Dodgy Russian music pirates make a comeback

by Gordon Finlayson Aug 6th 2007

The Russian Government may have finally closed long running music pirate AllOfMP3.com recently, but apparently you can't keep a good music pirate down and it would appear a number of sites have sprung up in its place. My favorite is the aptly named LegalSounds which, just like AllOfMP3 goes out of its way to tell you that it's 'legal' but of course the artists that they're selling will never see a cent.

The number of pirate sites seems to have spun out of control recently with link site http://hubpages.com/hub/russianmp3site listing no less than 18 sites from Russia and the Ukraine, all selling unlicensed mainstream commercial music at bargain basement prices.

LegalSounds sells tracks at 9c each, or about a buck for an entire album download. For billing the site uses the 'Assist' payment gateway and requires you to download and install its software on your computer to buy tracks (needless to say I didn't take the risk of testing out what the impact the installation of such software on my computer would be).

The Russian Government finally closed down AllOfMP3 in response to US threats that it would block Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization, but the amount of time that it took to take down AllOfMP3 and the continued existence of sites such as LegalSounds demonstrates the extremely limited commitment of the Russian government to actually tackle piracy issues.

Unlike file sharing software such as Napster, the Russian music pirates actually charge money for the tracks that they're selling, so it's a pretty clear that it's simply stealing, yet there seems to be few practical ways to have the sites shut without any desire on the part from the Russian authorities.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

pmow said 11:30AM on 8-06-2007

1. This is old news.
2. Napster isn't "file sharing software". Welcome to 2007.
3. You have a favorite illegal site? Why spew this obviously slanted garbage then?

Don't quit your day job. If DS didn't have other categories I would have taken it off my aggregator because of this incredibly poorly written article.

Wolfman-K said 12:17PM on 8-06-2007

Wow this does seem a bit slanted for a normal DS article.

"so it's a pretty clear that it's simply stealing"

I thought that the RIAA and the US labels refused to take payment, and that that money was set aside for them in a separate account. Not that I have ever used any of the Russian download sites, I havn't I just like to cover this stuff for my own site.

Stephen said 1:14PM on 8-06-2007

AllOfMP3.com used to claim they were paying the appropriate licensing authorities for the right to sell music... That's why the sites were "legal".
Its just that the Russian law requires a _much_ lower payment to sell music than the US would like.

The artists wont see any of that money because the RIAA refuses to accept the money from the licensing authority (which would further legitimize their claim of legality).

Gordon Finlayson said 1:25PM on 8-06-2007

A couple of points on this -

1. Under international copyright laws collection societies don't collect royalties for music sales - and they can't authorise them either. The argument that the Russian sites are relying on isn't based on local law or the international copyright laws it's merely a subterfuge to distract from the reality of the situation. Even if it was possible under Russian law to sell unlicensed music, that doesn't allow these sites to sell to people outside of Russia.

2. If you think that it's ok to sell music without ever paying a cent to the artist or record label is ok, well then that's your opinion. I happen to have a different opinion - that artists should get paid for their work. Just because I have an opinion that's different to yours doesn't mean it's 'slanted'. This is after all a blog, we're supposed to have opinions - that's mine.

3. You're right that this isn't a 'new story' - this is a follow up on a long running story - that there are a lot of sites out there continuing to sell music illegally despite the token efforts of the Russian government to shut down AllOfMP3. The news is that the Russian government's commitment to copyright protection is pretty much non-existent.

pmow said 2:53PM on 8-06-2007

I realize it's a blog, but it's also a news blog. For example, in "Shopping Carts get a makeover at Google Checkout", Chris Gilmer references the announcement and presents some speculation. In "iPhone apps coming fast and furious", David Chartier clearly identifies non-facts and the speculation that follows.

Although adding comments in these articles is encouraged, it starts being an opinion piece when you:
A) Write in a news context
B) Report on a non-event
C) Write bias into a heavily debated subject

I personally don't care much about (B). But even your follow-up comment comes across as arrogant. I did not present my opinion; In fact, I use the current (legal) Napster. If you'd like to respond to my comments, you should probably try to spend most of the time arguing that point instead of turning this into a soapbox for your _agenda_.

Ray said 4:33AM on 8-08-2007

First of all, why is Allofmp3 a pirate site? It is a perfectly legal site selling music. That is also the reason why the Russian government had so much trouble closing it down: the site operates withing the law.

ROMS has offered on many times payments to the RIAA which THEY REFUSED.

Too bad, but RIAA can not impose American law upon countries elsewhere, not even with bribery or in the case of Allofmp3: blackmail, trying to deny Russia access to the WTO.

It is legal in my country to download audio/video files for personal use. Allofmp3 was one of my download sites for music, now i went back to p2p.

pmow said 4:34PM on 8-10-2007

-----Original Message-----
From: Gordon Finlayson [email removed]
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 5:14 AM
To: [pmow]
Subject: Re: Download Squad: New comment on Dodgy Russian music pirates make a comeback

Look, the reality is that I've had agendas in the past and will
continue to in the future - if you try Googling 'BurnLounge' you'll
note the posts that I've written in the past about that company which
I thought had a dodgy business model. I said so, followed the case and
recently the FTC showed that they also thought that was the case and
took action against the company.

I think the Russian music pirate sites are corrupt and rubbish and I'm
happy to say that and I'll continue to follow that story, it's part of
writing for a blog, I'm employed to have an opinion.

If you've got a problem with facts in my writing I'm really happy to
hear about it - but if you don't like the editorial tone well don't
read my writing.

Download Squad isn't just a news blog - we present our opinions, and
those vary from writer to writer, you may note that we've recently
were criticised by a board member of the IFPI for getting stuck into
the RIAA, it's not just like we're sitting here apologising for the
music industry, and you'll note our response was a long way from being
a news article (http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/06/15/an-open-response-to-an-ifpi-board-member/).

I do appreciate your comments, everyone needs to be checked on their
writing, I hope you'll appreciate that I'll continue to disagree with
you though.

Best regards,

Gordon

pmow said 4:43PM on 8-10-2007

________________________________________
From: Gordon Finlayson
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 12:14 PM
To: [pmow]
Subject: Re: Download Squad: New comment on Dodgy Russian music pirates make a comeback

OK, since you clearly didn't get it from reading the post the first time:

1. I'm aware that Napster is no longer file sharing software, but it was during its heyday and continues to be associated in the minds of many people with the concept of P2P music file sharing.

2. If you think that Russian mafia selling music to people like you is a positive thing then well that is your opinion, and it's shared by many people. I happen to have a different opinion - that artists should get paid for their work. Just because I have an opinion that's different to yours doesn't mean it's 'slanted'

3. The news is that there are a lot of sites out there still doing selling music illegally in Russia despite the token efforts of the Russian government to shut down AllOfMP3. That in fact there is very little commitment from Russia to shut these sites down. It's what's known as a 'follow up piece' which seeks to keep track of an issue after the initial headline has faded.

Kind regards,

Gordon

pmow said 4:43PM on 8-10-2007

I'm not sure what you'd like me to say...it's the same weak (IMO) arguments as your article. It's your job to blog, and it's our job to comment. I'm not sure being "employed" is a validation of your work in of itself.

songboom said 8:51AM on 10-06-2007

They haven't just made a comeback, they've multiplied. It seems like there is a new site practically weekly.

Check out http://www.songboom.com - there are reviews for 15 sites similar to LegalSounds.

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