Even though iTunes brought us the most successful online music store doesn’t mean it is the best. Listed below are some pretty darn good alternatives to the iTunes Music Store, some of which sell songs for much, much less than a dollar; those that make you wonder whether they’re really legal. Napster and Yahoo! Music are obviously safe and legal alternatives, but their prices can’t compete with the 5 cents per song rates of AllOfMP3.com and others. But can they be trusted?
AllofMP3.com
This Russia-based music seller boasts that all thier songs can be purchased legally for around 5 cents per song: “All the materials in the MediaServices (AllOfMP3.com) projects are available for distribution through Internet according to license #LS-3?-05-03 of the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society.” The website uses online encoding to encode songs right when you order them in an array of formats ranging from MP3 to Apple’s AAC. The site offers 300,000 songs of mostly newer music. Though this may be a far cry from Apple’s 1.5 million it’s still something for 5 cents per song.
But wait. This is legal in Russia, but is it in the US? Yes and no. As Mp3Talks.com member Keith explains: “… back in the US, MP3s aren’t illegal in themselves, in the way that ammunition or child porn is, so you aren’t breaking any laws by bringing in (basically, importing for personal use) music tracks.” He goes on to say, “If you obtained those tracks through illegal means, from somewhere without the authority, in the country of sale, to supply them, then you’re effectively dealing with stolen goods. But in the case of MP3search and AllOfMP3, you’re not. So sleep well, and enjoy your music!”
Mp3Search.ru
Another Russian company taking advantage of the legal loophole. It too has a catalog of more than 300,000 songs but is it legal? No! So, let’s get this straight. I’m paying $1.50 for an album and it’s not even legal? Yep, thats right. You might as well download from a P2P client. The only reason to pay AllofMP3 (see above) is to get AAC quality versions of those songs and maybe feel better that you may (possibly, but not likely) be helping artists.
I honestly wouldn’t give my credit card number to anyone outside North America. Paypal may be safer, but I’m still not sure I would live up to this kind of stuff. When I buy ‘Get Behind Me Satan’, I want to know that my money is going to the White Stripes and not into the pocket of someone in Moscow. For all I know he or she could be downloading them from a P2P client such as LimeWire and converting them to other formats. “Under the license terms, MediaServices (AllOfMP3.com) pays license fees for all the materials subject to the Law of the Russian Federation on Copyright and Related Rights.” I don’t remember the wholesale price for songs being less than 3 cents. The wholesale price on the iTunes Music Store is around 65 cents per song. So, am I not getting it, or is their math not working out?
Conclusion
Most people don’t pay for songs because they’re worried about the FBI knocking on their door with a warrant to search their computer’s data. They pay because they want to support the artists who made the songs and deserve the money. I personally can’t see much more reason to buy from these sites who claim to sell songs legally than to download the songs from a P2P client.
And, most importanty, when you buy from the iTunes music store, you support Apple and the best music store/player to date.
