all of mp3
Attention to everyone buying music on iTunes: don't.
Several years ago, I heard about this great, can't-possibly-be-legal site named AllofMp3.com. Today I gave it a shot. My conclusion: it totally rocks. Are you sick of limewire or bittorrent? Worried about being sued by the RIAA, or wary of illegally downloading music, but still feel like $10 for a CD you don't know if you'll like is too much? Then allofmp3.com is for you.
The site is totally legal, somehow, probably due to legal oversights in the chaotic feudalism of mob-ruled modern-day Russia, but they'll sell you legal MP3's based on file size. You pick your bit rate and start downloading at prices much cheaper than iTunes. For instance, this morning I've downloaded all of the Tool songs I didn't already have (2 and a half albums) for around $8. Wonderful!!
So, check it out. And ask your momma I said how she durin:
[Video removed to try and fix stupid broken blog]
It's dumb, but it's funny. Special thanks to Mark Landry for the finding of this video.
posted by RJ @ 11:38 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
I wouldn't exactly call the video funny, per se. It falls somewhere in between mildly entertaining and weird enough to make you keep watching. (Not to be argumentative or anything...)
I'm guessing that it is, in fact, not legal for you to download music from this site. Just because I host my site in a country where it is legal to pirate songs doesn't mean that its legal for you to buy my pirated songs from me. I think. I don't know, maybe this is still murky water because internet law is hard to enforce. But you might want to read this final paragraph on their FAQ about the legality of downloading from them:
"The user bears sole responsibility for any use and distribution of all materials received from AllOFMP3.com. This responsibility is dependent on the national legislation in each user's country of residence. The Administration of AllOFMP3.com does not possess information on the laws of each particular country and is not responsible for the actions of foreign users."
Now, on the off chance that you do get sued you might get off by saying that you thought it was legal since they claim that they pay royalties. My guess is that its not legal, and if you're really worried about getting busted for illegal music then you shouldn't buy from them. If you don't really care then you should be getting it for free by pirating it. Furthermore, do you really trust some shady site in Russia with your credit card information? I'd be more worried about that then I would about getting caught with pirated music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allofmp3.com#Legality_in_the_US
Murky!
ok, I thought it was funny. I think maybe you have to watch it with friends.
On the legality issue,
"However, in light of the above, opponents will likely point out that the lack of specific ruling as to whether AllOfMP3.com is safe, is unavailing as a basis to claim non-infringement."
That's good enough for me. And you don't pay them directly - you buy credit on their site through another site. Tons of people I know out here have used it, including my computer science professor at GCC, and no one's had any problems at all. GCC prof also said he believed it was totally legal, so I'm going to proceed without fear.
My problem with piracy is that I'm at work, and I don't think the company would like it. I have my bosses old computer and he had limewire installed, but in the small chance I did get busted my company could get in trouble, and that's no good.
What principle is that? The principle that artists should get money for their albums? I think the RIAA's policy of paying artists .05 cents an album violates that policy already, so if you want my opinion, we shouldn't support the RIAA or their broken business model, in principle.
But the site IS in line with all Russian copyright laws, and does pay Russian royalties, which should in theory get back to the source somehow. In principal, I'm just importing a product purchased legally in Russia. I support international trade, so in principal I think we should all support allofmp3.
And in conclusion, the RIAA is retarded, and anything legal that destabilizes their idiotic system of shafting musicians should be exploited to it's utmost.
1.) you're a straw man.
2.) the artist received .05 cents in my previous statement, not .05 dollars. A nickel an album would be amazing.
3.) I am not a dear sweet indie rocker, and I never signed with a label. And just because musicians do sign does not mean that they're fair.
Artists have certainly entered into contracts with recording companies and ought to comply with them. But I never signed a contract saying I'd buy music that supported that system, so I'm going to keep buying music from legitimate sites like allofmp3.com that aren't connected with the RIAA, just like you suggested.
As bands become less dependent on labels, we should all encourage the labels to die and disappear as best we can. I'll look at your CD baby, but even iTunes $10 a cd feels too expensive if I don't know whether I like the music or not.
I'm also in favor of signing up for a music download service, getting my music, and then protecting my purchase by breaking the DRM. Here's what recording companies need to hear from us, in whatever way we can say it:
1.) music is too expensive.
2.) we don't care about your mansions.
3.) we refuse to be restricted by proprietary copy protection systems that are intrusive (sony's root kit-esque protection system) or restricted to certain platforms (wma's for windows, apple's mp4.)
4.) this sort of copy protection will never work. Make music extremely cheap and extremely accessible or someone somewhere will ALWAYS find a way to break you. This is a conflict between technology, progress and the future on one hand and antiquated business practices designed to support a class of professional leeches our society will no longer tolerate.
And that, dear punnard, is why allofmp3.com rocks.
"This argument is a straw man. Regardless of how favorable or unfavorable their agreements with the RIAA are, artists have entered willingly into those agreements. It's duplicitous to take the record contract and then moan about how it isn't fair. If it wasn't fair, dear sweet indie rocker, you wouldn't have signed."
Punnard, this is where you are wrong. Bands/artists enter into record contracts knowing that they will LOSE money on making an album and music videos. That's right, it costs nearly every artist more to make a CD and music videos then they could ever make off of it.
They are counting on exposure from the record to boost merchandise and concert ticket sales, which makes musicians ass loads of money. If they are just looking for exposure, then (something that actually costs them money), then stealing their music accomplishes the same end and wouldn't have to cost them nearly as much.
The only bands that bitch about music theft (Metallica being front and center) are the ones that actually make a few bucks on album sales. The VAST majority of bands couldn't care less (Weezer has in the past begged fans to pirate their music).
How many ass loads could I fit in an ass shack?
More than you might think.
Post a Comment
<< Home