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Allofmp3.com ok to use?

B

bluesman87

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 12, 2006
51
0
Hi guys,

I already searched the forums and i really didn't find the answer i was looking for. I was wondering if allofmp3.com is still ok to use and if anyone is still on board with them? I remember using it quite a bit a couple years ago but i remember hearing some scuffle that the company was going through by being sued. Are we in danger as purchasers? I only pay for my music (i realize that allpfmp3.com isn't the most legit, don't hastle me!), and iTunes never seems to have what i want, and I refuse to pay 17 bucks each for just a couple cds i want and i know that allofmp3.com has. Thanks,

Rob
 
Aside from being in a legal grey area, I think AllOfMp3 is still up and just fine to use.

I think you always have a better case if someone comes knocking on your door if you've payed for the music in some form or fashion (at least then you can claim ignorance if nothing else) rather than knowingly downloading it for free. :)
 
CanadaRAM said:
What's the difference between stealing something, or buying from somone who has stolen it? In the second case, you can only fool yourself into thinking that you have done the right thing.
Click to expand...

Agreed...its still stealing, its wrong...because your paying someone stolen stuff it doesn't make it ok
 
epochblue said:
Aside from being in a legal grey area, I think AllOfMp3 is still up and just fine to use.

I think you always have a better case if someone comes knocking on your door if you've payed for the music in some form or fashion (at least then you can claim ignorance if nothing else) rather than knowingly downloading it for free. :)
Click to expand...

Good plan. I know a guy who has MacBook Pro's for sale for $800 each. Just missing the AC adaptors and CDs. He's a stand up guy, he'll give you a receipt and everything. He guarantees that the owners of the laptops will get paid for them if they apply to him for their standard royalty rate of $100 each as established by the Preowned Laptop Distribution Rights Society.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Good plan. I know a guy who has MacBook Pro's for sale for $800 each. Just missing the AC adaptors and CDs. He's a stand up guy, he guarantees that the owners of the laptops will get paid for them if they apply to him for their standard royalty rate of $100 each as established by the Preowned Laptop Distribution Rights Society.
Click to expand...

LOL. Point made. I'm not saying that AllOfMp3 is the RIGHT thing to do, but that also wasn't the OP's question. Do I use it? No. Will I use it? No.

I'm waiting for the DRM-free tracks from EMI, personally.
 
Bit of hyperbole going on here,Allofmp3 is legal under Russian law it pays the required dues.In spite of huge "in a very legally grey area" pressure from the US government and the **AA (and US banks) it still offers a excellent download service.If it's legal or not is a matter for the Russian legal system.
 
Peterkro said:
Bit of hyperbole going on here,Allofmp3 is legal under Russian law it pays the required dues.In spite of huge "in a very legally grey area" pressure from the US government and the **AA (and US banks) it still offers a excellent download service.If it's legal or not is a matter for the Russian legal system.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU for being the voice of reason. Just because something seems illegal does not necessarily mean it is. Has our government outlawed use of the site? Not as far as I know, and things can't be illegal until there is a law on the books. Currently, this seems to be a moral issue, not a legal one.

Further, who said the music was stolen? Is it not possible that is just the cost, given the exchange rate? I'm not sure on this, but it seems an idea worth entertaining. Also, it might just be the little Marxist in me, but singers and songwriters HAVE the money; you and I, most likely, make substantially less. Everyone is free to define what is right and wrong; to me, a person with little money, I feel little sympathy for people who make millions and millions of dollars crying, "It's not fair that a small segment of consumers aren't paying full price!"

I say to them: "Cry me a river; I have no health insurance, and you're quibbling over 75 cents?"
 
rspeaker said:
Further, who said the music was stolen? Is it not possible that is just the cost, given the exchange rate? I'm not sure on this, but it seems an idea worth entertaining. Also, it might just be the little Marxist in me, but singers and songwriters HAVE the money; you and I, most likely, make substantially less. Everyone is free to define what is right and wrong; to me, a person with little money, I feel little sympathy for people who make millions and millions of dollars crying, "It's not fair that a small segment of consumers aren't paying full price!"
Click to expand...

Well, if I was going to use that as a rationalization for stealing music, then I'm just going to steal it for free from a file-sharing system or Usenet group, or borrow the CD from a friend or from the library. Why pay someone else to be the middle man?

Lots of things are not illegal in other countries, that should be. Because the American system isn't actively taking steps to stop you from doing those things is still not justification.
 
My understanding is that Russia has agreed to shut down AllofMP3 as part of a series of reforms designed to help them gain entry to the WTO. They just haven't done it yet.
 
rspeaker said:
THANK YOU for being the voice of reason. Just because something seems illegal does not necessarily mean it is. Has our government outlawed use of the site? Not as far as I know, and things can't be illegal until there is a law on the books. Currently, this seems to be a moral issue, not a legal one.

Further, who said the music was stolen? Is it not possible that is just the cost, given the exchange rate? I'm not sure on this, but it seems an idea worth entertaining. Also, it might just be the little Marxist in me, but singers and songwriters HAVE the money; you and I, most likely, make substantially less. Everyone is free to define what is right and wrong; to me, a person with little money, I feel little sympathy for people who make millions and millions of dollars crying, "It's not fair that a small segment of consumers aren't paying full price!"
Click to expand...

Stealing = taking something (in this case, the right to reproduce the work) without permission.

AOMP3 charges you but they do not pay the artists. They arbitrarily associated with (or created) a 'pet' "Performing Rights Society" which has no international recognition or standing, and without the song owners' permission, granted themselves a license to reproduce the works at about 3% of the accepted international royalty rates. Then said to the rights holders "Come and get your royalties, we're happy to pay you the rate that we have determined. Of course once you do, you establish our legal right to pay you at 3% of your normal royalty". That is stealing, and the fact that Russian law does not (or did not) have a method to prevent it does not alter the fact. No matter what they say, they are in breach of pretty much every international convention on copyright, which YOUR country is a signatory to.

Oh and the argument that you should get paid when you do a day's work but that you can decide that someone else should not, because they already have enough money?
^$*@ off.

Or let someone steal your TV and your computer because THEY have less money than YOU.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Good plan. I know a guy who has MacBook Pro's for sale for $800 each. Just missing the AC adaptors and CDs. He's a stand up guy, he'll give you a receipt and everything. He guarantees that the owners of the laptops will get paid for them if they apply to him for their standard royalty rate of $100 each as established by the Preowned Laptop Distribution Rights Society.
Click to expand...

Hahah is this guy in Toronto? I've come across someone that fits this description exactly
 
It's called IMEEM and Audio Hijack. :DWell, at least I paid for the software...

Just kidding guys, I used to do that but then I realized that even though I'm probably not making a big difference in the artists paycheck buy not buying a few songs, what if everyone started doing this? Most everyone I know already uses Limewire.:(
 
For what it's worth, I buy almost all of my music from iTunes. I've used Allofmp3.com once, to buy one song. I understand there are laws and things, and as an upstanding American citizen, I largely follow those laws, even if begrudgingly. I'm no thief or anything, just offering a different perspective. Apparently everyone has already made up their minds, though.
 
The idea of artists these days being rich (and therefore it being reasonable to send your money to the Russian mafia instead) is laughable.

Most bands on major label contracts end up owing the record companies money. The household name artists are the exceptions to the rule.
 
FFS, is anyone capable of staying on topic?

CanadaRAM said:
What's the difference between stealing something, or buying from somone who has stolen it? In the second case, you can only fool yourself into thinking that you have done the right thing.
Click to expand...

Conjecture.

zap2 said:
...its still stealing, its wrong...because your paying someone stolen stuff it doesn't make it ok
Click to expand...

Conjecture.
 
1. allofmp3.com seems to be just barely on the right side of legal, depending on where you live, but I am not a lawyer.
2. Whatever music you download from allofmp3.com, neither the artists nor the record companies will receive one penny for it. Repeat that: Neither the artists nor the record companies will receive one penny.

You will sometimes read that allofmp3 offers good value for money; but that is only the case because artists and record companies don't receive a penny. If iTMS didn't pay 70 cents per song to the record companies, it would be very hard to argue which one is better value for money, especially since iTMS has a much much larger selection.
 
CanadaRAM said:
That is stealing, and the fact that Russian law does not (or did not) have a method to prevent it does not alter the fact. No matter what they say, they are in breach of pretty much every international convention on copyright, which YOUR country is a signatory to.
Click to expand...

Let me preface by saying i've never bought from allofmp3.com and actually only 1 track online at all(from itunes).

It is not stealing under Russian law. And while other contries have adopted copyright laws, it does not mean every country has to adopt them or has adopted them. It is only stealing in countries that have these laws.
 
i.Feature said:
Let me preface by saying i've never bought from allofmp3.com and actually only 1 track online at all(from itunes).

It is not stealing under Russian law. And while other contries have adopted copyright laws, it does not mean every country has to adopt them or has adopted them. It is only stealing in countries that have these laws.
Click to expand...

aaaannnndddd, you don't live in Russia, do you? When you import a product which contravenes international and/or national laws, even if from a country which has no laws against them what then? Ivory, absinthe, illegal pr0n, contaminated / uninspected foods, banned pesticides, explosives, fake drugs, hate literature ...

conjecture...
Click to expand...

Back at you, dude. It is well established that this is the AOMP3 model. They at one time at least, laid it out on their website (the use of an unaffiliated "PRO" that collected miniscule royalties "on behalf of" the copyright owners)

What do you have other than conjecture, that they pay anybody at all?

Besides, if the songwriters are legally due 7.7 cents from the sale of their recording (not to mention the performance royalties, and other revenues), and AOMP3 sells the recording for 3 cents, you don't need to go much further than doing the math. Also reference all the recordings (Beatles catalog) which have never been permitted for downloading, which would be evidence that they do not sign contracts or secure permission before copying and selling the works.

Back to topic then

Allofmp3.com ok to use?
Click to expand...

No. You are giving your money and/or charge card information to unknown people, possibly criminals, who sell you stolen product. Whether or not you are morally OK with buying goods that have been taken from their owners without permission, you would have to be seven kinds of idiot to risk your money or account information this way.

Think about it, what is the end game? When they are finally shut down, they will be out of business but sitting on a database of millions of email address, charge card numbers and paypal account addresses. What do you think will happen with those? Shredded and erased? I hardly think so...

If the music is worth it to you, buy it properly. If it is not worth it, then it is not worth stealing it either.
 
Again, AOMp3's legality was never the point of the original post. In fact, the OP said this:
(i realize that allpfmp3.com isn't the most legit, don't hastle me!)
Click to expand...

The original post asked:
I was wondering if allofmp3.com is still ok to use and if anyone is still on board with them? I remember using it quite a bit a couple years ago but i remember hearing some scuffle that the company was going through by being sued. Are we in danger as purchasers?
Click to expand...

The answer to those questions, in order:
  1. Yes.
  2. Potentially, but probably not.

We've managed to get a bit off-topic with this one, I feel.
 
If you are in the US (or certain other countries), good luck trying to transfer money into your AllOfMP3 account. It won't accept many from pretty much any source within the US because US companies have prevented it.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Back at you, dude. It is well established that this is the AOMP3 model. They at one time at least, laid it out on their website (the use of an unaffiliated "PRO" that collected miniscule royalties "on behalf of" the copyright owners)

What do you have other than conjecture, that they pay anybody at all?
Click to expand...

You're not getting this, so read closely.

1. I do not provide an opinion on the legality of AllofMP3.com, therefore I provide no fact, fiction or conjecture. I'm merely stating that you and otheres have no hard evidence in any case.

2. You are not answering the OP at any point.

CanadaRAM said:
No. You are giving your money and/or charge card information to unknown people, possibly criminals, who sell you stolen product. Whether or not you are morally OK with buying goods that have been taken from their owners without permission, you would have to be seven kinds of idiot to risk your money or account information this way.
Click to expand...

Again, conjecture.

CanadaRAM said:
Think about it, what is the end game? When they are finally shut down, they will be out of business but sitting on a database of millions of email address, charge card numbers and paypal account addresses. What do you think will happen with those? Shredded and erased? I hardly think so...
Click to expand...

And yet again....
 
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