Russia Agrees to Take Down MP3 Sites



I know it probably wasn't right, but I loved my Russian MP3 site (http://www.gomusic.ru/). I've been able to buy a lot of music from there without breaking my wallet, though in turn I've probably spent even more money by then seeing the artists in concert (the way I believe it should be). But now it looks like these sites will be going away.

And AllofMP3.com had tried going ad-supported... but it looks like that won't last.

Russia agrees to shut down Allofmp3.com
By Greg Sandoval
http://news.com.com/Russia+agrees+to+shut+down+Allofmp3.com/2100-1027_3-6139350.html

Story last modified Wed Nov 29 11:44:44 PST 2006

Russia has agreed to shut down Allofmp3.com and other music sites based in that country that the U.S. government says are offering downloads illegally.

The nation has struck the agreement with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as it seeks entry to the World Trade Organization. The U.S. has suggested that it would hold up Russia's acceptance in the WTO unless leaders there took action against digital piracy.

"Russia will take enforcement actions against the operation of Russia-based websites," according to a press release issued November 19 by the U.S. Trade Representative. "(Russia will) investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute copyright works on the Internet."

On Wednesday, Allofmp3.com was still operating. Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said that she didn't know when the deal requires the Russian government to begin taking action.

Allofmp3.com is one of many internationally based download sites that the U.S. and several other countries are trying to close down. Music labels and movie studios say that such sites are not authorized to sell music and don't compensate copyright holders.

The move is a setback for Allofmp3.com, which has come under continued U.S. pressure in recent months. In October, Visa announced that it would no longer process the company's credit card transactions.

Allofmp3.com has denied charges of piracy by pointing out that the company is compliant with Russian copyright law. It says it is careful to pay royalties to artists via the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society, which claims to represent copyright holders.

The U.S. has never recognized that organization as legitimate and, as part of the agreement, requires Russia to stop such groups from "acting without right holder consent."

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Now the question will be if I should spend all of my money now, getting everything I can... or see if they don't touch GoMusic.ru?

Posted: Wed - November 29, 2006 at 07:43 PM           |

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