allofmp3.com

[ywouldi]

Anyone used it?

Basicaly its an mp3 website that you pay for downloads on. Most albums are less than $2 and you can choose what format you want it in (mp3, wma, lossless etc) what bitrate etc. Pretty excellent service in my opinion and according to the BBC its all legal as well. Also its got no DRM on the music.

Ben

[DanH]

If you are going to steal music, why pay for it at all?

[chris_w]

Used it a fair but last year with no probs, think the prices have gone up a little but still very reasonable and, as you say, very good service with no dodgy stuff downloaded to your computer (apart from that Gabrielle album for the g/f...).

I believe it's only 100% legal for Russian users though, there's a bit about it on their FAQ. Just register as ywouldiski, they'll never twig...

[focusonme]

Used it as my main source of music for the last three years, excellent site. Bit slow sometimes on getting brand new albums uploaded, but the download speeds are good, they're good at recommending related artists and keeping the charts up to date and stuff.

As to the legality of it, I read a seemingly well sourced (though I didn't, naturally, check the sources) piece on how Russian copyright laws treat the internet no different from radio, so downloading a song is no different from turning on your radio to recieve a broadcast. My memory is, this applied to international users too. May have changed since, though.

[white_van_man]

iv used it for about 3 years with no problems at all. I like the fact you get guarentted music quiality and good download speeds.

[ywouldi]

DanH said:

If you are going to steal music, why pay for it at all?

Technically this isnt stealling as royalties are paid by the site to the russian copyright people, who are in turn supposed to turn it over to the record labels etc. Whether this happens or not I couldn't say, but here's some sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology
www.museekster.com/allofmp3info.htm