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October 24, 2006
Allofmp3 trades punches with Visa/Mastercard
Here's an interesting precedent. The US government - which is almost as friendly to copyright owners as the Howard Government - has been (so far) vainly trying to bully Russia into closing down cheap music site Allofmp3.com. Suddenly the Visa/Mastercard duo have given them a helping hand by suspending credit facilities for the site.
It could turn out to be a case of the music industry blowing off a few of its own toes, however. Allofmp3 has attacked the move - which does seem to elevate the credit card companies to the position of Lord High Executioner - and is looking at alternatives: how about an advertising-sponsored free music download service?
Posted by cw at October 24, 2006 05:26 PM
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Comments
I was wondering what happened to Visa payments. Pity I can't use my money legally!
cheers, Paul
Posted by: Paul ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://bleedingedge.com.au/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 24, 2006 05:52 PM
An interesting post on the AllOfMP3 Blog.
So the industry assumes that the site's price for music is too low for it to be legal and for artists to be compensated. However, the same (or even lower) price per track is being charged at a legal Chinese service top100.cn. It was launched some 8 months ago and has not received much press in the West, apart from the initial press release and recent news about Orchard licensing its catalogue to the biggest legal Chinese download service. "For just one yuan per song (that is 12 cents), mainland consumers could buy anything from The Beatles to Britney Spears" (South China Morning Post). "top100.cn has gained full supports from international and local music industry, international and local copyrights societies, and also Chinese government… John Kennedy, Chairman of IFPI, said to CEO Gary G. Chen in a meeting: we are keen to see your service available in China as soon as possible… top100.cn entered into licensing agreements with major music labels, such as EMI, SonyBMG and also international and domestic independent record labels, like Sanctuary Record Group, China Record Corporation, and many others." (press release at www.newswiretoday.com)
Posted by: Stephen at October 25, 2006 02:43 AM
Buying from allofmp3 is tricky now. I bought an XROST prepaid card via clickandpay.com - that worked quite well when I tested yesterday.
Posted by: Jeremy Howard at October 26, 2006 12:16 AM
I don't care who I buy my music from, as long as they charge the equivalent of what allofMP3 charges.
The recording companies could just as easily reap huge profits if they weren't so greedy and inflexible to change.
Posted by: Tony at October 27, 2006 08:01 AM