Allofmp3, Russia based online music store, started offering all its music catalog for free. What is the catch? There is no catch actually but the files are 128bps music files in mp3x format which can only be played using the so-called Music for Masses player.
The news about this is a bit confusing though. It was being reported that the company switched to an add supported model to provide free music which cannot be transferred to any other computer or any portable players. Basically you just download it and listen to it on one machine. This may be seen as another form of DRM as Techdirt also points at. However, what is confusing is that, it does not look like Allofmp3 is abandoning its current operation. It seems they are continuing selling high quality mp3’s without any restrictions. This seems like a little extra option. The way it was reported made it look like it was a complete switch and the news that Visa dropped its support added to the confusion.
I have downloaded and installed the player and downloaded some songs and it seems to be working pretty well. I didn’t see any ads while playing the music, so I am not sure at what point the “ad supported” concept kicks in. The process is not that smooth since it involves going to the website, selecting albums, downloading songs individually from the albums and then opening them up with the player.
What is also pretty interesting is that this announcement came in a time when there is big pressure for the company to shut down because of its illegal operations. Although Allofmp3 claims they are legal under Russian laws, which is probably true, especially RIAA is not happy with it. Allofmp3 sells pretty cheap music but the money does not make its way back to the artists. Legal or not, one thing is certain that customers demand reasonably priced music which they are willing to pay for.
[tags]news, allofmp3, music industry [/tags]
