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June 22, 2004
AllOfMP3 Offers Cheap Downloads From Abroad
Chances are, if you have been downloading your music legally, you have been doing so through an American-based company's program or website. Apple iTunes, Wal-Mart Music Downloads, MusicMatch, and Napster are names we hear often when it comes to getting your digital music online. The great thing about these music stores is that you get instant gratification - pay for your music and download it within seconds...but now there is an even cheaper way. Click for more.
There are still thousands that prefer to get their music the old fashioned way: Downloading it for free using a peer to peer program such as KaZaa. My assumption is that a free thing is just too good to pass up, even if paying for it is only $0.99.
Understandable, but what if there was a legal way for you to get the same music offered by the big names for pennies on the dollar? I introduce you to AllofMP3.com.
If you've never heard of them, it's because they are a company based in Russia. Don't cry foul just yet, this site is legit. They recently updated their site to include a section in English, and I have performed a thorough inspection. The way that they offer music is brilliant, and allows you, the consumer, to pick from a multitude of songs in just about any format you want. The price? A mere $0.01 per megabyte. Yes, just one penny per megabyte of music. Here's how it works:
- You sign up for a free account by going through registration. They e-mail you a confirmation link. Click the link, and you are in.
- Choose how you will fund your account. Your options are credit/debit card, Paypal, WebMoney, or gift certificate. If you live in Russia, you can opt to fund your account through direct bank account debit.
- Find a song or album that you want. After selecting to purchase, you are given the option of choosing which type of encoding you want, and at what bitrate. For example, you may choose AAC format encoded at 64 kbps, or you might prefer MP3 format at 128 kbps.
- After choosing your format, go to the My Downloads area and download your music.
This payment and encoding scheme puts you in control of how you spend your money. Compared to iTunes where $10.00 gets you one album, that same amount will get you one gigabyte of music. You choose how to use that gigabyte.
So it sounds great, but what's the catch? Well, AllOfMP3.com is a Russian-based site meant for the people of Russia. Russia's copyright laws are different than those outside of Russia, which allows them to sell music the way they do. My guess is that the RIAA will soon be trying to shut AllofMP3.com down, but they may not be able to. After all, it's a legitimate Russian business. What may happen instead is that the English version of the site could be taken down, leaving only those that read Russian the option of downloading from the service.
Until then, get it while you can.
Posted by Andru at June 22, 2004 06:59 PM
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Comments
Looks like they're down now.
Posted by: jk at June 23, 2004 07:38 AM
AllOfMP3 has been up and down over the past week, as more and more people are starting to hear about them. I think they are in the process of updating their servers to handle the load. Trust me, they are still in business.
Posted by: Andru at June 23, 2004 08:14 AM
My uncle works for the RIAA; trust me, they have a plan to shut them down. Enjoy it while you can.
Posted by: greg hansen at June 23, 2004 11:22 AM
Since when does the RIAA control Russia?
Posted by: haha at June 24, 2004 02:43 PM
I would like to let you know we have just visited your website. Very nice site.
Posted by: banner adds at July 9, 2004 05:38 PM
"My guess is that the RIAA will soon be trying to shut AllofMP3.com down, but they may not be able to. After all, it's a legitimate Russian business. What may happen instead is that the English version of the site could be taken down, leaving only those that read Russian the option of downloading from the service."
Why would the RIAA do this? There are other Anglophones in the world. America is not the only one. To get the Russian-based site to shut down its English component would be overstepping international boundaries. The Brits and Aussies would be denied the ability to use these services. Also, another person made this comment:
"Since when does the RIAA control Russia?"
I've always been confused what to think about this dilemma. Am I allowed to download foreign music? The RIAA does not protect international musical artists... or do they? I download *tons* of imported music because it's so difficult to get my hands on!! For those of you that have purchased imported CDs, you can easily relate to my pains. It's not an easy task, and it is very expensive.
I hope I can download internationally, and I hope RIAA doesn't become an international organization. Otherwise, we're all screwed. =(
Posted by: Andreux at September 27, 2004 10:59 PM