Moscow - Russian music download store AllofMP3.com, which the U.S. music industry has been trying to shut down for years for selling unauthorized tracks at discounted prices, appears to have been taken offline for good, the Moscow Times reported.

Last month, several other digital music stores also operated by AllofMP3.com parent MediaServices were shut down; both AllofMP3.com and a mirror site at AllofMP3.ru were offline on Monday.

Vadim Botnaryuk, general director of the Russian Phonographic Association, told the Moscow Times he gave evidence to prosecutors that disputed AllofMP3.com's claims it operated legally under Russian law, because it paid a copyright society called ROMS, which in turn compensated artists.

"Russian law clearly states that one can only download music files from the Internet with the permission of a rights holder," Botnaryuk told Moscow Times.

"This means that ROMS can only authorize the downloading of music files of those rights holders with which it has legally binding agreements."

"Western media and lobbyists are waging an unfair war against AllofMP3," ROMS chief Oleg Nezus told Moscow Times.

"They are trying to hike payments for online music, while in Russia, we have a different income level."

Nezus added that Visa and MasterCard stopped accepting transactions from the company in January.

The shutdown comes at the same moment that Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to the U.S. to meet with President Bush in Maine. The U.S. has said that the site represented an obstacle to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Related Links:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/07/02/001.html

http://www.allofmp3.com