mattybain Wrote: > Well they are still running and it appears they were cleared of any > wrong doing. > > http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/03/07/1137212.shtml?tid=141&tid=17 > > Re that statement "Knowingly buying from AllofMP3 is the same as > stealing." I buy from AllofMP3 but where possible for the albums I > really enjoy and listen to more than once I try and make a donation to > the artist of around £5. How is that stealing? > > BTW I agree it is not sensible to give companies like this your credit > card number which is why I use my web card with a temporary card number > and prepaid credit limit for all "dodgy" purchases.
Let me ask a question. The money that you give, is that to the artist or AllofMP3? If you are making a donation for each of the downloads you make to the artist on top of paying AllofMP3 for the download, that is extremely commendable. You are the exception rather than the rule. As you dig a little deeper into the problems with AllofMP3, on top of the issue (as I have read) is that AllofMP3 is not paying royalties back to the music companies (and in turn the artists). Then to top it off, numerous artists do not allow their music to be uploaded or downloaded. The most notable of the artists is the Beatles whose full catalog can be found on the AllofMP3 website. Then there is the issue with copyright infringements. Since the majority of the major artists deal with music companies based in the US and also copyright that same material in the US, here is a quote from the US Patent and Copyright Office; ======================== Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150, 000 for each work infringed. ======================== Since the IFPI and the RIAA represent the music companies in the US and Worldwide, they also are the people that you deal with for liscensing and distribution rights (directly and indirectly). They state (and still contend) that AllofMP3 is operating illegally. The BBC states that Russian copyright law does not cover digital media. ---> "But Moscow prosecutors will not take legal action because Russian copyright laws do not cover digital media, according to news agency Tass."<---- Knowing that, is this a loophole? Could you consider AllofMP3 cleared because of weak laws? ..... well I guess so on some plain of existance but consider this.... You go to work as a salesman every day, all day, week in and week out. You get paid for the fruits of your labors. At the end of the year you always get a nice commission check for recurring sales generated buy your new sales and previous work. All of a sudden you find out that you are no longer going to get commissions owed to you because it has been hijacked by some guy (or guys) over in Russia. They found some way to stiff you out of your rightfully earned commissions for sales made. Worst part is its not just one years commissions, it is forevermore. And to add insult to injury you now have scads of people cheering in the bacground all across the world asking for (and recieving) the way to help themselves to the work you produced further reducing your commissions. Soon they ALL begin taking advantage of this same security breach that reduces your commissions. To add insult to injury, before this all began you told everybody (in writing) that you didn't want your works to be reproduced and placed on the Internet because you were afraid someone would steal it. Regardless of Russian law, they don't have the rights to copy and distribute music digitally as defined by the IFPI (who represents the owners of the copyright). Again, I despise the RIAA and the music companies as much as anybody. What the RIAA has done is unforgivable in my books. The music companies are greedy bastards milking artists of their creativity and taking the majority of the profits and lining their own pockets. In some (well known) cases the music companies have outright stolen residuals from the artists. I think this is wrong. What I am is; absolutely pro-artist and artists rights. These are the guys who suffer from illegal downloading. Screw the music companies, I'm all about the artist as you should be too because without them, there is no music. Bottom line, many musicians deal with music companies that are based out of the US who have very strong copyright laws and a strong distribution network. AllofMP3 has circumvented both of those taking advantage of weak laws in Russia. Weak laws in country does not make distributing music legal in my books or in the musicians books. Supporting AllofMP3 by downloading music from them (regardless whether you pay or not) is not only insuring that the artist doesn't recieve money for their hard earned work, in some cases it clearly defies the fact that the artist didn't want their music placed (and distributed) on the Internet. This wasn't meant to slam anybody (honestly). My hopes are to raise awareness. Most people don't know the issues at the heart of the problem. They think since they are 'paying', it's legal. The more people that know, (hopefully) the more people make the right descision NOT to support AllofMP3 and illegal downloads in general. Its just wrong on so many levels and we ALL know it. -- Scott F. ===================== Regards, Scott F. EnjoyTheMusic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott F.'s Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2554 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=18642 _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
