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AllofMP3 Goes Offline, Future Uncertain

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

May 15, 2006, 2:29 PM

Popular Russian music download service AllofMP3, whose legal status has long been in question, shut down over the weekend and has yet to re-open. The site sold music without DRM copy protection for $0.02 per megabyte, far cheaper than sanctioned services such as iTunes.

AllofMP3 enabled customers to select the audio quality and format of their downloads, and recently rolled out a standalone application for navigating the site and making purchases called AllTunes. However, the music industry has long characterized the service as illegal for not having proper licenses to the songs it sold.

Despite its questionable legality, customers have flocked to the service. Last month, AllofMP3 was the number two music store in the United Kingdom -- only trailing iTunes. However, that exposure also drew additional pressure from the United States music industry, which has pushed Russian regulators to step in.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to crack down on his country's piracy problems and lack of copyright protections. Putin is attempting to bring Russia into the World Trade Organization, and support from the United States will be a necessity to make that happen.

As of Monday afternoon, AllofMP3's site simply says, “We are sorry but the server is closed for maintainance." The service has made no public statements and it's not clear if it will re-open in the future.

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By technofiend

edited May 28, 2006 - 12:10 PM

I agree that the legitimate part of the industry can do things to improve. But that still does not in any way legitimise wholesale theft from artists.

I too hope that the legitimate sites will continue to improve their services and options.
It would be cool to have iTunes offer, say, 128kbps files at a small discount, and 320kbps at their regular rate...

Score: 0

By has4

edited May 26, 2006 - 2:11 PM

Allofmp3 may be in a legal grey area, but they offer customer service and download options that are setting new standard and exceed *by far* the choice you get at iTunes (how many bitrates can you select with iTunes, I think: no choice).
I only hope that more and more people discover them so that the big companies will be forced to pull their finger out and improve their own standard.

Score: 0

By technofiend

edited May 18, 2006 - 10:49 PM

I don't care if you spend $100 or $100,000 per year on 'legit' music purchases - you're still ripping off bands by using these crooked services. Sorry if you somehow feel justified in doing so because you think you spend 'enough' on music...

Making compiliation CDs for friends, while technically illegal, is quite different. It's one-to-one music promotion, and as long as you're targeting the compilations to people you know, you're doing way more good than harm. Equating that to cheaping out and supporting these criminal sites is apples and oranges. Completely different things. Don't try to justify one concept with another, unrelated.

And whether or not you're using these sites for your personal use, or turning around and file 'sharing' the booty, the problem is still the same: these sites are STEALING from artists. Period.

Oh, and these sites aren't "non-gouging" - it's racketeering, piracy, thievery. It's illegal. They are selling stolen goods. How many times does that need to be reiterated?
There are plenty of *legit* sites that sell music for *reasonable* prices and don't rip off the artists. If you think $.79-$.99 a song, or $10 an album is too much, you clearly have no concept about how expensive it is to make music. How on earth did we get to the point were people think that music somehow is made for free, with no money or time commitment from artists? The average album often costs thousands of dollars just to record, and thousands to promote to a level where enough people will know the band where they can even have a small shot of making a tour pay for itself. And so on and so on. If you think revenue from the sale of that record isn't important in that equation you're deluding yourself. But somehow, people think music is free. Unbelieveable.

The bands you know are doing it for the love of it. Most bands do. Most aren't in it for the money first, but for the music. As it should be. Very seldom is good music made from financial inspiration. So if an individual band wants to give their work away, that's fine. But it's their choice and their choice only. You can't apply that to all bands just because one band is okay with not 'making money'. And I bet, dimes to dollars, that most of those bands would be simply thrilled to make enough money making music that the didn't have to do anything else. And one of those revenue streams that makes that possible is music sales.
How many times does *this* need to be repeated: The ONLY people who get to decide how and where their music is distributed is the artist or rights holder. How anyone can possibly believe otherwise is simply rediculous.

So, your "fair share" is only fair if you're not ripping artist off. Your "fair share" is legally buying the music you consume. All of it. Don't feel you can justify doing less because you *think* you're "doing more than [your] fair share". Don't have enough money to buy all the music you want? Tough. Most people don't have enough money to buy everything they want. That's life. Why is music treated differently? How can it be? It can't, yet some people seem to think so. Well, it's simply wrong, and I've *never* heard a rationale that logically can support the idea that music is somehow different. No one is entitled to things they want but can't afford (aside from perhaps food, clothes, shelter and medical help - ideally - but those are needs, not wants).

Score: 0

By enoen

posted May 18, 2006 - 6:31 PM

As someone who owns well over 1000 CD's (and still purchases FAIRLY priced CD's) I think I'm doing more than my fair share of "supporting" my favorite artists. And I support them even more by shelling out $50 to see them (but ya, I don't need a $30 shirt, lol) Main thing is MOST of us who use allofmp3 and other similar services (i.e. non-gouging, yet legal) aren't taking the music and cranking out counterfeit copies, selling them on eBay or whatnot. Worse case, we make copies for friends (usually selected songs on homemade compilations) and suddenly the artist has a new fan, who most likely will show up at their concerts and maybe even buy some of their CD's and/or merchandise. As for the small indy bands, I have several friends who are in bands, but they do it for the love of music and their expression. If you actually think they're on stage waiting for an A&R rep from Interscope to magically appear, think again. But hey, if it happens, more power to them.

Oh yeah... as of 3pm PDT today, Alltunes is up and running, back to normal, yay! They just need to update the catalog from the past week. My $4 balance was still there too =)

Score: 0

By technofiend

posted May 18, 2006 - 10:06 AM

Regarding the value of music... growing up 7" singles were about two bucks, or under. Back in the 70's and 80's.
That's about a buck a song.
Even with my limited income then I bought tons of 'em.
Accounting for inflation, a buck a song is still a good deal in my opinion. I think people have gotten somehow in their minds that music inherently has little or no value, and that's a huge shame - and a large part of this whole problem.
But, I think that as greedy and selfish as people can act, that most are actually concientious and considerate when they actually understand the ramifications of their actions.
And once people realise that they are actually hurting artists by getting music in less-than-honest ways or from less-than-honest sources they will change.

Or I'm wrong and the world is filled with greedy, selfish, entitled idiots who care about nothing aside from themselves.

Score: 0

By technofiend

posted May 18, 2006 - 10:00 AM

The biggest difference between copying a friend's CD, LP or cassette (which is also a crummy thing to do to a band) and file "sharing" is the latter is completely anonymous, and instead of one-to-one it's one-to-many or many-to-many... with no degredation of quality (other than the usual crap low bit rate MP3 compression...) Not to mention it's so much faster to download an entire record than it is to record an LP!

So while copying back then wasn't quite the death knell the 'music industry' raged about in the 80s, the problem is far worse now because of the easy of the piracy.

Should the labels have been more pre-emptive? Yes. Does that excuse people for illegal activity now that they (and a zillion independent artists) are trying to catch up with things? No.
And I don't think for a second that if they had 'kept pace' that it would have stopped this kind of crap. Piracy is as old as the hills - it's up to end users to think twice about their actions and not support the pirates, but to do what they can to support the artists. And again, if you think for a moment you *might* be hurting a band, even a tiny bit - major-label or complete indie - by using these crap services (or illegally downloading or copying CDs) instead of legitimate ones, you need to re-think your priorities. Support the bands. Be a true fan.

Score: 0

By Jack Roo

edited May 17, 2006 - 4:44 AM

Allof the russian sites appear to be nobbled. I guess people will just have to go back to paying $A1.69 per song.

Score: 0

By spoonbow

posted May 17, 2006 - 6:00 PM

Wow. I remember having this argument waaaay back in the early 80's when copying to cassette tape was a huge concern. (For you youngsters out there, back in the dark ages before CD's, we actually listened to music recorded on magnetic media. Barbaric, no?) Back then you could go to just about any flea market, street fair or other event and find mass-produced pirate copies of popular music. Music industry officials and musicians alike were doing their best to convince us that it was killing the industry. It didn't...

Same story with the movie industry when VCRs became affordable and video rental stores popped up on every street corner. Then the CD burner came around and again the music industry freaked out. Again, the industry survived...

Now we're in the era of file sharing on the internet. Granted, it's much quicker and more convenient than the bad old days when we actually had to lug a boom box over to a friends house if we wanted to copy their cassettes, but the end result is the same.

Bottom line is that the entire structure of music distribution changed with the advent of consumer-based recordable media. That happened a long, long time ago. Since that time, the availability and quality of copied music has improved, but the recording industry has done nothing to change the way it does business as technology advanced. Income for both the record company and the musician is still based on a model developed in the days when the record company was the only entity that could produce and distribute the recordings.

The way I see it, record companies large and small really missed out on a great opportunity to improve and expand their business. The internet should have been a boon, not a bane. Imagine if instead of trying to control the internet, record companies had worked with it. What if the label that distributes your favorite artist had developed a subscription or member-based model and provided access to not only the finished album, but also studio outtakes, interviews, videos, live performances, and the ever-popular "bonus tracks"? Concert announcements, contests and artist news delivered to your email. Artist merchandise available online. What if you could buy a "subscription" to a particular band/artist and receive all the items listed above for the cost of a CD? Would you do it? I would. And the record company has just sold it's product with zero packaging costs and greatly reduced distribution and warehousing costs. They get paid, the artist gets paid, and the customer gets a whole lot more for their money than they used to.

Take it a step further and imagine the record company has just signed a new artist. With a subscription-based model, they have instant access to very specific marketing information and can target their desired market based on the member's current subscriptions. On and on and on...

So does any of this make it right to "steal" music? Of course not. But the music industry has noone but itself to blame for the situation it now finds itself in. Had they kept pace with technology, they may have been able to remain the sole provider of new music and sold the distribution rights for older music to the iTunes and allofmp3's of the world...

Just my $.02 (said with $1.37 worth of words...)

Score: 0

By terminalx

posted May 17, 2006 - 11:41 AM

The Point NO ONE is getting... these artists and labels NEVER consented to allow their music for download..who cares what legal mumbo jumbo roms spews out...no permission was ever given they took the cds ILLEGALLY uploading them...they are no better then a p2p only they are making money off of you...

Score: 0

By technofiend

edited May 17, 2006 - 9:48 AM

Well, a new paradigm including people selling copyrighted works without the rights holders' consent, at arbitrary prices, isn't a legitimate one.
Any artist these days that doesn't provide legal ways of downloading thier music is missing the boat of course, but it should be up to them, not some random third party setting rdiculously low prices that make it impossible for even larger artists to expect a reasonable return for their work. (I don't wanna hear the 'artists make their money in other ways' myths again - they simply aren't true, nor is any single revenue stream the same from artist to artist to even make such a blanket assumption.

Yes, perhaps there is a new paradigm emerging where artistic merit might actually mean more than sheer marketing (but I doubt it will ever be completely that way - marketing is also here to stay.) However, removing possible adaquate compensation for an artist's work isn't going to make that pardigm work. How many times does it need to be repeated that most artists and bands (this includes a lot more 'succesful' and 'popular' bands than you might think) do not, with all possible revenue streams, ever come close to making a living just maikng music, never mind even having it pay for itself. And how many times does it need to be repeated that it's no one's right but the artist (or rights holder) to decide how, where, and for how much their work is available?
Good grief.

As an aritst personally who has never made back even close to what I have put into this, I simply don't care about 'promotion' or 'success' as it is defined in the general societal norms, but I do care about how I, and all artists, deserve to not get ripped off. And supporting sites that sell artists' works without their consent (and, as I nor anyone I know have been actually been able to tell, provide any real way of getting even the pittance of a 'royalty' that they allegedly offer) can be defined as a good thing for the future of music how, now?

Score: 0

By realistic

edited May 15, 2007 - 3:25 PM

Some dreadful artists always want to blame others for their luck but allofmp3 is LEGAL - just as possessing a firearm is LEGAL in the US but not in the UK - does that mean that US citizens are acting illegally? - NO. It is the law, allofmp3 is legal - don't like it? tough!

Score: 0

By spoonbow

edited May 17, 2006 - 9:34 AM

An email from mp3stor? Dang, ain't you the lucky one. Any chance you could publish the email addy you mailed to get the credit?

I'm guessing since mp3stor offers their pages in russian as well as english that they *might* just be located in Russia,and are just *possibly* affiliated with allofmp3. Just a guess... ;)

****Updated****
OK, my bad. allofmp3 is indeed registered in Russia. MP3stor.com appears to be registered to an organization in Cyprus. Incidentally, mp3stor only registered their domain name for a year, expiring January '07. Not indicative of someone looking to establish a long-term business. Think I'd just use up the credit issued then skeedaddle without giving them another dime if I were you...

Score: 0

By tai.new

posted Oct 19, 2006 - 7:07 AM

hey, you really are a smart one.
csn you just once explain me the connection between the registering, expiring and the long-term business? they can, just a guess, heh, prolong their regisrtation any time, may be today or tomorrow. i do not see any logic in your assumptions, sorry.

Score: 0

By tai.new

edited Oct 19, 2006 - 6:58 AM

i tried to download music from http://www.mp3stor.com and was actually surprised by the quality of the music and by the prices. but mostly i was SHOKED when they really DID fulfill me order in JUST ONE DAY!!! Although i tried to find the album I wanted at allofmp3. The thing is, that allofmp3 don't have such service. Anyways, just try - they are really good.

Score: 0

By dmm

posted May 17, 2006 - 7:13 AM

I received this letter from http://www.mp3stor.com, I don't understand how is mp3stor.com connected to allofmp3.com:

====
Mp3stor.com is quite new but
rather big mp3 archive. We add 250 albums every day and plan to have 80000 albums by the end of this year.
We are now promoting a special action. You have a possibility to obtain a bonus on our site http://www.mp3stor.com
To obtain the bonus please send us a letter with the current balance of money you have on allofmp3 site.
====

They really added $5 to my new account. At allofmp3.com I had $4.62

Score: 0

By iamanon

posted May 17, 2006 - 12:30 AM

and you are.. No, I suppose it does not matter. And more than likely true.. the Beatles did stop touring before they hit their peak. And you do have valid points. But at this time in society. The genie is out of the bottle and don’t you think that a whole now paradigm is about to take shape where only the artist actual merit will be valid. Or do you think that the promoters are now to be thought of as part of that artwork, meriting the same compensation as the artists.. ? Or would some artists be afraid that without that support they would crumble and fade to oblivion?

Score: 0

By technofiend

edited May 17, 2006 - 12:05 AM

And I am? What does it matter?
All you need to know is, personally I'm an obscure indie artist who feels every single penny of loss to illegal downloading.
And that I have worked closely with several hundred bands and many indie labels over the past 20 years. And know of what I speak.
Don't assume that before CDs artists made all their money from playing live - that's not even close to true. Where on earth did you come up with that? Since the dawn of recording there have been plenty of artists who never or rarely performed live at all. (C'mon - the Beatles stopped touring before they even hit their peak of popularity.) And smaller bands have always struggled and depended on *every* source of income, LPs/CDs/cassettes included. Who's right is it to come in and deny them one possible avenue of income? Certainly not yours.
Where do people get these myths that every single band is simply getting ripped off by some mean corporate label? Most bands can't even get into a position to do better than break even playing live without some kind of label backing - even these days. And only the bigger names ever even get a moderate living out of it (where they can actually quit their day jobs.) Only the tiniest majority do much better than that (like something that someone might call 'rich.'

If it's not $.15 per album, what is it? $.20?
All of my material that gets sold on those crooked sites amounts to $0.00 per album because they don't pay me and I never gave them permission to sell my stuff in the first place - but sell it, they do. People have proudly announced that they've downloaded all my stuff on crooked sites like these, and are repeatedly shocked to find out I don't see a penny, nor did I give them permission to sell my stuff.

If you're a fan of a band, what excuse can you really have to use these thieving sites? If you even *think* you might be ripping the band off, you're not a real fan, just a cheapskate.

Score: 0

By my2sense

edited May 17, 2006 - 10:32 AM

I don't think you are talking to a bunch of "groupies" on this site. You believe you are getting ripped off by allofmp3? I won't even go into the fact that pirating music has been taking place since its inception. Especially with the advent of the cassette. What I take offence to is that it sounds as though you expect us to bow down to your omnipotent creativeness - i.e. "you're not a real fan". I hear a good song, I purchase it rather than going to a P2P site, and I listen to it. No, I am not a real fan. I am a victim just as yourself. I never get paid what I am actually worth. However, if you have been doing this for 20 years, you must be making something. If not, change jobs. Since it appears making music is just a job as is inferred by your post. Allofmp3 has followed the letter of the law in it's country. We live in a global community. Get use to things not going as you feel they should. By the way, people can tell if you are an embittered artist or an inspired one.

Score: 0

By justme123

posted May 16, 2006 - 11:01 PM

and another note. Before cd's ALL artists made their living actually playing before a live audience... True... this did present a barrier to pure crap promoted by people who were not interested in good music but money. Yes. Yes. I know... with out them how would the masses have heard X Y OR Z band... etc. Well. I say the same people say that Darwin was a silly boy in short pants. ** I sit back and wait.

** all grammer errors are mine and only cause my poor little parents couldn't afford private school. :)

Score: 0

By justme123

posted May 16, 2006 - 10:48 PM

also.. i dont think it's .15 per album.. although maby that would be a start for your music. ( tacky catty reply .I know. sorry.. )

Score: 0

By justme123

posted May 16, 2006 - 10:45 PM

Technofiend... ummm.. and you are?

Score: 0

By technofiend

edited May 16, 2006 - 10:17 PM

If I never consented to my music being sold in a particular market in the first place, that's 100% illegal. And that's what these sites do all the time. And I have not granted permission for ANY of these sites to sell my stuff.
So, even if you live in Russia and buy my music from these sites, you're still ripping me off. Selling my music on these sites is illegal and there is no argument that can say otherwise, as I have not consented to it. They are stealing from me and that is that. And the majority of works on these sites are the same - there without the owners' permission. And when I've tried to get them to stop selling it, they ignore me or write back saying that it's perfectly legal. There is no way that is true, and people here are telling me that they will communicate with me? I already know to the contrary.

And how do you think places like this get something before the official release? By scouring P2P sites and usenet for stolen, leaked releases - the same way they get a lot of their stuff. A friend's band had their new CD on several of these sites - without their consent - weeks before their CD was released! How did they get it then? Well, they sent out promos to some magazines, and some clown uploaded the entire album - with artwork - to usenet. Artwork and everything. How can anyone NOT see how this is criminal?

And the myths that artists don't need or expect CD revenues to help in keeping them alive is true b.s. Most tours are successful if they even break even - including pay from the clubs, merchandise and CDs! Whoever started the myth that CD sales are irrelevant certainly knows diddly-squat about how expensive it is to make, release, promote and support music. And what about bands that don't play live? Many don't, you know. Should they somehow suffer more?
And what about the fact that it should be the artist/rights holder's choice as to how and where their music is distributed?

And some people think $0.15 per album is a good deal for artists?
Let's say a very modest recording budget of $3,500, plus mastering for $500. Not counting any other costs at all (like equipment purchases and upkeep, etc) that's a nice chunk of change if you work a day job, pay rent and utilities, and like to eat once in a while.
To pay that back, the artist would have to sell over 26,000 full album downloads. Most small indie bands sell a fraction of that at best, ever.
Will touring make that back? Doubtful. As the band is on the road, paying for food, hotels, gas, equipment and repairs, they're also not home working their day jobs. Four guys in a van touring, making a couple hundred bucks a night, spending at least that a day (remeber their rent and utilities back home?) Sure... lots left over at the end of the tour...

And no, the RIAA doesn't take 70% of my legal download sales. I actually get close to 70% of what iTunes charges per download.

There's some stuf to chew on when you're feeling good about your "music purchases". Stop trying to justify your desire for a 'too good to be true' price without knowing the realities of your actions.

Oh, how does one contact this "ROMS" anyway? I want to inquire about permanently disallowing all my material from being on their affiliate's servers.

Score: 0

By terminalx

posted May 16, 2006 - 8:17 PM

the artist is still losing money because they are not getting the royalties owed to them nor did the artist or label ever consent to this thus this would be illegal...they still lose money because the cds that could have been sold are sitting there doing nothing because someone thinks paying a 1.50 for a whole cd is legit... yes itunes has drm but at least if there is a problem it can be taken care of and get what is owed to the artist... contact any indie label where they have said artist on allofmp3.com see what they think of it... better yet tell the artist you love you bought their cd for $1.50 off some russian website...I bet they will be thrilled...indie artists make more then the multi- platinum artists on sales per cd...by sites such as allofmp3.com they put the labels out of business... of course you will contest that artists do not need labels and they can do it themselves... possibly... but by doing it themselves the music itself tends to suffer because the artist is doing everything at this point... promo, distro, prod, mastering, pressing...when exactly is the artist going to have time to do all this and make music and work a full-time job while he/she is trying to make it? there are only so many hours in a day...plus you also need to put in account said person needs to have a life aside from music all the time as well...

Score: 0

By zecompadre

edited May 16, 2006 - 6:50 PM

the website is up & running !

but utaker is right !!

"That allofmp3.com is perfectly legal in Russia"

we are buying music on russia , by that we are legal :)

Score: 0

By UTAKER

posted May 16, 2006 - 4:00 PM

That allofmp3.com is perfectly legal in Russia.
Other countries law do not run in Russia unlike wht USA tries to do on other countries.
End of discussion.
At the end of the day, what those companies want is a global law enforced in all countries which is insane, what next, a global religion? global same values?
Get out of the small box thinking.

Score: 0

By cthulufunk

posted May 16, 2006 - 2:06 PM

Whatever, goofs. Keep spouting those vague, sketchy Russian copyright laws. Oooooh, Chronopay! I really don't care what they use, lots of criminals use legit banking sites and merchant accounts with Verisign, does that make them morally right? According to sharia law in Saudi Arabia or Iran, the operators of AllofMP3.com et al, could have their hands cut off. That would be LEGAL there, yes?

On royalties: Oh, wait a minute, so let's say I search (because it seems they're under no real obligation to contact the artists or labels), and I see that my album is on IvansellsyouMp3realcheap.com. You mean, I and/or my label can go through the legal RU hoops, and get a percentage of say a 1.50 album download? What would that percentage be, exactly? Let's say, best case, I get 15 cents per album, and they sell 1000 downloads of my album. Wow, that'd be a whole $150! That'll cover about half of the fee that my small indie label said I'd need to cover for mastering the cd. Let me quit my job and hit the road to sell some Tshirts for $30 and charge $50 for a ticket...and...nobody shows, because only the big boys can realistically charge that much. The Chili Peppers? Wow, that's the best you have? I'm not talking about the RIAA, mega-platinum bands, etc. Please try to see past this superficial nonsense. I'm talking about the little guys who don't make sh*t who now don't make jacksh*t because of clueless gluttons jacking mp3's off of Russian sites. Napster, Emusic, Itunes, etc, yes, they're not perfect, but they're legitimate, meaning if they do something unfair or criminal, they're going to called on it and there's those who will be held accountable, they won't pop up in a week with Papster.com.

So, are all of you guys from Russia? If not, I'll be laughing when all your jobs are (legally) outsourced to countries where $1 an hour is big money. Laughing, and crying. I'd rather you just juse torrents or p2ps than delude yourselves. Just trying to give you the perspective of how your actions are affecting not just the big guys, but the cottage industries as well. That's all, fokker out, you can return to LaLaLand now.

Score: 0

By Jose

posted May 16, 2006 - 8:08 PM

considering you'd get about 40 cents per album download off itunes, it's not all that different. the only major difference is the RIAA loses the 70% profit they make from itunes downloads.

Score: 0

By enoen

edited May 16, 2006 - 7:45 PM

Um, how did this topic take such a dramatic turn? Talking about how the Saudi's would cut peoples hands off? Um, okay. LOL. Some people are just bitter, jealous, and frustrated at the world.

And yes, if you have an album, you go out and support it. Most members of small bands still work day jobs while touring, and even craft their own shirts and press their own CD's (or have friends help... you know, friends?) Don't expect people to know about your band and show up to your gigs just because you have a MySpace page, LOL. Learn to use the Internet and other resources available to you to promote your band, and stop blaming everyone else.

As for the Chili Peppers, they were being used as an example, since their new album will probably debut #1 and sell who knows how many units. For iTunes to charge $20 vs $12 in the store is, in my opinion, price gouging.

Again, artists make the bulk of their revenue in publishing, touring, and merchandising. If you actually think they're sitting around counting on CD sales to pay their way, think again.

Virtual credit card numbers allow one transaction per generated number, and nothing more. And if anything does happen, the cardholder is not responsible past $50. That's a risk I'd take over paying 99 cents for DRM encoded 128kbps mp4's by Apple.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some LEGAL music to download off allofmp3.com :p

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

edited May 16, 2006 - 4:10 PM

I want to say most companies, that manufacture things, will look geograhically where the best place to do so would be, weather or not it is inside the USA. I see that is not your point, but your point is about how fair is it... Which I have no answer for just yet, but then you say you are talking about Indies:

"The Chili Peppers? ... I'm not talking about the RIAA, mega-platinum bands, etc. ... but little guys who don't make sh*t who now don't make jacksh*t because of clueless gluttons jacking mp3's off of Russian sites."

In that case, you don't have much to worry about. I love indie bands, but they are very scarce on allofmp3.com. Seems the only one I could find is the Vandals, oh and Thievery Corperation, which has a few albums under RIAA.

Here's a list of Indies I could not find.
Barnes & Barnes
Bassic
Blue Haven
Blvd.
Bob Ricci
Capitol Steps
Daniel Ash (found one of several cds, this one found happens to be released by RIAA)
Das Klown
Deja Blues
Half Pint (some cds of RIAA, still not listed there)
Happy Campers
MOFO Party Band
Secret Hate
Slightly Stoopid (not sure if they are completely indie)
The Toyes
The Ziggens

Indies found
Austin Lounge Lizzards
Boozoo Bajou
Hallucinogen
Infected Mushroom (Popular in Europe, hard to find in America, duh, not part of RIAA)
Moonspell (maybe again popular in Europe...)

Here's the rest of Indie CDs I have, I just don't feel like looking them up. You can if you want.

Aymara Star
Bargain Music
Bob Schaeffer
Corn Doggy Dog and the Half lb
Jocid
L.A.P.D
Mister Joe
Opie & Anthony
Rugburns, The
Shpongle
Silent Planet
Wesley Willis Fiasco, The
Winfred E. Eye

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 16, 2006 - 2:17 PM

That'll cover about half of the fee that my small indie label said I'd need to cover for mastering the cd.

Aside fromt eh fact that it's not costing you a *DIME*? No CD mastering. No production. No server costs. It costs the artist *ZERO* to sell music in these online retailers. $150 for nuthin? Not to shabby, now is it?

Just because it is based in Russia, does *not* mean it's run by criminals. I thought that stereotype went out with the cold-war. I can't believe people are still falling for that sh1t.

If you have a problem with 'em, bring it up with them. I'm sure they'll point you to all the information you need. They're service, after all, kicks the snot out of iTunes.

Score: 0

By elftyrrell

posted May 16, 2006 - 12:55 PM

If this was just maintenance... Well, it's the best publicity they could hope for!

Score: 0

By iamanon

edited May 16, 2006 - 12:18 PM

AllofMP3.com is now back up. Apparently it was maintenance after all. Way to jump to conclusions BetaNews!

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 16, 2006 - 12:27 PM

Dude, take it easy.

Pretty much everyone thought that was the end.

Wikipedia, museekster, technocrati, digg, the list goes on and on...

When a site who's been painted with a big red target byu the RIAA suddenly disappears into the night for 2 days, it's pretty understandable to suspect they'e gone and died.

Oh...

and as far as being back up... Have you perhaps tried ordering a song? Downloading it through alltunes? Try clicking the link on their site to alltunes.

Yeah...they're back up allright. Somewhat.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 16, 2006 - 8:46 AM

Looks like it's back up.

No ordering yet, though.

And alltunes is still non-functional.

More Info: http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1187

AllofMP3 Down...but not out.

Score: 0

By dmm

edited May 16, 2006 - 7:07 AM

I like http://www.mp3stor.com/
Those guys upload up to 250 albums each day. And there is another interesting thing - some of the albums aapear on the site even before the official release.

allofmp3.com fed up with its falling

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted May 16, 2006 - 1:25 AM

heh, i found a wikipedia entry about allofmp3.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allofmp3

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 16, 2006 - 9:00 AM

Thanks. Led me to the slyck article I posted above.

Also very interesting to read throught he changelog.

Lots of activity in the past few days.

Score: 0

By cthulufunk

posted May 15, 2006 - 7:35 PM

I hope anyone who uses these services has a nice juicy credit or banking card that will eventually be stolen by the Russian Mafia or solo criminals who run these sites. Whine whine whine, I hope you have a huge credit on there you'll lose, maybe then you'll understand how the artists whose music is being stolen feel. -Honor among thieves-.

If some are genuinely so naive to believe that the producers of this music see any of that money, then I truly pity you for supporting these exploiters. Consider this your wake up call. Use Itunes, Emusic, or some other legitimate site. I seriously do feel bad for you if you thought you were doing the right thing. You were not, and you've been taken, and if you haven't yet, you will be sooner or later.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 16, 2006 - 9:07 AM

Few things:

"If some are genuinely so naive to believe that the producers of this music see any of that money,"

Heh... Read up, my friend. AllofMP3 pays royalties to ROMS (The Russian equivelant of RIAA). Any artist in the US or Canada (Or elsewhere) can register with ROMS and get their cut. Shockingly, if one wants a peice of a market...it's generally a good idea to *enter* that market.

"I hope anyone who uses these services has a nice juicy credit or banking card that will eventually be stolen by the Russian Mafia or solo criminals who run these sites."

These sites? AllofMP3's billing is done via ChronoPay, a company in the Amsterdam.

ChronoPay B.V. Netherlands.
World Trade Center, C Tower 14th Floor.
Strawinskylaan 1443, 1077 XX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

So...

facts can be your friend. Try using a few in your next post.

Thanks for visiting!

Score: 0

By justme123

edited May 16, 2006 - 4:14 AM

If you are genuinely so naive to believe that the artists get much of what you spend at iTunes, you need to go back and read the news. A bunch of Sony artists just sued because the formula Sony is using gives the 4.5 of your precious, legal 99 cents. The producers (record companies) get their share. Your favorite artist doesn't get much more from iTunes than from AllOfMP3.com.

Score: 0

By vinodis

posted May 16, 2006 - 12:22 AM

thanks mom.

Score: 0

By enoen

edited May 15, 2006 - 9:13 PM

To the genius who thinks people will have their credit cards stolen: a) the merchant server is a 3rd party in Holland and b) most bright people use virtual numbers (i.e. one time use) so as much as you'd like that to happen, sorry dork, it probably won't ;)

Also, producers usually don't make money off music past their upfront fees. Most money made in music comes from 3 places: touring, merchandising, and publishing (most of which go pretty much to the artists themselves). And you wonder why the record companies are freaking out. They've been gouging people for years, with exception of new releases, which are priced lower in an effort to pump up sales. If only movies worked the same way. And maybe even gasoline, lol.

And anyone who thinks iTunes is a great source for music needs to get their facts straight. iTunes encodes music YOU buy with THEIR anti-copying technology, plus it's usually in 128kbps and you have no other choices. Why should I spend $20 on the new Chili Peppers album on iTunes when I can buy an actual 2-disc copy (that is NOT copy-protected) at Best Buy for $12? I doubt Anthony, Flea, and the boys could care less if their album is spread around, since they're making tons off publishing (and will continue to do so forever) not to mention gain new fans who will pay $50 to see them and another $30 for a t-shirt.

Just think about it... and get over yourself already.

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted May 15, 2006 - 9:06 PM

Nah,
Prices too high, and your rights of use are severely restricted with DRM/DMCA (http://www.eff.org/IP/DM...ended_consequences.html), and you must use proprietary formats (http://www.spartanicus.u...etary_media_formats.htm).

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:34 PM

Double-Post. I know. Sue me.

Did anyone whois, the old domain? Have they switched nameservers?

I'm beginnging to think this whole down-time thing was a location switch. Makes sense... the day Putin says he's going to bring the Hammer down, they pack up and go elsewhere.

You figure, down for maintenance... Then nothing for about 24 hours (~time it takes for DNS records to propigate overseas).. now maintenance again.

Looks like they're rebuilding. If anyone had songs waiting for download (already purchased, but not downloaded), open alltunes and change your server to "downloads.allofmp3.com".

I didn't have any downloads, but it *did* allow me to log in doing that.

Here's hoping...

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:17 PM

*Double-Post. I know. Sue me.*

Calling my lawyer now. Lucky for you, Johnny Cochran is dead.. otherwise you would be soooo sued!

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:28 PM

Heh..

...and if my middle finger wasn't so damned tired from scrolling that NSA thread, you'd *so* be getting the finger right now. :P

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:31 PM

*...and if my middle finger wasn't so damned tired from scrolling that NSA thread, you'd *so* be getting the finger right now. :P*

.. extend my middle finger and let it linger longer than the rumor that I was sticking it to Christina. If I ever wanted to stick to any singer in showbiz, it would be Jennifer Lopez, and Puffy you know this....

- Eminem

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:33 PM

Yeah. Quote rap. Quite possibly the most annoying genre ever concieved.

I blame Run DMC.

The bas****s.

Score: 0

By rijp

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:42 PM

Gafaw! I love rap. I am the cracking the pavement dew rag in the pimped out gangsta rockin' 2 blocks back, and a sign proudly displayed to read in the rear view "move b****" as I run up on 'yall.

But I digress.

I love the genre, and to appreciate it, takes a certain, mad dog 20-20 composition. But considering I really don't drink, I enjoy the rhyme and poetic verse, even if it does have an underlying "evil" tone. It serves my purpose.

Of course, I can flip between acid rock, a rap song, over to top 40, play a cure track, over to ZZ, play some Zappa, and still kick it live with the B-Boys!

Eminem happens to be my favorite.

Peace!

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 16, 2006 - 9:10 AM

Lesee...

Eminem: Crude, arrogant, insulting, somewhat amusing.

I can tell why you like the guy...you could be twins, from a personality stand-point. ;P

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:22 PM

I can connect to AllofMP3 via Alltunes by changing the "downloads.alltunes.com" to "downloads.allofmp3.com".

None of the pages work, except browsing, but it still shows my balance.

Obviously, you cannot order.

Looks like either they're bringing it back up slowly (Massive hardware failure?), or alltunes is running off of cache. (I haven't tested this on a system that hasn't had alltunes previously installed)

This sucks.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:49 PM

Just transfer the remaining balance to me :) I will find a good use for it.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:54 PM

Sure...soon as I can access it.

***Note:

This is not a binding contract.

Score: 0

By rijp

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:24 PM

I don't see your seal or an sworn affidavit, testifying this was in good order.

So its a binding contract until such time, hereto and henceforth that the contractual obligations have not been met or perceived by the party forthwith, and therefore this obligatory preceeding unto the foregoing statement, is as of this moment, null and void. Further statements of this matter shall be and until such time as the previously mentioned contract will be upheld, will therefore be suspended, pending due course or settlement.

A contract is a legally bound writ between 2 parties accepting the agreement, and all such matters shall be deemed legal until such time as the legal matters mentioned previously are made public and any claims to the contrary brought forth.

Thank you for patience.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:26 PM

Only from you, man...only from you.

My eyes are watering... (and the guy sitting next to me is beginning to think I make it a habit of snorting my Mountain Dew...)

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:34 PM

Hm.. a new drink from the Makers of Pepsi, Snort!

We did the dew, one calorie, even lemon, and the "One" but now we can snort. Why drink when you can snort!

Snort, who needs sprite to "obey your thirst!" when we can snort and absorb the sugar directly to the membrane! Snort, its the drink for people who dew, can, and ARE the one!

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:39 PM

That's it. I'm greating a greasemonkey script in your honor.

If it sees your name, it will pop up a window with a warning message:

"Warning: Content not suitible for all ages. It's not suitible for *any* age, for that matter. Please make sure all beverages are down and tempers hot. Let the games begin.

You have been warned."

Score: 0

By SorenMD

posted May 15, 2006 - 4:55 PM

JUST GO TO http://www.mp3stor.com/

The owner of AllOfMP3.com launched their new platform mp3store with the old database. AllOfMP3.com-Accounts are not valid anymore

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:22 PM

No FLAC or WAV.

Sorry, not gonna happen.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:51 PM

bah to FLAC. I can't use those formats.

Call Sony (yes, I know DRM), Kenwood, Pioneer, or Alpine and tell them to include on their CD/DVD drive compatibility..

I can ONLY use MP3, WMA. That's it. So, maybe FLAC is good, but I can't play it in my car...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:54 PM

Until you buy a compatible player...you *do* have a line0in on your car's head-unit, right?

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:08 PM

Yes, but now I have to run cable, and install a device that has line out, and then I can't control the source music. I would have to use the device controls to change the music selection..

umm..no thanks. I like my setup.

Besides, I am not convinced I *NEED* to switch from MP3. If the quality isn't quite there.. which is very, very rare, I use WMA, and that will solve the problem..

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:23 PM

Don't *really* want to argue about quality right now.

I want my AllofMP3 back, though, dammit.

Basically, the *main* reason I like FLAC, is I can decompress it to WAV and burn it to CD and have myself a 1:1 copy of the actual CD. Can't do that with anything else (well, 'cept APE)

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:26 PM

Ha! speechless! I knew it!

I don't want to argue either, its a matter of preference.

I like MP3. They work well for me, considering I have the equipment to utilize them. The MP3 quality is as good as any other.

Score: 0

By dallasnights

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:14 PM

so what happens to the money we had on the other site, this is not FAIR,

Score: 0

By SorenMD

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:20 PM

Your money that you had on AllofMp3.com was a casualty of the copyright war...

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:52 PM

ha! casualty.. yeah, that's a good name for it.

It was conveniently appropriated...

Even if the RIAA or USSR didn't confiscate it, you will never see it again!

Score: 0

By Guardian452

edited May 16, 2006 - 8:26 PM

Where do I send more money to fight the evil RIAA

Score: 0

By SorenMD

edited May 15, 2006 - 5:21 PM

go to mp3stor.com

Score: 0

By se7en11

posted May 15, 2006 - 4:00 PM

A quick view of the source on the page brings up this commented out: "We expect to bring it up as quickly as possible. Please turn back later."

Makes me wonder if they had inteneded on bringing the site backup, but decided not to.

Also interesting is the URL to the CSS files...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:20 PM

They had that up 4 days ago...ebfore they totally lost it. Seems they have it back up now, though...

Odd....

Score: 0

By Fifer

edited May 15, 2006 - 3:55 PM

I hope they come back online I have $68 to spend

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:23 PM

Tell me about it..

I'd just thrown down another $40.

I think I got 2 files worth from that $40 before they died.

Score: 0

By zxocuteboy

posted May 15, 2006 - 3:23 PM

I still have $9 bucks with them.

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted May 15, 2006 - 2:40 PM

Nooo! Come back AllOfMp3.com

Score: 0

By LRN

posted May 15, 2006 - 2:38 PM

Good site (i used it few times), but p2p is still better :)

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:24 PM

In what respect?

Speed? Sucks compared to Alltunes if you have your settings right.

Quality? You're joking, right?

Legality? roflmao..

Yeah. Okay, then.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 2:36 PM

There is another site I use (not saying which) that is also selling music far cheaper than iTunes, they are currently selling at 0.15 cents per song, non-DRM.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:30 PM

Bah.

Bunch of lossy crap.

I hear ya on the head-unit thing, though.

They *really* need to bring out a FLAC player.

Hopefully I'll have enough for that iAudio X5L soon. Line-out, plays FLAC, my stereo has a line in.

Good 2 go...

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 5:55 PM

Well, I get good quality. I will drive my car to your place, you give me 5 FLAC songs. I will play 5 MP3 songs, I *dare* you to tell me which ones are which..

I will give you 10 bucks for each correct answer, you give me 25 for each one you get wrong (since you think they are lossy), and we will SEE who is who.

So far, no one can tell the difference... maybe on a spectrum analyzer, but other than that, you can't "hear" the difference..

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:12 PM

Depends on your speakers.

On my Klipsch in the family room...you can tell. Especially if it's orchestral. (Although I gotta admit, you can tell on pretty much anything with deep bass)

On my computer...likely not.

If it's not audible, MP3 will generally clip it. Problem is.... not all music is audible.

*grin*

Some beats just gotta be felt, to be heard. ;)

As to your bet...sound-proof garage. you burn your to AudioCD, I'll burn mine to AudioCD. you let me control the EQ and the volume. I will guarantee 100%. (As long as it isn't country or Rap/Hip-hop) ;)

If your system is worth the $3000 you paid for it, that is. :P

Score: 0

By rijp

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:14 PM

Dude, I am kicking 1000 watts from my Sub alone. you tell me about bass!

I have excellent Polk Audio mid / high speakers (took me 3 weeks until I found speakers I liked). I have very discerning tastes, but speaker selection is biased, I realize that. Still, my separation and range is good. No problem there. I can hear ALL ranges of music..

The problem with speakers, is that more than 50% of a speakers range you *CAN'T* hear.. hearing is somewhere between 20 Hz - 20 kHz something like that.. so for you to hear the loss.. your hearing would have to extend beyond the music. MP3 has that covered, easily..

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:21 PM

Hear & Feel aren't the same.

Throw in 'Piggy' (NIN) (The Downward Spiral)

Put in earplugs. Cover your ears, tiurn the volume to the point where you can just *barely* hear it.

Now rip the CD to 192kbps MP3.

Do the same.

Even you will feel the difference.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted May 15, 2006 - 6:29 PM

hmm.. Nine in nails! Thanks for reminding me..

I can feel it.

I have a song, called "sub ripper". I can turn my volume ALL the way down to 1. I can feel it.

I see your point, music in one FLAC format vs MP3 at the same quality, FLAC has more resonance.. I am not conceeding this, this is not how I test. I am stating that at listening levels you can't "hear" the loss.

Which is the point your brought up, not the feel . If you had said feeless crap, that would have been a different argument all together. I can feel all I need to with 1000 watts pushing at my back from 5 feet away...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited May 15, 2006 - 6:34 PM

It isn't enough until it forcefully ejects you from the car and into oncomming traffic.

Can you imagine the party at BN headquarters the following day? *grin*

Score: 0

By dallasnights

posted May 15, 2006 - 3:44 PM

What site is that, share with us please:)

Score: 0

By Stormprobe

posted May 15, 2006 - 2:41 PM

What site is that?

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

edited May 15, 2006 - 2:45 PM

Heh, I wish I knew, but I think he's not going to mention in hopes that it will last longer due to public ignorance ;)

We just have to find it on our own. It probably doesn't have Ogg Vorbis though :(

Score: 0

By rijp

edited May 15, 2006 - 4:25 PM

MP3 is the *ONLY* format I need. I don't care about those others. If it won't play in my car, or on a standard DVD/MP3 player, I am not interested.

WMA files I will use sometimes, because its also supported by my head unit, but beyond that.. I don't need any more formats.

Sc