AllOfMP3 Executive Cleared of Charges
A Russian court ruled that a former executive at AllOfMP3 was not guilty of copyright infringement. After this verdict, it seems the site is ready to re-launch. This puts Russia’s bid into the WTO into murky waters again and will likely cause a whole new media circus.
In the meantime, you can use AllOfMP3’s reincarnate.
I’m always torn on this particular issue. I think AllOfMP3 fills a void that current exists in digital music: DRM free, cheap music. While labels are starting to finally see the light, so long as DRM is the standard, sites like AllOfMP3 will prosper. As for its *really* low prices, that’s another point. Music tends to be very expensive when you buy it in CD form, and a per track price that is dependant on the file size (quality) is very fair.
That said, selling music without paying royalties to the labels is clearly wrong, but I think the issue has always been how much royalties the labels deserve, since AllOfMP3 has always offered to pay (small) royalties. Lastly, while it’s clearly a little shady, it was also legal by Russian copyright law.
What do you think of AllOfMP3’s business practices?
