allofmp3.com, you think it's legit?

[FrogMan]

I came upon a site, www.allofmp3.com (http://www.allofmp3.com), today and found it quite interesting.

They are offering what we can see at many other place (buymusic.com is one), i.e. downloading of legal mp3 where you pay to get the right to download the and own the song for your own use. The site is basd in Russia and because of that, they say they can pay copyright fees very low and thus can charge fees very small. So small, it is $14.95 per month for up to 1000 downloads, or you can pay a fee per Mb you download, which fee is $0.01 per Mb downloaded, where you have to buy a minimum of $5 of 500Mb.

They have this thing they call "OnlineEncode" where you can select the bitrate of your songs. Some CDs are available with that technology, some have a fixed rate (say 192kbps or above) Taking an example of the latest Live CD, Birds of Pray, which I own and I have on my Windows Media library, saved with variable bitrate, it works out to 55.16Mb. Using their $0.01 per Mb fee, this would mean that this album would cost me 55 cents! :eek:

Their catalog is impressive, especially of older albums (Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc) but also some of the more recent ones (Live is one, Jane's Addiction's latest CD is also there).

My question to you all: Do you think it's legit and would you do business with them?

The fact their in Russia can be a turnoff, but it's very tempting, especially to get some particular songs, or to build yourself a great "best of" CD, or a "Road Song" CD...

FM

[mrskippy]

Probably not legitimate, given that they are offering MP3s. The RIAA and the recording industry want the music to have some type of digital rights management attached. That limits it to Real Media, Windows Media, or the new Apple Music format.

Also, they are offering higher bit rates and virtually unlimited downloads that it's highly doubtful they got a deal.

Nevermind the fact that it is in Russia. So far, I know of only one legal music service outside the US. That is the one Microsoft just set up through MSN UK.

Tread carefully with this one. Though for $14.95 it is a good deal, it also may be an illegal deal. And the scary thing with services like this is that if they get busted, they potentially can find the transaction record and come after you ... not even having to subpeona your ISP.

[MizzouRah]

I would like to know if it's legit myself... I need some music.


Todd

[mrskippy]

All the materials in the MediaServices projects are available for distribution through Internet according to license # LS-3М-02-36 of the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society. Under the license terms, MediaServices pays license fees for all the materials subject to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Copyright and Related Rights". All the materials are available solely for personal use and must not be used for further distribution, resale or broadcasting.

Users are held liable for the use and distribution of the MediaServices site information materials according to local legislation.

Of course, I'm trying to look their their catalog. I've seen a few others like this that claim to be legal. They very well might be. The thing is they may have a limited catalog.

[FrogMan]

Originally posted by mrskippy
Of course, I'm trying to look their their catalog. I've seen a few others like this that claim to be legal. They very well might be. The thing is they may have a limited catalog.

I had read that quote you got there before posting here. That's why I'm asking in here...

And the thing about their catalog is, I find it pretty complete. May not have all the most recent CDs, but they got quite a lot of them...

FM

[mrskippy]

There was a service in Spain call Weblisten.com ... the site is still up, but these guys claimed they were legit. You can search for the story on News.com, but apparently it has been/is being sued. They countered with a site called Puretunes.com I believe. That site claimed the same thing.

http://news.com.com/2100-1027-1007920.html (http://news.com.com/2100-1027-1007920.html )

http://news.com.com/2100-1027-1024382.html

The kicker is that these music services may be authorized by their local agencies, the music is protected by the RIAA. And none of these services is authorized by the RIAA.

So, my guess if you download RIAA-protected music from this site, it is illegal.

[mrskippy]

Mind you ... if the record industry did something like this ... I'd join in a hearbeat. They've got stuff you can't find on the BuyMusic.com, iTunes, Rhapsody, Pressplay, etc. sites.

Slick interface, music previews, custom bit rates, format choice.

[mrskippy]

Dola ...

Aha ... went to the registration page and saw this


Customers accept their own responsibility for usage and distribution of downloaded information from MediaSerives according to their local legislation.


Basically meaning ... "It's legal in Russia, but probably not for you pesky Americans desparate to get some tunes. Don't come crying to us if you get busted."

[mrskippy]

OK I did a little Googling. I can't find anything that the RIAA has went after these guys. It's possible they do have some agreements in place. I'm all for joining this thing if its legal. They accept PayPal, Western Union and other stuff besides straight credit card, so that shouldn't be too much a concern.

They've even got a pressplay, Rhapsody ... err, Napster/Kazaa like program to search for the music and organize the tracks you download.

It's tempting!!!

[rexallllsc]

www.streamwaves.com is legal.

[mrskippy]

Yeah, but that is a streaming service and I've found ones as good or better than that.

I've read in a few of the stories that this MP3 service is legit, from multiple sources. So looks like it is, but that the recording industry and everybody else has kept it quiet -- probably, because it has what people want. :D

One thing that is a sign of legitimacy is what you see on the American Top 50 Chart http://stat.allofmp3.com/ratings/charts.shtml?action=chart&sec=12

Notice lots of the stuff isn't available.

I went ahead and plucked $5 worth of download credit onto this. Songs are a penny an MB. The quality of the downloads is excellent, much better than anything out there.

You can get the standard 128 encoding. But also up to 320 encoding. You can get MP3, WMA, or OGG files. A few songs are available without using credit, so long as your a VIP member (meanign you paid for something)

If this truly is legit, the industry needs to take a hint.

The software is clunky. You still search from the Web. THe software only helps you manage the downloading and listening. Hopefully they'll be able to merge these one day.