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Allofmp3 Shut Down, Again
studguy1 writes to tell us TorrentFreak is reporting that the Russian government has shut down Allofmp3, the popular online music site. "AllOfMP3 has been a thorn in the side of the RIAA and the US government for years. Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that if Russia wants to join the WTO, they should shut down the pirate music website that is robbing US recording companies of sales."
"...they should shut down the pirate music website that is robbing US recording companies of sales."
So then, they shut down the wrong website.
Exposure leads to increased sales, period.
If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
In actuality, most people stopped using Allofmp3 when it became virtually impossible to pay, some months ago. (when Visa pulled the plug)
The rather more substantial thorn in the record industrys side is now iTunes and Apple.
thus copyright infringement == theft QED
Bush - Putin visit?
Oh great, people will pay nothing for their music instead of paying a slight amount. Great job, RIAA, you've completely failed to grasp the situation again.
Soo...
When US record companies see no positive impact in sales, will Russia be allowed to let allofmp3 reopen?
Because, for some reason I find myself really doubting that people that were paying pennies for songs are going to suddenly turn around and start paying an order of magnitude more.
But hey, what do I know? I'm just a lowly consumer...
3...2...1
GO!
1. Something (usually money) given in exchange for influence or as an inducement to dishonesty. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bribe
If sharing a song makes you a pirate, what do I have to share to be a ninja?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
There's already a good 100 clones of allofmp3 with similar music catalogs and pricing schemes all operating out of Russia. Shutting down one website is really a non-issue at this point, anyone can go to google and find dozens of alternatives all operating out of Russia.
The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby's request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.
I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby's appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision.
From the very beginning of the investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame's name, I made it clear to the White House staff and anyone serving in my administration that I expected full cooperation with the Justice Department. Dozens of White House staff and administration officials dutifully cooperated.
After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged.
This case has generated significant commentary and debate. Critics of the investigation have argued that a special counsel should not have been appointed, nor should the investigation have been pursued after the Justice Department learned who leaked Ms. Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak. Furthermore, the critics point out that neither Mr. Libby nor anyone else has been charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act, which were the original subjects of the investigation. Finally, critics say the punishment does not fit the crime: Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.
Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place.
Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.
Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.
I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.
My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.
The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby's case is an appropriate exercise of this power.
Sincerly,
Your President and Faithful Servent, George W. Bush
I hope high gas prices are depriving your children, you fucking dumbass.
Actually, it seems that http://www.mp3sparks.com/ already offers all the music from AoMP3.
So I guess AoMP3 has already reincarnated.
I don't see how the RIAA really accomplished much. Allofmp3.com was just the giant that took all the heat, like Napster. There are still copycats, like mp3stor.com, who offer almost identical selection and pricing, that are alive, kicking, and taking customers. They made a bust for the headlines, even though you can get identical sites with a quick google search.
i'm crying little emo tears for the RIAA and their butt-buddies in the Music industry. how are you ever going to pay for that fourth BMW you bought? wahhhhh.
So once allofmp3 is shut down, do they really expect sales to go up?
If there was a similar legitimate, and DRM-free service, and prices were low enough, perhaps sales would go up.
It seems that RIAA still does not get it, things like Napster, mp3.com, and allofmp3 will keep coming until the RIAA, or the artist themselves decide to stop fighting the Internet model, and instead profit from it.
In Soviet America, allofmp3 shuts *IAA down.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
From what I understand, the RIAA...I mean, US Government...I mean, WTO actually named AllOfMp3 by name, rather than specifying that a specific class of service be suspended.
So even though MP3Sparks is the same site, run by the same company, offering the same service, since the name is different, they've successfully satisfied the WTO request in this regard.
FWIW, you can't pay by credit card at MP3Sparks either.
"With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. However, this is not necessarily a good idea...."
RFC 1925
... for buying stolen property.
Oh, yeah, right. Since the original authors got to keep their notes and recordings, it was not really stealing. Never mind...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
That would explain why the allTunes client still works then, which was their desktop client.
"Thorn in the side" means "constant source of irritation". An MP3 bootlegger is certainly a "thorn in the side" of the RIAA. But of the U.S. government? Somehow, in this era of major terrorism, genocide, nuclear proliferation, insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other thorny issues, I don't think anybody in the government loses sleep over allofmp3.
http://www.mp3sparks.com/info/payments.shtml
www.mp3sugar.com
> I know the copyright infringement != theft line is common around here, but please respond intelligently to issues raised by someone on the opposing side of an issue.
If you can't understand the difference between copyright infringement and stealing then it's better to keep quiet. Its pointless arguing the finer points of a legal argument with someone who doesn't even understand the basics of law.
I'll probably be modded down for this...
I think it should be a standard footer to all summaries about copyright law to save us the effort of rewriting the same comment each time.
I'll probably be modded down for this...
Don't they mean US and foreign recording companies? After all, aren't foreign companies also represented by the RIAA?
why would i give my cc to a russian run illegal mp3 site?
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Please enlighten me.
www.purevolume.com/martyd
As long as I use the AllTunes Explorer. Still getting daily music updates too.
And you can still refill your balance with Visa or Mastercard. Just click the links and follow the directions and use a $0 liability card.
Strawman and ad hominem.
I'll probably be modded down for this...
That's a REALLY good question.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
Just tried to pay using my Visa. It works.
Every country that has joined the WTO so far has suffered a horrendous destruction of national sovereignty and a corresponding destruction of National Security. Is it really worth shutting down a music website just to destroy your own ability to control your own borders and trade?
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Too bad they are democratic and capitalist now (cough!). We all have to suffer for it.
Enlightenment is a pipe dream. So where's the pipe?
because they already have it.
cha cha cha
=)
And Allofmp3 is the lynch pin keeping Russia out.
Remember when Russia was the enemy? And we had classic cliche's based on them? Meeeemmoorriiiiiieeesssss!!!!
Someone hates these cans.
I noticed the comments about Mp3Sparks.com. I'd never heard of them but saw that they we're run by the same guys. I was bummed to hear allofmp3 was shutdown since I still had $30 balance on it. What do you know though, I tried to login with my allofmp3 username/login on Mp3Sparks and my account and balance was carried over. And I just assumed they'd steal my money.
I prefer the term Extortion the x makes it sound cool - Bender
Especially as seeing as the RIAA wasn't collecting the royalties that Allofmp3.com claimed to be setting aside, the artists weren't getting paid anyway
;)
You may as well just download the various format torrents from TPB....the artist will get the same as they were anyway, your CC will be safe and you won't have to maintain the pretence that paying tuppence to a pseudo-legal site was legitimately buying the music
Between the falling angel and the rising ape
The monopoly is a 95 year copyright publishing monopoly enforced by up to $250,000 fines and Police/FBI raids on you home school or business.
A free market is not possible with such a monopoly.
Because if they steal your info, your CC company will just refund it all anyway?
listen, we all hate the riaa. they use thug tactics and lobbyists to get their way here in the states and often overseas. but...
if you believe they ever saw one red cent from allofmp3.com you're nuts. it's one thing to attack potential consumers for exchanging music online. it's another to go after a company that is turning a profit on your product without your consent. what allofmp3 is doing is plainly immoral. they may be protected by some loophole in the russian copyright law but that doesn't make what they're doing okay. the riaa has the moral high ground here, like it or not.
slyck has a better article
It's not actually an illegal site. In russia, allofmp3.com actually has a licence to sell the music.
Just for the heck of it, I tried to log into MP3sparks using my allofmp3 login. And there I am with my old allofmp3 balance fully intact on MP3sparks. I was worried there for a minute.
And there are companies in the US who don't even like what apple is doing with ITMS.
----
Go canucks, habs, and sens!
The existing AllOfMP3 accounts actually continue to work on MP3sparks, including their account balance.
Yay.
All you have to do is set up a one-time account number for one transaction. I can set up a temporary number authorized for a limit of, say, $25, that is only valid for a week. Pay with that, your credit card company transfers it to your regular card, then the number expires.
TANSTAAFL
So you're saying a lot goes to the middle men. Right. Well, an average musician can't run a web site and sell and promote their own music online. That's ridiculously difficult right now.
Well, how about somebody write some very simple, very easy php modules that musicians can get their ISP's to install for them so that they can sell directly? Smart ISP owners then add that to their list of standard modules.
Duh.
I don't respond to AC's.
Quite strangely, my AllOfMp3 login/pass doesn't work. If click forgot my password, it finds my account just fine and emails me my password, but I can't log in with it.
I can't believe that Hugo hasn't started one up in Venezuela just to piss off the US...
Mp3Sparks.com
mp3sugar.com
mp3search.ru
mp3stor.com
-heinousjay
Anyone else having a problem logging into mp3sparks with their aomp3 account?
When I use the "forgot password" feature, it sends me the correct name/password from aomp3.
But when I try to use it, it errors out everytime.
Also, there doesn't appear to be an SSL on the connections, try https seems to just error out.
You're saying that Gordon Brown worries as much about selling the next Harry Potter book as he does about preventing the next bombing?
Sure, it seems stupid right now. But, over the long haul, yes he will. Were he still Chancellor of the Exchequer, he'd care even more.
Stepping back up the thread to whether this was a thorn in the US Government's side, anything that causes major lobbying groups to suck up space in a Congressional Rep's/Senator's/President's schedule for bitching and moaning counts as a thorn.
Luke, help me take this mask off
The WTO seems to be the main reason countries bother stopping piracy, when they are extorted enough to do it. But China, Cuba, Venezuela, etc is still on their members list. I dont even know what the WTO does, I dont care, I just wish they would cease to exist.
s/©//g
What's the big deal? Didn't the Mafie.. err.. I mean.. RIAA have the option of applying to the russian equivalent to retrieve royalties, but refuses to do so. In which case, it's deprived US artists of royalties due to it's own pig-headedness.
In soviet Russia Mp3's rob you.
yep, that's what I'd do.
Allofmp3 has the ultimate business model for me dollars!
The real point is that the government has provided the RIAA with a monopoly on certain goods by the granting of copyrights
The government provides the creators with a temporary monopoly on reproduction of their works by granting of copyrights.
The creators have the ability to transfer their copyrights, license them (exclusively or otherwise), or manage them themselves.
Because of other aspects of the economy, it turns out that many artists have exclusive licenses with recording and production companies (labels), and through an organization they are members of they engage in political and legal actions to enforce those copyrights.
But it's not the RIAA that has the monopoly. Nobody buys music from the RIAA.
Going back to the original question, if you want to fight the RIAA you need to do something to reduce their income, influence, or power. The best way to do that is to support labels that are not RIAA members, and self-publishing musicians and musicians who contract with independent labels.
You can't "hurt the RIAA" or "promote independent music" by buying music from allofmp3, though. Allofmp3 isn't a neutron bomb that kills RIAA labels and leaves indie labels standing. Every time you buy a song from allofmp3 instead of emusic or cdbaby, you're really strengthening the RIAA... because that lost sale is *worth more*, comparatively, to the indies than to the majors.
If you want to hurt the major labels and the RIAA, BUY DIFFERENT MUSIC. It's not like you're going to be hurt by buying different music than the labels are pushing... but *they* will be, if only because strengthening the indies makes more artists consider abandoning the majors a viable option.
There was a quick process (basically, check I agree) you had to go through on allofmp3 site wherein they deactivated your allofmp3 login and activated the corresponding mp3sparks (with balance and bonus)
I'm guessing they'll move the remaining accounts in bulk now that allofmp3 is shutdown. I think the transfer was done piecemeal this way for the past several months to keep the existance of mp3sparks quiet for as long as possible.
My Band writes this song called "Happy Birthday to You", which is based on a public domain song. It is copyrighted for 56 years.
I sell the song to some nice corporation.
The corporation and many others convince the government with money to extend all the copyrights to 95-120 years.
So 80 years later, you sing "Happy Birthday to You" in public without paying the copyright fee. Are you stealing from the nice corporation, by taking lost revenue?
Yes.
I encourage all of you to write Time Warner and offer payment for your violations.
The point here is that copyright law obviously benefits society by letting the nice corporations control publishing information for an unlimited period of time.
Thomas Jefferson was wrong in trying to limit the monopoly of publishers. The medieval Stationers knew best.
- mininova search
- pirate bay search
- torrentspy search.
all came up bone dry.They'll not look at the sales that were generated from the exposeure due to allofmp3. The tech was excellent, but it didn't fit with the system. No shit. Anything that does fit within is doomed to corporate exploitation and infected with boyband, submissive band of the moment and celebrity heavy fake nonsense. The tech underlying allofmp3.com was excellent. Reference sources to as required downloads... who you gonna blame just because the Russians chose tech over middlemen. When you don't speak the language it's hard to find the words (nor should they). Perhaps they should look at why it was successful and not why it shouldn't be. Repression, negative re-inforcement, status quo... no wonder people looked elsewhere. The internet routes around bottlenecks. Perhaps it's about time the RI/MP AA found a way to work with decentralization and intercommunication instead of heavy handed beurocratic legalism. I found. I enjoyed. I bought.
So, the pressure we see being exerted on Russia to change their laws just to make their markets more open for the western music industry, is a good example of what the WTO is about, although a rather minor one. Your wish for the WTO to go away (it won't, though) would be supported by many people for much stronger reasons.
It's true. The system did once have something closer to bottom-up than they do now. (Though even now, I think you could argue that the listeners have some say on who wins American Idol. [sardonic grin]) /. likes region limits, and they aren't quite as practical now--but aside from that, those were more diverse times.
Perhaps the music industry would be purer if there were still such things as regional record labels. Of course, no one on
But even in those early days, there were major labels, and the major labels even then influenced DJs from above. The first great rock&roll DJ, Alan Freed, had to leave the DJ biz over payola--back then, labels paid DJs for playing records directly. You can imagine that he wasn't alone.
Above a certain scale, recorded music was never really bottom-up. There were decades when it was much closer to it--before Clearchannel--but never really.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
There are 15+ alternative "legal" sites that one can use instead of AllOfMP3, even if AllOfMP3 were shut down (which it isn't). Check songboom.com. There are at least a dozen reviewed Russian MP3 sites that one could use if one were so inclined.
Cuban Music MP3's - cuband.com
if the WTO rule against America - they dont do anything such as costa rica VS USA over the online gambling farce. The WTO ruled America is wrong but they dont do anything and threaten to back out the WTO. America will always pressure other countries to do what it wants.
No wonder so many countries around the world hate America
Yes CD sales are in decline - BUT digital sales are up. thats how supply and demand works.
In Russia AllofMP3 pays the broadcast rate (and, oddly, nearly the same rate is the standard rate in the US for radio song play: 5c/track/user cf 7c/track/listener). The collection industry could get their money from the russian collection agency but to do so will stop allofmp3 being "illegal" because they are getting paid for it.
So as long as they ignore telling you or anyone else that the reason why the artists aren't being paid is because the collection agency isn't ASKING for payment, they get to fool you.
So people aren't not paying, they are paying and it is legal.
RIAA dislike the rate (they don't want the radio rate being the rate to the public) and they dislike the lack of DRM (which is a license cost per track...). So they make shit up to persuade people like you AllofMP3 is illegitimate.
They aren't.
Da. Thank you for speedboat. Is nice.
dully noted and sent to badbat@riaa.com
Per the Russian copyright laws, downloads from places like AllofMP3 are treated like public performances (Juke Boxes) not music sales. ROMS is the group that collects these fees. If AllofMP3 is paying ROMS, then whether the RIAA likes it or not, it's acting in a manner consistant with Russian law.
As for how much you owe the band, you owe what the compulsory licensing scheme of the country says you owe. If Russia says the per public performance rate is $.02/play, then you owe your band $.02/play not the $.20 provided for by the US compulsory license. So you're entire argument of 'oh I can't collect royalties because I'll owe the band more than I collect' is bogus.
As for ASCAP & BMI, my understanding is that they're not all that friendly if you're not in NA or represented by one of the big international groups. I also find it interesting that they're 'looking out for the artists interests' by insisting on collecting for CC licensed works.
> If you want to hurt the major labels and the RIAA, BUY DIFFERENT MUSIC.
Which is exactly what they would do if they were, in fact, interested in buying music. The truth is that what they're interested in is getting *free* music. All of this ranting and raving about "I'M SICK OF BUYING A WHOLE ALBUM FOR ONE SONG!" and "ALL POPULAR MUSIC SUCKS, THAT'S WHY IT'S POPULAR AND I'M DOWNLOADING IT!" and "IT'S NOT THEFT, IT'S COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND I'M ONLY DOING IT TO STICK IT TO TEH MANG!" is simply a convenient excuse to get something they value for nothing. The same people in this discussion giddily announcing that all of their credit at allofmp3 has magically reappeared at mp3sparks are the same ones who would demand you be assraped at the Super Bowl on live TV if you violated the GPL, which never fails to make me giggle like a schoolgirl.
From the site: Unfortunately credit card payment is not available at the moment. Please come back later or try another method of payment
I think you go a bit too far. There are many people who say things like "I'm sick of buying a whole album for one song" or who disparage popular music who then go buy single tracks and indie music at iTunes and eMusic. And there really are people who think that copyright violation (which, and I'm not saying this to condone it, isn't 'theft') is a way to hurt "the man". They're mistaken about that, and there may be many people who are being totally hypocritical when they say things like that, but I think you go too far by implying that this is the sole or even primary motivation for everyone on that side of the discussion.
Ripping off a song via Kazaa or Allofmp3 instead of buying indie music doesn't support independent music or hurt the RIAA any more than ripping off a copy of Word instead of using another product supports independent and free software developers or hurts Microsoft. But people DO honestly believe it does... in both cases.
And apparently some people believe that it advances understanding to attack people who may be honestly mistaken and giggle like a schoolgirl about it. It's probably worthwhile to think about whether that might also be an error.
Indeed. The RIAA (who have no say in russia at all, or indeed any country outside the US) jump up and down saying they're too cheap, and suddenly a bunch of slashbots claim they're illegal.
Based on the exchange rate they're actually slightly expensive compared to the cost of music in russia.. but compared to what we're used to paying it seems cheap. Buying something overseas and importing it is not illegal.
This is a terrible post, and a troll to boot.
Why don't you go back to your cave and buy more crappy products like a good little consumer whore.
If you're going to support the mafIAA, at least make sure you've got a signature saying something about how much of a tool you are, so we know who to ignore. Do you work for them? Did they pay you money to insult people into paying for shitty inferior products and music?
By the way, I do pay for products and music. Nearly every game I have was paid for. I own about 100 CDs of independent musicians, whether it be punk rock or electronic. I also pirate some titles when I'm stuck with them as the only option. Bad business practices does not demand my respect, much less my hard earned money. Why would I pay 400 +/- USD for a photo editing program to which there is a free clone of available on Linux?
This isn't about legality anymore, I don't care anymore. This is about right and wrong, good and evil.
Blow it our your ass.
Internet: Serious Business
Why not? Credit cards are a dime a dozen for most people these days. I have at least 2 extra that I keep "for emergencies" (in case one of my primary card #s is stolen), and which I don't normally use to buy stuff. So I just started using one of these extra cards *only* for allofmp3.com, and nothing else. If the number gets stolen, I cancel it, so what? No big deal at all. I'm not liable for the any charges on the card that I did not authorize.
Anyway allofmp3 is (or was) a business. They wouldn't have lasted as long as they did if they were stealing their own customer's credit card numbers. I used them for years, not once did any unauthorized charge ever appear on my credit card.
I read Usenet for the articles.
> This is a terrible post, and a troll to boot.
Troll? Hardly. As a veteran of a zillion copyright arguments on Slashdot I think it's a completely legitimate position. If I were trolling I'd be posting AC so as to keep it out of the eyes of people who stay out of the murky depths of 0-rank posts.
> Why don't you go back to your cave and buy more crappy products like a good little consumer whore.
My cave doesn't have ethernet and I don't like to buy crappy products on account of, well, they're crappy.
> If you're going to support the mafIAA
I don't support any of the *IAAs, which is ironic considering my line of work. They're horrid associations that are unable to adapt to the changing media distribution landscape, they're outright hostile to the very people who consume their products, and in many cases have acted with highly questionable methods in an effort to protect their products. That doesn't change the fact that they have a legitimate beef with people who want to snag all their stuff for free, though.
> at least make sure you've got a signature saying something about how much of a tool you are, so we know who to ignore.
You're free to keep on scrolling whenever you see my name. That, or convince Slashdot to create an "ignore" feature to protect your fragile constitution.
> Do you work for them? Did they pay you money to insult people into paying for shitty inferior products and music?
No, I don't work for them, and if my argument sent you into such a frothing tirade then you really should consider a new site to hang out on. Eventually you're going to stumble across a GNAA post that will probably make your head explode.
> By the way, I do pay for products and music.
So do I. Gold stars all 'round.
> I own about 100 CDs of independent musicians, whether it be punk rock or electronic.
I own about 900, do I win? We should probably give you some sort of handicap, though, as a good number of the albums I own are by those evil, soulless major label artists that we shouldn't support. You know, Hendrix, the Beatles, Beethoven, sellout pop shit like that.
> Bad business practices does not demand my respect, much less my hard earned money.
I don't respect the *IAA any more than you do, but if I have to validate their efforts to make sure that the artists I value can make a living then I'll treat them as a seething, corrosive, and necessary evil. It doesn't really matter in the end, though, as their death is right around the corner.
> Why would I pay 400 +/- USD for a photo editing program to which there is a free clone of available on Linux?
I have no idea, unless you like having the support of a large company like Adobe for your software. GIMP's good enough for me.
> This is about right and wrong, good and evil.
I hope you were wearing a mask and a cape while you posted that.
> Blow it our your ass.
Strong talk for someone who labeled *me* a troll.
Except MediaSentry doesn't live in the allofmp3.com server. So really it goes to show that the Russian Mafia can out protection racket the RIAA.
That's just small potatoes, fit for the vodka. The real danger is that once the WTO is involved, Russia will get hooked on foreign goods- with so many shipping containers coming across the border that it becomes impossible to inspect even a small percentage of them- or even know where they've come from. Pakistan and Iran have brothers fighting for freedom in Chechnya- you do the math.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
In Soviet Russia, your website is 0wnd, haxx0rs!
Hey, wait......
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
Because your alternative is to give it to some other "legitimate business" that support the RIAA.
Choose your cartel.
There's another word for that called fraud, a crime. Different words have different meanings. Welcome to the English language!
There is also substantial controversy about U.S. regulations aomp3 fell under since no physical cd was changing hands, they could have been considered 'radio'. even if a physical cd changed hands, there are no laws preventing importing cd's. our laws do need updating, but those aren't the laws being updated.
Let's see, ITunes pays $.6 - $.10 per dollar to musicians (not including a few lawsuits saying they weren't even getting that, but closer to $.4 / song) and royalties from radio play is even less. How much do you think musicians are loosing?
aomp3 was the most innovative distributer on the net. to heck with the price. i paid as much for a song as i'd pay anywhere but i could get it in the format i wanted, at the bitrate i wanted. i did not want crummy sounding music at 128 kpbs! aomp3 charged just as much for high quality encoding in a lossless, DRM free format of my choice.
what a concept. giving the customer what they want. it's a scarey day that Russians are more capitalistic than the U.S. has become.
Well, I'm glad all of you were able to log in using your old login names and accounts. Apparently I'm out $13.94. :( For those it works, does the explorer program work still?
I run Ubuntu skinned to look like a Mac on a PC. Go figure.
Thank god! At least they quit calling it "stealing".
What?
If it was theft we would not have completely different laws dealing with copyright infringement.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Nobody has probed conclusively that copyright infringement actually harms sales of anything.
People parrot this like if it was a given but come with precious little in the way of proof.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.