Mp3Sugar Joins AllOfmp3 On The Dubious Russian Download Front
Budget Russian download site allofmp3.com has competition. Mp3sugar.com is now joining them in using a loophole in Russian law to sell full album downloads in the portable mp3 format for as little as 89 to 99 cents via a sleek an easy to use web site.
Russian law focuses on piracy of physical CD’s and tapes rather than digital and Allofmp3.com has exploited that tenuous legal position to capture as much as 15% of the UK download market. Allofmp3 is even beta-testing it’s own free iTunes-like software that combines a player and seamless download purchases called allTunes.
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I expect that mp3Sugar is legal, assuming you don’t redistribute the songs you’ve downloaded. I’m guessing that the 10¢ it charges covers the royalties for a song (in Russia, at any rate).
BUT: it’s surely making its money – and a TON of money, by the looks of things – from said spyware. I registered yesterday (on a Macintosh – which, being a minority community, used to be relatively immune to viruses, pop ups, etc.). I didn’t stick money in the account since what I was really after was info about songs, artists, etc. The account asked my name, e-mail address (I gave an old spam ridden one), and country. That evening, when I went back for more geeky song info, there was a gigantic banner offering me lonely ladies in my area. I live in a relatively remote hamlet in the British countryside. This advert, however, had managed to trace three villages within nine miles of my home.
I can only assume that MP3Sugar now has details of my computer’s IP address, and has managed to cross reference it – and/or my compromised e-mail address – with other people’s (probably Apple’s) databases from which they swiftly extracted my postal address. This sort of activity is certainly NOT LEGAL. And I find it downright creepy.
I guess I must now attempt to clean out some of this spyware. Any suggestions, Mac users out there, for a good (cheap or free) product to do this?
Eric, all sites can have your IP address and can localize your homezone using standard network tools.
This is not spyware, you don’t need to clean anything on your mac !
Being a registered user of MP3sugar since a few weeks, I can say that :
– I received no spam
– I was charged of the correct amount on my VISA
– There was no hidden fee
– I was not attacked by the Russian mafia
– I bought a lot of great albums for a very reasonnable price.
However, the site is legal in Russia, but would certainly be absolutely illegal in most countries. I use it intensively, and I encourage people to use it, and every other site or p2p software that would help to defeat major music business companies.
just try another legal secure mp3 store http://www.lavamus.com also they accept paypal
During last two years I use only http://lavamus.com. Huge archive of music of any direction. Songs on 10-30 cents. Has spent already the order of 500 dollars. I wish to learn, somebody used http://lavamus.com?
Pive –
You said –
“help to defeat major music business companies.”
So if everyone buys from Russia via AllofMp3 or whoever, how do bands gat paid for their tracks? How do they afford to make more music? Why would they bother?
Take your choice.
Hey guys !
Find Free MP3 music at http://www.jupace.com
If you want to compare sites like MP3Sugar with over a dozen other comparable Russian-based websites, check out http://www.songboom.com.