Visa halts its service for allofmp3.com

This sounds like the hammer hitting the death nail for Allofmp3.com. If you have never heard of Allofmp3.com it is a Russian based music store. You could by a whole album for as little as a buck with no copyprotection. Apparently according to Russian law, 15% of the sale price goes to a central Russian agency that then distributes it to the artists. The US music industry (RIAA) did not like this arrangement because it did not set an actual price but a percentage which is why allofmp3 could charge such a low price.

The RIAA has been lobbying the US government to apply pressure to the Russian government to stop this. Since they could not stop them along the legal route it looks like they pressured Visa to do the dirty work. Visa will now not allow you to use their card for a perfectly legal activity; they have made a moral decision. Does this mean that you can't use your Visa at casinos or how about stopping the use of Visa for buying cigarettes and alcohol.

Allofmp3 is now going to an ad supported format. You download a song for free but it can only be played on their media player installed on your computer and it can't be copied to multiple computers. This of course will kill them. It's turning into a radio station and I can get a radio station without downloading an ad-supported media player.

Visa halts its service for allofmp3.com
Beleaguered music download site says it will stop discounting songs and give them away, says newspaper report.
By Greg Sandoval
Staff Writer, CNET News.com


Credit card company Visa International said Wednesday that it has suspended service to music download site allofmp3.com, the latest setback for the Russian company accused in the U.S. of pirating music.


"It's no longer permitted to accept Visa cards," said Simon Barker, a Visa International spokesman. "The action we've taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and international copyright law."

The news comes as allofmp3.com launches a public relations campaign to counter claims by the U.S. government that the site is an outlaw operation. On Tuesday, allofmp3.com announced plans to give away hundreds of thousands of albums for free, according to a story in the International Herald Tribune.

U.S. trade representatives say allofmp3.com is profiting from unauthorized music sales. Executives of allofmp3.com say that the company carefully adheres to copyright law in Russia. That doesn't satisfy U.S. music labels' concerns about copyright infringement, however.

Like music download sites that came before it, such as Napster and Kazaa, allofmp3.com offers unlicensed music for deeply discounted prices.

After years of court battles, Napster and Kazaa now cooperate with record companies. Other sites around the globe, such as Spain-based Weblisten.com, have succumbed to legal pressure and shut their doors.

The U.S. has indicated that by allowing allofmp3.com to continue operating, Russia could be jeopardizing its bid to join the World Trade Organization.