music_news 91 posts

The RIAA is nothing more than a collective front for publicly-held companies; their job is to ensure the profitability of these record companies. Anything they say about preserving the rights of artists is pure bullshit.

Why would I spend $20 on an album, without being able to preview it first? Even if I were to be able to preview it, It seems to me that more people are willing and ABLE to spend $2 (as opposed to $20)on an album. Likewise, being able to preview it and pay less, encourages people to listen to lesser-known artists, rather than the "BIG NAMES" continuously regurgitated on the radio...non-stop. The Profits are secure for the Big Record Labels as long as they have a monopoly over what we spend our money on, and even what we are fed 'free' on public radio.

The allofmp3 model proves that people are willing to pay for music - I have no problem paying for music! BUT, I am not willing to pay $10+ for a 192kbs digital copy that I have to download, I have to burn to a CD, I do not get any cover art, the record companies do not have to do any advertising, no packaging, no shipping, etc. etc. etc.
As soon as somebody breaks with the RIAA greed model and implements a service like allofmp3 I will be all over it. (Too bad I can no longer use allofmp3 because the US credit card companies have colluded to block us).

u are right all of u are right n i agree with all of u. riaa is nothing but pure bullshit

Can't they see that their bully boy tactics of not only individuals but of sovereign Governments is counter productive and helps towards the Hate of Americanism and Corporate America. Give us the choice, give us the prices, give us the download formats we want and maybe we might come back.....But I doubt they will.

My USA CC works just fine on this site.

Now after reading these comments I understand why I've not been able to use my USA CC, and it SUCKS!

Does the xrost/biz site still work in the US?

Let's face fact's. The RIAA's only realistic option here, is to ask allofmp3.com for royalties on what it sell's.

Does anyone here think that millions of people are going to move from paying 12c per track, to 99c per track, when Limewire and BitTorrent are out there? Or even more realistically, since you can buy a full album and it works out to about $1 per track (give or take), why would anyone want to pay for just some copy protected download?

I just want to know how long before I can start buying music again ?
Surely there must be a way.
The only thing I hold against Allofmp3 is that you could have warned us by e-mail to top up our accounts with enough credit to last till you sort out this little obsticale

The RIAA shot itself in the foot way back in the 90s when it got rid of any viable single format. First the 45 went, then came the crappy cassingle (cassette single) and the then the CD-single which averaged at five bucks a pop. The RIAA had the opportunity to get out on the front lines of the downloading action, but instead sat back and whined and complained how the technology would hurt them instead of leading the charge for the artists it represents. Now, they are followers and they are looking to blame anyone but themselves. Too bad RIAA. Take a lesson from all of the other comments as well.

While I am no fan of the RIAA and most major label music, I don't think that gives me a right to steal music. Ok, maybe with All of Mp3 you are not stealing, just buying from a thief. Almost the same thing. All of Mp3 is paying no one. How is that fair?

Also, you people do realize that there is much more music that is played on commercial radio? Go down to an open mic night and check out some great unknown talent. Pick up a local free weekly and go check out a new band. Don't use the excuse that radio plays nothing but crap to justify stealing.

CD sales have been falling for the last five or six years. All the blame shouldn't be placed on file sharing, but it plays a big part.

How much do you guys pay to go see a movie? How much do you pay for a gallon of gas? How about bottled water? Beer? Are you going to start stealing those things because you think the big corporations are charging too much?

Do you believe that the music industry should be a non-profit industry? No, I'm serious. Because there is no way anyone will make money off of a digital album getting sold for $2. No record label that wants to make money is going to sell an album for $2. That's fucking nuts.

Also, even if someone does a strictly digital release, there are still cost associated. It cost money to record. It cost money to promote. It cost money to send a band out on the road.

I believe the copy protection needs some serious work. EMI has started to sell DRM free downloads, I reckon the other Big Four will soon follow.

How much would you folks actually be willing to spend on an album?

Folks, read the blogs on this site. There's plenty of instructions on how to continue purchasing using your US CC. You have to purchase a gift card FIRST (check eBay), then you can add to your balance.

I am not fanatic about being ripped off.
I Have purchased funds on this site, or have
tried to. I have purchased funds on the 'sister'
site to this one(mp3stor.com) but have yet to receive an
acknowledgement : re: being reflected in my balance.
I have paid yet I get NOTHING !! Still, my VISA account
was billed for the amount purchased. I am unable to get
any kind of a response from the people who 'manage' these
websites. So Just Who is Zapping Whom ? Who are the real thieves
in all of this ?
Can you blame me for having a Low opinion of those who take my
money and do NOT deliver ?
If this is what internet commerce is coming down to, then this
sorry state of business is doomed.
Bitch all you want to about the RIAA and the nusic industry, but
when I PAY, THEY DELIVER. Where the hell is the music i have paid for ??
How can you really fault the artists in all of this. They are the ones producing their hearts out and getting NOTHING, NIL, NADA.

I had no trouble adding to my balance via my credit card today.

As for the actual question, i.e. the survey, and in particular in response to "Chris": no, it is not right to steal. On the other hand, it is not right to utilize your power position to charge outrageous fees and impose all kinds of weird constraints to preserve this position (that's why there are anti-trust laws, even if they don't apply in this case).

I actually think it is quite possible to sell albums (on the web, not CDs) for $2 and still make money from it. New ways to distribute music dramatically reduces (almost eliminates) distribution cost. And with a rate of $2, the volume would rise dramatically. Judging by my own behavior, I have consumed dramatically more music from AllOfMP3 than I ever bought from any regular store, not only in hours of music, but also (and more importantly) in money spent. I firmly believe that the music industry (at least the artists) would benefit from a model much like AllOfMP3.

Also, a comment on the price: If you compare AllOfMP3 downloads to CDs, the price of an album isn't $2. As an example, if you order Sarah Connor's "Soulicious" in FLAC Lossless encoding, the price is $8.94. If you order PCM Wave (CD format), it is $14.01. A 320 kbps MP3 (which IMO is as good as a CD), the price is $3.45.

For $2, you get 160 kbps MP3, which is significantly less quality than the original CD. Now, you can debate on the importance of this quality, but if you want to compare prices, you should compare similar products, not a full-quality CD to a low-quality rip. Personally, I always order 320 kbps, and I think this is a good measure of what I am prepared to pay without looking for alternatives; I think $3-$5 is OK for a 60-70 minute album in high quality.

Now, if the music industry would be looking for new opportunities instead of trying to maintain the "this is the way it has always been done" attitude, they could leverage this model by selling low-quality albums cheaper, and expect buyers to return for the high-quality albums once they're convinced they like it. Look at AllOfMP3; people actually pay to buy the material from this site, rather than downloading for free from elsewhere. Reasons are (speaking for myself) primarily excellent service, excellent quality and unparalleled shopping convenience.

Now, all of this doesn't justify "stealing". Still, if the difference between the "legal way" and the way of the consumers is too big, something has to give. Drawing on the analogy that Chris made; if the producers overcharge for liquor (or ban it altogether), people will start making their own. You simply can't push it too far. I'm pretty sure that RIAA is fighting a loosing battle, and the sooner they turn from conservative protectionism to opportunistic innovation, the sooner they will be able to sky rocket music sales thru this wonderful new technology.

I too am against stealing and buying from thieves. I haven't downloaded pirated music in over three years, and those have all been wiped from my system. But I also haven't bought any music in over four years, except the two or three songs I got from WalMart.com that I can't use anymore since my hard drive crashed!

But I believe something will give. My American forefathers didn't believe in stealing or vandalism when they dumped all of that tea into the Boston Harbor. And now Americans don't drink tea, they drink coffee. Far be it from me to lead a revolution, but I can't stomach the thought of paying $10 for a few megabytes on the internet when I don't pay more than 5 bucks a movie at Blockbuster.

I'm looking for an honest, legal alternative for filling my I-pod. As a businessman, it seems stupid to me that the record companies would prefer spending millions in court to lowering prices a bit and increasing profits.

Why would I buy an album for $15 just for one song I can get off AllOfMP3 for 15 cents?
The RIAA got caught with its pants down around its ankles when the online revolution occurred, and now it's bitching and moaning about how this website is offering the same content at a lower price.
They call it illegal, I call it a competitive advantage, and a far better price point for the consumer.
I will continue to use AllOfMP3 for all my music needs, simply because it's the best option out there.

I have bought songs and albums from groups I would never have bought anything from, just because the price was low enough for me to feel experimental in my choice. I still think it would be cool if allofmp3 would allow me to donate a free amount directly to the artist, whenever I am pleased with their album.

Give me an option to pay a dollar or two directly to an account that is NOT accessible by the music industry, but only by the artist, and I am happy to pay.

You say the industry needs the money to do the advertisment? I didn't need any advertisment except the allofmp3 catalog to find the artists and enjoy their work. So, I am ready to pay them their well deserved money, but I am not willing to pay someone doing fancy add stuff and require me to pay several dollar per cd for something I don't need.

With this model, the artists would get MORE money than they do with the current business model, where they get a few cents per CD and 90% goes into the bloated industry...

I bought Nevermind in Woolworths before Christmas reduced £4.00. That's 33p a track at WAV quality, a CD and artwork. Why should I pay 79p a track at 256kb from Itunes or a similar site. Surely without a CD and case, and at 256kb I should be paying around 5p a track. ALLOFMP3.COM has got it right!!!

The music industry as a whole is in pure denial that the internet has change the world. They want to exempt themselves from the inevitable fact that the internet has altered the economics behind every industry on the planet. Do you think stockbrokers ever thought they would see $5-$10 trades? Or that insurance companies on the east coast ever thought they would have to compete with companies on the west coast? There's a lot of fat that can be trimmed from the music industry. They have too many hands in the pot to be able to embrace the efficiencies of the internet. Once that fat is trimmed the industry will embrace the internet as it is inevitable.

The RIAA has claimed that file-sharing takes sales away from bands. I disagree, on the grounds that file-sharing exposes a large population to a diverse selection of music, thereby broadening their horizons. The RIAA's argument is similar to the one the Movie Industry used against video rentals. And do they still believe that playing songs on the radio will diminish album sales?

I like music, but I am unwilling to pay RIAA prices.

Until music became available by alternate means in the last few years, I simply did not buy any new CDs at all. The "lost sales" to me were directly due to industry prices being higher than I would pay. The value to me did not justify purchase. This is a very, very simple market concept.

Occasionally I bought a used CD because at about $2 these satisfied my value threshold. But never any new ones. When online distribution became possible I expected the record companies, freed from CD production and physical distribution, to sell music for much lower prices. They did not - so I did not buy.

A few years ago I did purchase 3 'legitimate' downloaded songs that I especially liked as a test. But I soon deleted them because I found the DRM intolerable. So, again, no "sales lost" except due to the RIAAs overvaluing of their product. I would do without music before paying their absurd prices, and additionally submitting to DRM control.

When I now obtain music in ways now possible, the music industry still isn't losing a single sale. I am happier though, because I now can easily enjoy some of the music I have been missing for years. If these alternate means of obtaining music were to disappear, I would return to doing without the product.

Only the music industry is responsible for 'lost sales' in my case, by not pricing their product at a level where I will purchase it. It is totally up to them. They cannot force me to buy their product.

They can ask any price they want, but the only price that matters is the transaction price. They do not set that price - I do.

I am all for allofmp3; you have my vote! Question to allof mp3: Can you do the same to the price of a gallon of gasoline?

This interesting..