AllOfMp3 saga continues

Regular readers of this blog know about AllOfMp3.com, a Russian music site that sells music of all kinds for a ridiculously low price. It's kind of like the iTunes or EMusic store, but at a fraction of the price.

Every so often there is news that they are about to be shut down because they are fraudulently selling copyrighted music. They say that what they are doing is strictly legal by Russian law.

I don't know who is right. But as they say, "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably isn't true…"

Anyway, from time to time their ability to be paid via credit card (like Visa etc.) is disabled. I have to assume it is through the machinations of people trying to shut them down pressuring Visa etc to not do business with them. It happened again recently, and now, at least from the US and Canada, you can't pay them with a credit card.

Here are a couple of interesting recent links I came across:

In the story "P2pnet talks to AllofMp3.com" there's an interview that reveals some of the latest dynamics:

"We believe it is legal in Russia under Articles 44 and 45 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 5351-1 On Copyright and Related Rights dated July 9, 1993, as amended, (the Copyright Law), which authorizes Russian non-profit Russian organizations for collective management of copyrights (Russian Licensing Societies) to grant licenses to entities such as ALLOFMP3. ALLOFMP3 has up-to-date licenses from the Russian Licensing Societies from the Federation of Rights Holders for Collective Management of Copyright with Respect to the Use of Musical Works in Interactive Regime (FAIR) and from the Russian Organization on Collective Management of Rights of Authors and Other Right Holders in Multimedia, Digital Networks & Visual Arts (ROMS).

Russian Copyright Law allows holders of intellectual property rights to establish non-profit organizations such as ROMS which in its capacity oversees licensing agreements and collects royalties and pays them out to copyright holders, aside from some commissions." (from P2Pnet talks to AllofMp3)

And here is another one that is kind of amusing. The article ("Other Russian music stores bedsides AllofMp3") says that:

"All stores listed bellow are fully accessible outside Russia and operate in collusion with Visa, MasterCard and many other international payment services. Some important details of their illegal activities are also included.",

But if you think about it, it is actually a thinly veiled list of other sites you can try instead of AllOfMp3.