RIAA Drops Allofmp3 Lawsuit; Pretends Mp3Sparks Doesn't Exist
from the maybe-if-we-ignore-our-problems... dept
It's been quite some time since we heard about Allofmp3, the Russian online music download store that offered extremely low prices on DRM-free downloads (you even got to pick your format). The company insisted that it was legal in Russia, and had all the appropriate licenses. Multiple times, the company was brought to court in Russia, and every time, it was found to be legitimate. In fact, the company even tried to pay royalties for the music it sold, but the recording industry refused to accept the payments.However, the entertainment industry had US diplomats lean on Russia, claiming that if it didn't shut down the site, the US would block Russia's admittance into the WTO. So, eventually, Russia did shut down the site through somewhat questionable means. Of course, within minutes of it being shutdown, the company reappeared under the name Mp3Sparks. In fact, Allofmp3.com accounts worked just fine on Mp3Sparks. And, of course, there are a dozen or so other Russian online download stores that also offer the same sort of deal (and all of which are playing by Russian copyright laws).
For some reason, though, Mp3Sparks just hasn't received nearly as much attention as Allofmp3, and it seems like The Pirate Bay has taken on the role of "public enemy number 1" for the recording industry. So, it should come as little surprise that the RIAA has dropped its lawsuit against Allofmp3.com, saying that the company is now defunct, while totally ignoring Mp3Sparks.
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Filed Under: lawsuits, riaa, russia
Companies: allofmp3, mp3sparks, riaa
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Please..
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The futility of it all...
You can take out the admins, but ultimately the community will just move on to the next big thing (or in the case of Oink, some bright sparks will step forward to start their own).
It’s a supply/demand thing.
Like the black market as long as the demand exists then the supply will be there, but unlike drugs or guns there’s little reason not to forge a business model that will produce a legitimate supply and compete directly with the pirates.
Until then every legal victory (imagined or otherwise) will do nothing but disillusion the public further.
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Re: The futility of it all...
Meanwhile, it's also worth noting that the market demands exposed by AllOfMP3 (people want cheap, DRM-free downloads, they're willing to pay extra for higher quality rips, they like having one-stop shops unrestricted by region, etc.) are still largely unheeded by the RIAA's chosen retailers...
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Re: The futility of it all...
Absolutely correct. The RIAA first took notice of downloading music with Napster. It sued Napster out of existence. However, true P2P programs such as WinMX, which allowed you to download the same content from multiple sources, came out of the rubble which made sharing even easier. Suddenly, people were not sharing mere songs because with the new technology you could easily share entire CDs.
Of course those programs were eventually shut down, but then out of that rubble came Bittorrent. It is so efficient that you no longer merely download a song, or even a CD. Now people are downloading entire discographies. Not to mention full length HD movies.
I'm actually looking forward to bittorrent sites being shut down. I'm dying to see what will come next.
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Re: Re: The futility of it all...
And that’s very, very strange.
Copyright law is supposed to protect and promote innovation, yet somehow Piracy innovates faster then commercial business can keep up by completely ignoring it.
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Re: Re: Re: The futility of it all...
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Re: Re: Re: Re: The futility of it all...
Regarding mp3sparks and the likes; do any of them accept payment via paypal? I suppose most US creditcard companies still allow payments to paypal.
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fascinating
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Accepting payment
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Re: Accepting payment
And another upside was, if they had made a deal and accepted the money, they would have had a pretty strong player in the field to make better deals with Apple iTunes to name just one example of legitimate sources that the recording industry was having problems with
(Remember the hubbub about Apple's unwillingness to give in to RIAA's demands for variable pricing in iTunes?)
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Re:
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What Fritzbrown Said
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Re: What Fritzbrown Said
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Re:
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It was Memorial Day. We had the day off.
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"....the recording industry refused to accept the payments."
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Can't pay mp3sparks?
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Re: Can't pay mp3sparks?
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Re: Re: Can't pay mp3sparks?
Yes "Piracy" (if it can be called that) is a waste of their time. But they don't see it that way. However, I can see how they feel mp3sparks is a waste now.
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MP3 Sparks
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Re: mp3sparks blocked
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MP3Sparks.com is DOA
The great think about these AWESOME music sites is that you can pick your format, bitrate and using the AllTunes app, you can download a CD at a time. I'd pay iTunes prices for this kind of service, selection and no DRM. I now use MP3Fiesta. It is lame compared to MP3Sparks/AllofMP3 but at least it takes my money!
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Check this out
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This Just Proves
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moving on
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LOL the RIAA
JJ
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
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Try mp3va.com
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Payments to MP3Sparks are possible again
I'm gonna check it out.
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Re: Payments to MP3Sparks are possible again
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Re: Payments to MP3Sparks are possible again
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same problem in france
But legalsounds stills works, and it's a good site !!
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Allofmp3 alternatives
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Woohoo!
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How did you get cmpass to work?
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site down?
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Richard: I used paybycall to the france number. Took 20+ minutes for the call, but worked.
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