MP3 download site legit?

February 14, 2006 2:03 PM

Is this music download site legit?

I've seen it mentioned here and elsewhere but nothing definitive as to legality and/or safety regarding submitting a credit card number. It's in Russia. The site says it's legal, your credit card info is safe, etc. Believable? Here is the FAQ.

posted by a_day_late to Computers & Internet (17 answers total)

The actual download site seems to be mp3sugar, eh? They look as legit as allofmp3 (not very), but allofmp3 at least lets you use Paypal which is much safer in my mind.
posted by smackfu at 2:15 PM on February 14, 2006

If you need to ask the question, it's almost certainly not legit.

It does seem similar to allofmp3. There are several compositions of mine available for purchase on allofmp3. I was never asked permission, and I've certainly never received any royalties. Make of that what you will.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 2:25 PM on February 14, 2006

Defending its legality would no doubt be a drawn-out court battle. My guess is that you'd lose, if it came to that.
posted by qslack at 2:57 PM on February 14, 2006

Best answer: If it's run on the same basis as allofmp3, it's legal in the sense that there's a legal loophole, or ambiguity, in Russian copyright law. The record companies presumably vehemently oppose this kind of trade and may well be trying to shut it down. Or various governments may be trying to pressure the Russian government into closing that loophole. But the risk for you would be minimal.

Your credit card info is probably as safe as it is anywhere else online.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 3:20 PM on February 14, 2006

PayPal no longer permits payment to allofmp3 and hasn't for at least the last several months.
posted by TimeFactor at 3:27 PM on February 14, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks to all for the responses. I will most likely avoid this. I was interested because they carry some European songs that I am interested in but cannot buy through the iTunes store. I guess I will stick to CDs for those songs.
posted by a_day_late at 5:24 PM on February 14, 2006

PayPal no longer permits payment to allofmp3 and hasn't for at least the last several months.
I made a payment to allofmp3 via PayPal last month.
posted by forrest at 5:27 PM on February 14, 2006

allofmp3 has consistently said "service temporarily unavailable" every time I've tried to reload my balance with paypal over the last several months (I won't give them a credit card). I only check intermittently so it's possible that it's available occasionally but I haven't found anyone else on the net who's used paypal directly at allofmp3 recently (although apparently you can use paypal to buy an xrost "gift-card" that you can use at allofmp3). So I guess YMMV.
posted by TimeFactor at 7:48 PM on February 14, 2006

You can also buy a prepaid card with paypal, and redeem that at allofmp3. They give you 10% extra credit when you do it this way, but you're still using paypal.
posted by Jomoma at 7:53 PM on February 14, 2006

I can second TimeFactors paypal/allofmp3 story. For more than five months I've been unable to use PayPal on that site, after having been able to for a year prior.
posted by jonson at 10:45 PM on February 14, 2006

With Allofmp3 you use PayPal to purchase a credit with http://www.xrost.com/ and then you use your xrost credit to pay allofmp3. You get a 10% bonus for doing this.
posted by fourstar at 11:01 PM on February 14, 2006

I used PayPal to recharge my allofmp3.com account at Christmas - I haven't noticed any other dodgy transactions since.

(Ob.disclaimer: I wouldn't have done it normally but I was on a tight schedule, in the middle of nowhere, and I needed to compile a wedding CD pronto.)

As for the legality of it, no-one is going to bust your door for using sites like allofmp3.com -- but at the same time, your money is only going to a fatcat Russian company's wallets. They're not distributing any of it to songwriters or publishers or fatcat record companies.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 2:09 AM on February 15, 2006

they carry some European songs that I am interested in but cannot buy through the iTunes store

The big Euro store is OD2. Try one of their affiliates.
posted by meehawl at 5:01 AM on February 15, 2006

I get the feeling that allofmp3 has a tenuous relation with Paypal. Probably too many chargebacks. So their accounts get suspended often and for long periods of time.
posted by smackfu at 6:38 AM on February 15, 2006

Response by poster: meehawl, thanks for the link. So far, I am having little success accessing their online music stores. Most bring up a blank page with no explanation as to why. (I am using Safari / OS X, BTW.) Some do arrive at an actual link so I imagine it's a webiste bug. Unfortunately, the ones with proper links are not the ones that I am interested in. Maybe I'll try FireFox or Camino but I get weary of sites that don't work properly.
posted by a_day_late at 7:32 AM on February 15, 2006

I wouldn't go out of my way to get music from this place.
posted by Quartermass at 8:45 AM on February 18, 2006

as far as i know allofmp3 is technically legal because of its location in russia. there are several other money transfer sites that will still recharge your account including bank of americas visa program.
posted by dward88 at 1:06 PM on August 22, 2006