim some law is being broken but they can't ennunciate what, exactly that is.
again, I say - if a law is being broken, call the cops. visa is NOT my police force and I object to them even thinking they are allowed to wear that hat.
you KNOW that pressure is put on visa from the record industry. in that light, I see the mpaa/riaa as no worse or better than the 'russian mob'. you can't claim you are following what's good and right and yet be pressured by NON LAW ENFORCEMENT LOBBY GROUPS.
either you are a money brokering business OR you are in the morality and law enforcement business. you cannot be in both. and shouldn't be.
(just because you (mods) may disagree with me - that does NOT make this a troll post. sheesh!)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
I wish they had audiobooks.
Why limit yourself to allofmp3.com? Surely there are other places you can steal audiobooks...
Isn't their tagline "it's everywhere you want to be"...except what they think might be illegal, or wrong, or immoral....
If you want to make brand money as a cash replacement (which I assume is what their money cards are attempting to do), then you have to be a open carrier (allowing the end users to deal with the legal responsibility of their use of money). Once Visa picks and chooses what uses of their currency to allow, I have no way to know what the value of their currency is (because I don't know what I can do with it), and there's less point to using it over using cash (potential safety is helpful, but like a gift card, limitation in usage is a significant loss in value).
By announcing this loudly, they're telling their cash card holders that what they're holding isn't really cash, though Visa wishes to sell it as such. Maybe Visa's users will get the message.
Please share with us the laws which make allofmp3.com illegal.
Thankyou
Tell me, why do you go through all this hassle, when you could just steal the music in one step, without paying a middle-man?
Do you actually believe that some of this money gets back to the bands/producers?
What exactly would they sue allofmp3 Customers for??? The most they can do is demand that all files purchased from allofmp3.com be deleted. Unless they also have some kind of proof that the buyer has been copying the files to other people, there is no grounds for civil damage.
I think you have to be consistent with the application of this mindset. If it's not ok for consumers to shop around for countries with the most convenient laws, then it should not be ok for companies to do the same thing. That means no more situating factories in countries where working hours and conditions would breach your own laws.
probably about the same amount as when you buy a CD from the store. And twice as much as when you buy a used CD.
Umm, what's illegal about it?
Is it legal in Russia to do what they are doing? Yes.
Is it legal in the US to import any single mp3 file? Yes.
It may be *immoral*, but that's not the same as illegal. Visa are taking a moral stance, as are you.
Are you as vocal defending the income of third world laborers as you are about the royalties of famous musicians?