AllofMP3 Plans to Stay Open in 2007, Lower Prices Over New Year's

Authored by Jay Baage on December 29, 2006 - 10:43pm.

The controversial Russian low-price online music store AllofMP3.com plans to stay open. Mediaservices, the company behind AllofMP3.com, claims that current US lawsuits are not of any particular concern to the company and offers users a 20% price cut over New Years: “Certainly the (record) labels are free to file any suit they wish, despite knowing full well that AllofMP3.com operates legally in Russia”, blogs an unnamed senior representative of the company on their site.

AllofMP3.com sells DRM-free songs in an MP3-format for a fraction of what iTunes and other online retailers offer. The company claims to be legal under Russian law and it has attracted users from all over the world because of its hassle-free, cheap and supposedly legal service. The popularity of the site has had the big American record labels up in arms. Earlier this year, Visa and MasterCard stopped accepting credit card transactions for purchases made at Mediaservices' sites. But AllofMP3.com is taking all this controversy rather casually. In a post on the company's blog made on Dec 26, 2006, the message of whether the company is going to stop doing what they are doing is clear:

”An attempt by the major record labels to use a U.S. court as part of its campaign against AllofMP3.com is imprudent. AllofMP3 understands that several US record label companies filed a lawsuit against Mediaservices in New York. This suit is unjustified as AllofMP3.com does not operate in New York...In the mean time, AllofMP3.com plans to continue to operate legally and comply with all Russian laws.”

However, US record labels and the RIAA are pressuring that something must be done. AllofMP3.com has been named as an illegal distributor in a document debating Russia's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). According to BBC News, the two countries have in principle reached a deal to shut down sites which breach copyright rules. But nothing has happened as of yet and AllofMP3's management continues to insist that the site operates legally. In fact, the company states that it wants to be more open and listen more to comments and suggestions:

“We have become more open to our users after we launched blogs.allofmp3.com, where users exchange ideas, thoughts with each other and with us...As a New Year gift, you may get 20% more when you refill your balance. In 2007 we are going to work hard to let you explore music with more fun and comfort, discover new artists and new works.”

Joakim Baage

Related Links:
Russia Agrees to Shut Down AllofMP3.com, Clamp Down on Piracy
Russian Download Store AllofMP3 Reacts to Visa, MasterCard Bans
Music Labels Warming up to MP3 Embrace (Daily Tech)
Poll: Which Area of Digital Media Will Get The Most Attention in 2007?
More stories on AllofMP3.com...

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Comments

Allofmp3 4 ever

Submitted by Jason (not verified) on December 31, 2006 - 3:49am.

I love that this company is getting so much attention. It's as if all the media hype is an advertising campaign.

mp3 music

Submitted by fire mp3 (not verified) on January 17, 2007 - 4:36am.

i've just read in the news that American companies are suing Allofmp3 for $ 1.65 bln. Do you think it is possible to charge them money? Russian laws do not restrict their activity, so i do not think american companies can charge them money.

i think the recording

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on February 18, 2007 - 5:54pm.

i think the recording companies should take lessons and learn from allofmp3. if they were to spend the money and time and think of how they could do the same they inturn would make as much money or even more. you can't stop them, there wil always be someone out there to serve the public and make music affortable.

Russian mp3

Submitted by alex (not verified) on August 5, 2007 - 2:25pm.

The saga of Allofmp3 is quite well known at this point. The company that was apparently following the laws of Russia for licensing music made a name for itself selling DRM-free music at very reasonable points. But AllOfMp3 is not lost forever. They have setup at least half-a-dozen other sites all utilizing the same music catalog, accounting system and website, albeit with a different design in each case.