AllOfMP3 Shut Down by Russian Government For Good
Straight from TorrentFreak: “AllOfMp3, the popular online music store, has been shut down by the Russian government. Pressure from the United States, and a refusal to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) convinced the Kremlin to take the website down for good.
Before the shutdown AllOfMP3 had nearly 6 million users who were able to download songs and albums for a fraction of the price from authorized alternatives such as the iTunes Store. MP3s were sold for $0.20 per song, or less.
AllOfMP3 has been a thorn in the side of the RIAA and the US government for years. Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that if Russia wants to join the WTO, they should shut down the pirate music website [AllOfMP3] that is robbing U.S. recording companies of sales.
In an interview with P2Pnet, the owners of AllOffMP3 later said that Schwab completely and deliberately mischaracterized AllofMP3, “it is irresponsible to use AllofMP3.com as a negotiating instrument in an attempt to extract concessions from Russia”, thay added. But now it seems like president Putin has some good news to tell Bush today, a mere coincidence of course.
It is not clear how effective the shutdown of AllOfMP3 will be. Most users will probably move to MP3sparks, a similar service with a similar setup, launched by the same company. This site is not illegal under Russian law because they use a different licensing model.”
It would appear as though MP3sparks has now also been shutdown. I’ve been unable to reach the site for the past several days. If you still have an outstanding balance with AllOfMP3, their AllTunes software still works and allows for the purchase and download of their entire catalog. The download link to the AllTunes software application is still functional as well. Visa and Mastercard are still blocking access to AllOfMP3, AllTunes and MP3sparks, so trying to replenish your balance to order more songs is virtually impossible.
For alternatives to AllOfMP3, see:
And for reviews of even more sites (including the ones you mentioned), check out http://www.songboom.com – there are over a dozen sites reviewed there.
songboom
July 17, 2007 at 2:58 pm
It’s quite interesting how much pressure the US will put onto a country which does not comply with the music industries copy right law. Obviously they started feeling it in their pockets. But when it’s costing lives like with Mugabe in Zimbabwe, then they are too “scared” to do anything. So money is more important to the US than lives!
lapDOG
July 19, 2007 at 5:43 am