allofmp3.com [Archive] - MacRumors Forums

dops7107

Dec 19, 2005, 02:38 PM

Now we know, as loyal Apple followers, that iTunes is the MacRumors officially sanctioned source for our digital music. But do people use http://www.allofmp3.com/ at all? As far as I can work out it's a bit of a bargain. What I'm not entirely sure of is its legality - campared to iTunes, it is ridiculously cheap ($0.20 for a song, often cheaper) - how can this be?

I like the fact that you can choose what level of compression you want, and you pay accordingly (nothing wrong with that). It's a little non-user-friendly when it comes to downloading, but if you know what you're up to then it's no problem.

Thoughts?

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 02:43 PM

It uses a loophole in Russian law that makes it legal (there). Rest assured there are plenty of external sources trying to legally shut them down, but for the moment (they've been around a while) they're "legit".

However, chances of me dropping my credit card/personal information KNOWINGLY on a Russian site.. 0.00000000%

Applespider

Dec 19, 2005, 02:52 PM

dops7107

Dec 19, 2005, 02:55 PM

However, chances of me dropping my credit card/personally information KNOWINGLY on a Russian site.. 0.00000000%

Ah, I thought there'd be a catch. Yes, tis a bit risky - although you could minimise your risks by just using one credit card and watching it very carefully. If you have nerves of steel! :rolleyes: methinks I might give it a miss.

Sun Baked

Dec 19, 2005, 02:58 PM

It takes advantage of a Russian loophole that the police there have said isn't a loophole and are trying to close them down. Then again, they've been trying for years but they probably have bigger fish to fry. So it's not strictly legal, no.

I've never used it myself since the thought of sending my credit card details to a Russian site operating outside the law makes me a little nervous. :o

EDIT: Despite the time difference, I wrote this before seeing yellow's response. Great minds? :pJust because it is legal to buy and smoke some drugs in one country, and the company making the sale is completely legit there.

Doesn't exactly mean you can have a few ounces ordered and delivered to your door and thumb the nose at the DEA.

Of course if you want to download a song and share it with people for free on your computer, you might be tempting fate.

Don't worry the RIAA will probably lobby Congress and have a rider included to really mess people up at some point.

Lacero

Dec 19, 2005, 03:00 PM

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 03:02 PM

Great minds? :p

Right on!

njmac

Dec 19, 2005, 03:07 PM

I also have a credit card that has a spending limit and I watch for anything fishy. I've never heard of anyone being ripped of by allofmp3 before.

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 03:09 PM

I've never heard of anyone being ripped of by allofmp3 before.

It's not necessarily them I'm worried about.. it's more their "sphere of influence", if you will..

vniow

Dec 19, 2005, 03:10 PM

Afraid of the Russian mafia now are we?

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 03:33 PM

More that I'm afraid that I will suddenly be purchasing items that I don't actually get to use.

If anyone who uses it wants to grab "The Wait" by Killing Joke for me, I'll send you 2x the price it costs. :)

LethalWolfe

Dec 19, 2005, 03:42 PM

w/iTMS bands get money from the downloads and because sales are tracked they could potentially use those numbers at the bargaining table for future record deal.

Bands get nothing at all if you buy thru a source like allofmp3.com.

I'd probably rather just pull a song from P2P than give money to a company who's business model is to rip-off the bands whose<sp?> music they sell.

Lethal

dops7107

Dec 19, 2005, 04:06 PM

w/iTMS bands get money from the downloads and because sales are tracked they could potentially use those numbers at the bargaining table for future record deal.
That's a good point - I did wonder how, if at all, any revenue would make its way back to the artists.

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 04:09 PM

None at all..

Peterkro

Dec 19, 2005, 04:12 PM

http://www.museekster.com/allofmp3interview.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllOfMP3.com

andiwm2003

Dec 19, 2005, 04:34 PM

I use it. You pay by the bandwidth to download it. It's a nice service. No DRM, but yes, the source is shady, that's why I use a credit card with a spending limit.

Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)

that's something i don't really get. if you believe the deal is only halflegal or illegal why do you pay for it? i mean if you accept a shady deal you might as well get the music for free.

Counterfit

Dec 19, 2005, 04:59 PM

Seems you don't need to give them your credit card info. The store maintains an account balance for each user. The account can be replenished using various payment methods, including through Xrost.com prepaid cards (which in turn can be funded through Paypal), so that no credit card information has to be revealed to AllofMP3.

yellow

Dec 19, 2005, 05:02 PM

Indeed.. still.. call it paranoia, I'll pass.

narco

Dec 19, 2005, 09:25 PM

If anyone who uses it wants to grab "The Wait" by Killing Joke for me, I'll send you 2x the price it costs. :)

Ooh! Great song, great album too! I have it.

I've been using Allofmp3 for a couple years now on the same credit card and everything has gone perfectly. I normally buy CDs, but there are those few songs that you want, but don't want to get the whole CD for. I hate the DRM on any music service, and I don't like P2P programs because with allofmp3, you can pick your bitrate and file type.

Fishes,
narco.

bodeh6

Jun 7, 2006, 09:58 AM

Looks like the UK is trying to warn UK music buyers not to use this site

Link (http://www.betanews.com/article/Britons_Warned_Over_AllofMP3_Use/1149623831)

XNine

Jun 7, 2006, 10:57 AM

Get a NetSpend card. That way, you put 20 bucks or whatever on it, and it acts like a credit card with no trace back to your actual bank accounts, and thus, the Russians do not appear in those Citi commercials of identity theft.

bodeh6

Jun 7, 2006, 11:13 AM

With my Citi card, it has a virtual credit card number generator that is one time use up to a predefined limit.

WinterMute

Jun 7, 2006, 11:45 AM

The point is not that they are ripping of the consumers, the point is that they are PIRATES!!

None of this money will ever been seen by the artists who made the music, it's the on-line equivalent of buying DVD-r's from a bloke in the market.

If you're happy to pirate music on P2P then you probably won't care much about stealing from the bands and artists by buying from this site, but don't fool yourself, simply because you are paying for this doesn't make it any better.

The BPI in the UK are seeking legal recourse against the site via the Russian government.

yg17

Jun 7, 2006, 11:52 AM

The point is not that they are ripping of the consumers, the point is that they are PIRATES!!

By Russian law, they're NOT pirates. What they are doing is 100% legal.

Applespider

Jun 7, 2006, 11:55 AM

By Russian law, they're NOT pirates. What they are doing is 100% legal.

In Russia... and it's slightly grey there. But regardless of whether you approve of record companies or not, you should care that some of the money from your purchase goes to the musicians or why should they bother? The cash from this goes to a grey organisation in Russia so isn't even helping out the local economy as with Wintermute's example of the DVD-Rs in the local market. :rolleyes:

Macaddicttt

Jun 7, 2006, 11:57 AM

By Russian law, they're NOT pirates. What they are doing is 100% legal.

That still doesn't make it right. Just because Russian law doesn't call them pirates doesn't mean that they're not ripping off artists and making money from other people's hard work.

WinterMute

Jun 7, 2006, 12:03 PM

By Russian law, they're NOT pirates. What they are doing is 100% legal.

Which is why they've been in business for so long, but it still doesn't alter what they are doing, they are selling material that doesn't belong to them and that they don't have an agreement with the owners to retail.

If I come to your house and steal all your stuff then sell it in Afghanistan off the back of a truck am I still not a thief?

drlunanerd

Jun 7, 2006, 12:03 PM

That still doesn't make it right. Just because Russian law doesn't call them pirates doesn't mean that they're not ripping off artists and making money from other people's hard work.

So, just like most record labels then.

My partner has one of the big five labels as a client. The disgraceful waste of money that goes on there would seriously piss you off if you were a recording artist signed with them. Some of the top execs are narcissistic egomaniacs and the sooner their business model is forced to change the better.

This doesn't excuse theft of course.

CanadaRAM

Jun 7, 2006, 12:09 PM

Here's a benchmark.

In the USA, the statutory royalty rate for a songwriter is just over 9 cents per song per unit sold (CD, LP) That is exclusive of the record company's share, and the performance artist's share. So, do the math and figure out who is not getting paid.

WinterMute

Jun 7, 2006, 12:09 PM

So, just like most record labels then.

My partner has one of the big five labels as a client. The disgraceful waste of money that goes on there would seriously piss you off if you were a recording artist signed with them. Some of the top execs are narcissistic egomaniacs and the sooner their business model is forced to change the better.

Now that is a completely different kettle of fish...:D

The labels have been exploiting the artists for ever, but it's done legally with a contract and the artists are being paid for their work and the label has to work to reclaim the funds.

Yes, they are wasteful and yes they have yet to come to terms with the changes in the marketplace that have occurred since downloading became a reality.

If they don't change they will go out of business, and everyone then gets to find a new model.

This doesn't change what allofmp3 are doing, thieving scumbags.

yg17

Jun 7, 2006, 12:16 PM

In Russia... and it's slightly grey there. But regardless of whether you approve of record companies or not, you should care that some of the money from your purchase goes to the musicians or why should they bother? The cash from this goes to a grey organisation in Russia so isn't even helping out the local economy as with Wintermute's example of the DVD-Rs in the local market. :rolleyes:

I dont care where my money goes as long as I get my product that I paid for. If it's preventing 50 cent from adding bigger spinners to his escalade, then so be it.

Applespider

Jun 7, 2006, 12:22 PM

I dont care where my money goes as long as I get my product that I paid for. If it's preventing 50 cent from adding bigger spinners to his escalade, then so be it.

Ethical consumersism doesn't appeal then? It's not 50 cent/Robbie Williams that I'm worried about. It's the smaller guys that aren't quite so famous, don't get the multi-million pound deals and the royalty cheque (of whatever size) is what keeps them going.

I work on the same principle with food. I'll pay a little extra to get a product that's got better provenance and where the suppliers have been more fairly treated. But I'm fortunate in that I have a job where I'm not living hand to mouth waiting for a royalty cheque :p

Malcster

Jun 7, 2006, 12:24 PM

Looks like there trying to go legit...

http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1212

particularly this part of the article...

5. On September 1, 2006 the changes to the Russian copyright legislation will come into force. Since January 2006 the site has been making direct agreements with rightholders and authors at the same time increasing the price of the music compositions and transferring the royalties directly to the artists and record companies. The aim of AllofMP3.com is to agree with all rightholders on the prices and royalties amounts by September 1, 2006.

get it now while there cheap! ;)

yg17

Jun 7, 2006, 12:24 PM

WinterMute

Jun 7, 2006, 12:39 PM

Ethical consumersism doesn't appeal then? It's not 50 cent/Robbie Williams that I'm worried about. It's the smaller guys that aren't quite so famous, don't get the multi-million pound deals and the royalty cheque (of whatever size) is what keeps them going.

I work on the same principle with food. I'll pay a little extra to get a product that's got better provenance and where the suppliers have been more fairly treated. But I'm fortunate in that I have a job where I'm not living hand to mouth waiting for a royalty cheque :p

It's a shame more people don't apply this thinking to their music purchases, I have friends who would freak of they couldn't get their fairtrade bananas or free-range eggs from regularly hugged chickens, but they steal music or support pirates without a second thought.

Anyone who thinks there's big bucks to be made in the music biz as an artist needs to read this from producer Steve Albini:

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

The multimillionaire acts don't make all their money from CD sales anymore, it's merchandising and sponsorship deals that bring in the big bucks, plus things like Film soundtracks and the like.

Supporting your favourite artist by buying their work means you might get to hear some more of it in the future.

CanadaRAM

Jun 7, 2006, 12:48 PM

I dont care where my money goes as long as I get my product that I paid for. If it's preventing 50 cent from adding bigger spinners to his escalade, then so be it.
If you worked at Macdonalds, then, I could cut a deal with the manager so that he didn't pay you for your shift, therefore saving $60, and I could get $.75 off all my hamburgers. What do I care if you can afford another fancy Macintosh?

Wait: that would be illegal. Fancy that.

LethalWolfe

Jun 7, 2006, 01:10 PM

I dont care where my money goes as long as I get my product that I paid for. If it's preventing 50 cent from adding bigger spinners to his escalade, then so be it.
Yes, because 50 cent waves a magic wand instantly an album is created and it appears on store shelves (completely w/marketing and everything). :rolleyes:

That's like saying you won't pay for apple products because Steve Jobs is rich enough. Well, guess what genius, a lot more people work for Apple (directly and indirectly) and benefit from the sales of Apple products than just Steve Jobs. The same applies to music and movies. Instead of saying, "Well, Brad Pitt is a rich jerk and doesn't deserve any more money so I'll get a P2P copy of fight club." Why don't you watch the credits and come up w/reasons why all the hundreds of other people involved in making that film don't deserve the money they are making.

So, just out curiosity, what's your justification for ripping off all the "little people" that work day in and day out behind the scenes in the entertainment industry?

Lethal

yellow

Jun 7, 2006, 01:12 PM

Yes, because 50 cent waves a magic wand instantly an album is created and it appears on store shelves (completely w/marketing and everything).

I hear that magic wand also gets the ladies "out o' they draws". :D

CanadaRAM

Jun 7, 2006, 01:21 PM

So, just out curiosity, what's your justification for ripping off all the "little people" that work day in and day out behind the scenes in the entertainment industry?
No no, it's not that he wants to rip off the little people in the USA, its just that the little people in the Russian underworld are more deserving of his money and support. :rolleyes:

Face it, downloaders of unlicensed copyrighted material: This is just a shabby excuse for greed. Y'all figure you're more special than the rest of us fools who pay for our purchases, and you deserve something for nothing, Then will go to any length to construct some rhetorical justification for taking someone elses property - their livelihood - for free.

If the music had NO value, then you wouldn't care if you didn't have it to play in your car or your iPod. So it has some value. And you're willing to take it illegitimately to save 96 cents. Then you'll turn around and spend $1.99 on filtered tapwater in a Dasani bottle. Frack it, it's all just greed.

bodeh6

Jun 7, 2006, 02:00 PM

The only good thing about this site is that it offers all of the songs in a variety of formats (MP3, AAC, WMA, etc) and in various bit rates. Apple should learn from this. 128 AAC is not the best. For $1 a song it should be at least 160-192 AAC.

quigleybc

Jun 7, 2006, 02:50 PM

Face it, downloaders of unlicensed copyrighted material: This is just a shabby excuse for greed. Y'all figure you're more special than the rest of us fools who pay for our purchases, and you deserve something for nothing Frack it, it's all just greed.

Exactly..

Whenever these threads come up about piracy, and all the justifications surface about bla bla bla the recording industry does it too, and all the other excuses...call it what it is, "i want to get it for free, and I can, so I do.."

As for that Russian site....I wouldn't send my CC info to them....no way..

It'll be shut down soon anyway probably....

XNine

Jun 7, 2006, 03:18 PM

Instead of saying, "Well, Brad Pitt is a rich jerk and doesn't deserve any more money so I'll get a P2P copy of fight club." Why don't you watch the credits and come up w/reasons why all the hundreds of other people involved in making that film don't deserve the money they are making.Lethal

PFT. Like anyone would pirate a movie of Fight CLub's calibre. That's one of the greatest films of all time!!!!

As for artists. It depends. I'll buy it from the indie guys or the guys not on the major labels and unless it's a band that's truly great that's on a big 5 label, then I won't buy. But then again a lot of the music I listen to isn't on large labels, so I pay anyway.

I find that 99.9% of what MTV and the radio plays is pure crap, and I hope the big 5 labels all go to hell in a handbasket. Over-produced, by the books crap. Just my opinion...

yg17

Jun 7, 2006, 03:24 PM

Lets just stop arguing, because we won't change anyone's mind. I'll remain immoral and unethical and keep downloading music, and you buy it.

MacRumorUser

Jun 7, 2006, 07:08 PM

If you download somthing from them and say they are eventually closed, would the authoritites not come after you for using their download service? I mean if your gonna be a pirate why not just torrent the stuff?

I'd like to use a cheap, legal service - but I'm too worried to do so with this for fear of being fined later.

yg17

Jun 7, 2006, 11:33 PM

If you download somthing from them and say they are eventually closed, would the authoritites not come after you for using their download service?

If the Russian gov't closes them down and wants to prosecute customers, they can't go after anyone outside of Russia.

NATO

Jun 15, 2006, 11:18 AM

Let's face it, allofmp3.com is the only site I know of that offers customers what they want. Namely:

1. Choice of quality, from 128KBps-320KBps (CBR and VBR options along with various LAME Presets)
2. Choice of File Format from MP3, WMA, AAC to OGG
3. No DRM Restrictions
4. Fantastic Pricing Structure and regular updates

Like them or loathe them, they're clearly appealing to customers who are tired of poor quality, DRM restricted and expensive downloads. Rather than simply criticising them, perhaps other online music stores such as iTunes should try to mimic the success of allofmp3 (surprisingly in the UK, despite a multitude of online music stores, allofmp3.com is the second largest, beaten only by iTunes!).

As much as I love Apple,I have only ever bought a couple of tracks from iTunes (or any other online store for that matter) and I will certainly not be in a hurry to buy any in the future for several reasons:

1. AAC 128KBps is just not good enough, especially when you are purchasing the tracks for 79p each. On good quality playback systems, it is noticeable.
2. DRM. I know this isn't strictly Apple's fault, I understand it is a requirement to satisfy the music labels. However, until they learn to stop treating paying customers as thieves, I just cannot bring myself to buy something hindered by such restrictions. If you can go out and purchase the CD and rip it to MP3 without DRM, why can't you purchase the tracks direct without DRM? Also, what implications will there be if you want to listen to those tracks in 10 years or more? Can you be guaranteed your tracks will still play? At least with MP3 there is no DRM, it's just a plain file format.
3. Price. At 79p per track (or usually £7.99 per album), the physical CDs can be purchased for this or even less (speaking from my own experience in the UK at least). Given the downsides of the above 2 points, this makes the CD a much more attractive alternative.

Until the Music Labels start to embrace online music downloads properly, rather than this draconian DRM 'lock-down' they have forced on all the online music stores, coupled with extortionate pricing (given the fact all the costs involved with production, distribution and sales are eliminated with an online store), then long live the Compact Disc

CanadaRAM

Jun 15, 2006, 11:25 AM

Let's face it, allofmp3.com is the only site I know of that offers customers what they want. Namely:
Stolen music

NATO

Jun 15, 2006, 11:53 AM

Stolen music

No-one *wants* stolen music. Whether the site is 100% legal or not, the fact still remains that people want high quality music without DRM restrictions at a good price, which is why people use them. If there was a totally legal version of allofmp3, I reckon it would be a success.

As with anything, if the major record labels realise that people aren't happy with the current offerings of the online music stores they will be forced to change their policies or face falling sales.

I'm more than happy to pay for online music downloads, but not as it stands at the moment. I mainly buy CDs by the way, just in case people jump on the 'holier-than-thou' bandwagon, however I would really really like to buy most of my music online if it wasn't for my stance on low quality files and DRM (and price to an extent).

If you can buy a CD with the ability to rip the tracks to MP3 at the quality of your choosing, without DRM and for a price equivalent to the iTunes price (or usually less as the case is in the UK), isn't that the more logical choice?

Allofmp3.com isn't succeeding just because it's cheap, it's because people get the music they want, at the quality they want without the restrictions imposed by DRM. Such is my stance on restricting customer's choice, I always return CDs I buy which have copy-protection intended to stop people ripping them to iTunes. The only problem is that no-one else seems to mind the fact their right to choose is being eroded except me seemingly.

other

Jun 19, 2006, 04:23 PM

I don't understand why people use allofmp3, at all. You can pirate music for free, with good quality, but instead you pay for it? (as in, pay for pirated music, not pay for music in general) That's messed up. I hate people who pay for piracy, and I hate those who benefit (economically) from it. Pirate it yourself, if you want to pirate it.

I don't think I would ever pay to download music. iTMS really doesn't have good quality (plus DRM), and they take like 30% of what each song costs. (http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/) Screw that, Apple.

Boggle

Jun 19, 2006, 04:50 PM

Now that is a completely different kettle of fish...:D

The labels have been exploiting the artists for ever, but it's done legally with a contract and the artists are being paid for their work and the label has to work to reclaim the funds.

Yes, they are wasteful and yes they have yet to come to terms with the changes in the marketplace that have occurred since downloading became a reality.

If they don't change they will go out of business, and everyone then gets to find a new model.

This doesn't change what allofmp3 are doing, thieving scumbags.

Normally, I find myself on the side of any Gibson inspiired "handle". However, I have to point out a contradiction in this argument. Exploitation of a loophole and exploitation of artists are both ethically wrong and totally legal based on the laws of localities of the coorporations. The fact that russian laws don't protect the interests of USA record labels does not NECESSARILY mean corruption, it CAN mean a different value system.

I also would say that the music industry haven't come to terms w/ downloading. They have been forced to the negotiating table and are terribly unhappy about being there, is how I would put it.

Lastly, I'd argue that as consumers of mass market products we aren't really in a good position to comment on the ethics of this site. That is unless we don't buy clothes from a chain store, have never purchased a name brand shoe / sneaker etc. Heck, most mass-produced items come from some sort of legal-where-they-operate type of exploitation.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic, just saying that I think it's a bit more complicated and morally relative.

chris200x9

Jun 19, 2006, 09:55 PM

I seriously think Major labels are to obsessed with money....fact: there is a way for cheap music AND artists make MORE money...heres how u lisence music then EVERY consumer pays 5 or ten extra dollars a month for UNLIMITED downloads the money gets split up according to the amount of downloads of different songs and goes in a corresponding percentage of all the money to the peticular artist the consumer saves the artist make more from his work its all good but heres the catch why itll never get started when u PURCHASE music the label only pays around 10% but when they LISENCE music they have to pay about 40%....so gready labels keep prices high and exploit artists

yellow

Jun 20, 2006, 12:11 PM

But why would I want to rent music?

chris200x9

Jun 20, 2006, 05:31 PM

But why would I want to rent music?

what? you would own it as much as u own music u get from limewire kazaa etc.

NATO

Jun 23, 2006, 06:55 PM

what? you would own it as much as u own music u get from limewire kazaa etc.

That's the thing, you wouldn't own it at all. If you stopped paying your $5-10, your music stops playing due to the DRM. With limewire/kazaa etc, you have unprotected music files which will play forever.

wmmk

Jun 25, 2006, 07:38 PM

That's the thing, you wouldn't own it at all. If you stopped paying your $5-10, your music stops playing due to the DRM. With limewire/kazaa etc, you have unprotected music files which will play forever.
You mean unprotected music files which will play forever and get you sued for thousands by the RIAA?:rolleyes:

NATO

Jun 26, 2006, 06:26 AM

You mean unprotected music files which will play forever and get you sued for thousands by the RIAA?:rolleyes:

Sigh... I was talking about the file formats. If I rip my CDs I get unprotected MP3 files which will play forever too. Won't get sued for the RIAA for that :rolleyes:

7on

Jun 26, 2006, 09:31 AM

But why would I want to rent music?

He's talking hypothetical. Meaning that's what he WANTS to happen. Renting music is already out there and he never mentioned renting in this rant. His idea means you pay a set fee and download as much as you want without DRM.

jessica.

Jun 26, 2006, 09:38 AM

But why would I want to rent music?
Same reason people "lease" cars. ;)
But for me....I want to own my music, even if it is overpriced.

yellow

Jun 26, 2006, 11:34 AM

He's talking hypothetical. Meaning that's what he WANTS to happen. Renting music is already out there and he never mentioned renting in this rant. His idea means you pay a set fee and download as much as you want without DRM.

To me, his mention of "licensing" music is equivalent to renting it.

Not a model I care to follow.

princealfie

Jun 26, 2006, 11:36 AM

I love this website :) awesome selection but itunes still has more stuff :D

Doctor Q

Jul 3, 2006, 08:33 PM

The British recording industry is suing AllofMP3.com even though the suit will be unenforceable even if won. Instead, it's to put pressure on the Russian government to shut it down.

News link (http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/07/03/russianmp3/)The U.K. indeed isn't alone in its legal activity against AllofMP3.com. Several other law suits against the site are under way, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a group that fights music piracy on behalf of the music industry worldwide. A German court has issued a preliminary injunction against the site and authorities in Italy have launched a criminal investigation into the local portal, AllofMP3.it. Two other criminal proceedings in Russia are also under way.I fixed the misspelling of isn't in the article so as not to embarrass them. :rolleyes: