Dec 21 2006
More AllOfMp3.com Woes
I love covering this topic. Partly because I think it’s an interesting business model, partly because piracy is bad (m’kay), and partly because it really is just an interesting story.
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6199237.stm:
A group of US record labels has started legal action against Russian music download site Allofmp3.com. The lawsuit was filed in New York on behalf of Arista Records, Warner Bros, Capitol and UMG recordings.
It really seems that this is the only way things are going to move forward. The WTO has been putting pressure on Russia for a long time to try to squash it, but due to some tiny little loopholes (and clever wording) the site remains. Credit card companies have denied it access, but that still hasn’t killed it. Sometimes lawsuits are the only way.
The inanity of this story is jaw-dropping to me…. as in, who the hell are WE (the U.S.) to start telling other nations what companies may/may not exist within their borders and legal frameworks?
Just because American media conglomerates don’t like Allofmp3.com doesn’t mean a US proxy (the WTO) should be used to silence them. After all, we’re talking about mp3’s, not WMD’s, not terrorism, not proliferation of nuclear weapons (all things, IMHO, that deserve the attention and resources of the fed gov’t…but NOT damn mp3’s….)
Allofmp3 has the right service/business model – just ask the 20 bazillion users (including US military enlistees, where I first was referred to allofmp3.) That US media companies failed to play ball with allofmp3 speaks more to their comfortable myopia than it does to Allofmp3’s legality. It also offers the best (by far, IMHO) download service.
The Money: Yes, artists should receive some kind of remuneration. They’re never going to get it if the WTO shuts down Allofmp3. In fact, practically any dollar squeezed out of this thing will go to lawyers or shareholders. The artists are still going to miss out….
Piracy is bad (I guess), but allofmp3 wasn’t a pirate operation (at least, not in contrast to other genuine “pirate” sites) and it certainly wasn’t contributing to the end of the world (as the US would have you believe.)
Am i wasting my breath here?