Russia has emerged in recent years as one the world’s leading producers and exporters of pirate discs. The Russian government has failed to respond appropriately to this open lawlessness. Many of the plants currently producing pirate product are actually located on government premises

13. What if I download music from a site from a different country than the one I'm in, where the law might be different?

Internet activities of this sort typically involve acts of copying, transmission, or distribution in both countries, so both countries' laws would apply. Copyright owners usually take action in the country in which the infringer is located, however.

Among most of the countries where the internet is prevalent, there are international agreements in place allowing court judgements in one country to be enforced in the other. This process would be typically used only in complicated or unusual cases.

Regarding legality: allofmp3.com has a license from the Russian performing arts society. It is the Russian counterpart of ASCAP or BMI in the US. ASCAP and BMI do *not* pay record companies or recording artists, per se. They pay songwriters and music publishing companies registered to them. Businesses that use recorded music for commercial purposes must pay for a license from either ASCAP or BMI (usually both) to broadcast on radio or tv, or to use a song in a commercial, or to play background music in an elevator or supermarket. When you hear the theme from the "Pink Panther" in an elevator, Muzak is paying Henry Mancini the songwriter and his publisher out of a pool that is then divided up among the "members" according to how many uses have been monitored. A top ten radio hit in the US will thus generate tens of thousands of dollars in income for the songwriter and publisher. However, the record company will not see a penny of that money.

In terms of income, CD royalties are the smallest revenue stream after song publishing, concerts, and merchandising. Lately, rights to use a recording in a movie or a commercial have also become significant sources of income. So when you think of allofmp3.com forget about recording companies. If Michael Jackson's publishing rep in Russia has given administration rights for public performances to the Russian society, then they have no say about whether or not the Beatles can be offered on allofmp3.com. Whomever distributes Beatles' CDs in Russia doesn't ever enter into it.

Allofmp3.com pays a fixed amount per year (for example) for the rights to music registered with the performing rights society. To keep the math simple, lets say allofmp3.com pays $1000 (or ruples) for its annual license. Further, Beatles downloads account for 10% of total downloads. Hence the Beatles and their publisher (in this case Michael Jackson), will be paid $100 from the pool of $1000. Depending on the terms on which the Beatles' catalog was sold to Michael Jackson, the Lennon estate and Paul McCartney would normally get $50 and Michael Jackson's company would also get $50.

What is unusual about allofmp3.com is that they have taken the basic performing rights business model that ASCAP and BMI have used uncontroversially for 60 years and applied the "broadcast" concept to downloaded recordings. This, of course, would never fly in the US and ASCAP and BMI wouldn't think of it. OTOH, I suspect that in Russia, the performing arts society has much more legal and political clout than do the local divisions/licensees of Universal, EMI, BMG, etc. They have seen a business opportunity for their members and apparently have the power to overrule the objections of the record companies.

So I am convinced that allofmp3.com is not only legal, legitimate and safe, but it is also the most cutting edge online service technologically. That said, re-distribution of the files obtained from allofmp3.com is definitely against US law (whether you burn a CD for your sister or offer them on Kazaa) and the site acknowledges this clearly.

Congress could also pass a law making it illegal to possess allofmp3.com files, as they have banning the import or possession of Cuban cigars, but they haven't yet and I doubt they will.

Now regarding the anti-Russian biases that always raise their ugly head in any discussion of allofmp3.com, it is true that a Wild West attitude prevails among their newly minted capitalists. But it is also true that Russia has many, many fine younger computer programmers who are often under-employed and would welcome turning their talents to a business that appeals to their love of music.