legal music download site??? - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

06/19/2008 11:03:40 AM · #1

First off, This may sound mean and maybe rude, but...I don't care if you are against the copyright laws or think musicians are getting ripped off by the music industry or we "deserve" the right to be able to share music and download all we want. I do not want my family downloading illegal music/photos/vidoes, etc, so please keep your soapbox...thank you.

My wife and daughter were recently given this website...legalmusic.com also called i-mp3-now.com and told it was completly legal to download music from it because it is from Russia and they don't have the same laws we do. They state that you pay .99 a month for access and .09 cents a song (which could make it "legal" if you are paying for the song right?)

My concern is that this site ISN'T in fact legal under US copyright laws and with the amount of downloading they would be doing it is a concern. We do try and make sure we do things legally in my house but I can't find anything that tells exactly what makes a download site legal or illegal. Currently they use Ipod cards and purchase songs nearly every week (my daughter loves all types of music) but whenever they hear of "free" music they want to be part of it.

Any help you all can give is very much appreciated. Thanks

Jaker

Nikon D40X

06/19/2008 11:07:59 AM · #2

Is right or wrong determined by legal or illegal these days? Stealing is fine as long as you don't get caught, or can't be prosecuted? Probably not going to be a popular thread in a place where a lot of the participants are very into things like copyright protection for the very work they are here to show.

Message edited by author 2008-06-19 11:08:33.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

06/19/2008 11:23:42 AM · #3

Originally posted by Jaker:

...Probably not going to be a popular thread in a place where a lot of the participants are very into things like copyright protection for the very work they are here to show.

which is the very reason I'm asking the good people at DPC, I figure if anyone would understand my desire to do the right and legal thing it would be people that are consistanly dealing with it on a personal level.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

06/19/2008 11:28:52 AM · #4

Sounds like this may be another remake of allofmp3.com, which did a similar business for years until they were finally put out of business. They have been resurfacing under different business names.

It may be technically legal, or at least the site will claim so. If it is legal in that country, then it is in THAT country only where it is legal and NOT across national borders. I used to work with a guy who used allofmp3.com and I gave up debating the point with him.

I buy most of my music from Amazon, Itunes, or buy a CD and rip it. The cost is quite reasonable. Sometimes I will copy some music that I have purchased for my kids, or vice versa, but I do not participate in online file sharing.

Such arguably and marginally legal services are part of the reason the entertainment industry has saddled everything with #$%!@*&! Digital Rights Management, making it difficult for the user who has bought the product to use it how they want.

Message edited by author 2008-06-19 11:35:33.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

06/19/2008 11:38:03 AM · #5

The problem with the Russian sites is getting funds to them to buy the music. Most credit cards will not work as they have blocked many of those sites. The reason I point this out is your dilemma may be moot as they may not even be able to participate.

That being said, "right" and "wrong" is often a gray world. "Legal" and "illegal" has become much the same. Personally I highly doubt you would ever get in trouble downloading from a Russian site. Distributing the music is the only thing that has ever been prosecuted in the US, not downloading. When the RIAA has pressed charges against Joe Public, I believe it has always been for sharing music, not downloading it.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

06/19/2008 11:42:43 AM · #6

Ya know....I wouldn't take a chance.

The internet is the wild west, and claiming the "freebies" may not be all that it is, or all that you want to get involved with.

Especially in countries that give me pause, like Russia, China, most African states, most Asian countries, N. Korea, some island states....

Big music labels, especially ones like Disney, are hard core and have evil ways of detecting if their products are being given away.

Music labels have deep pockets, a lot of lawyers, 20 year old computer geniuses, and deals with the devil to find you and the place where you downloaded.

Nothing is free, and what is legal in one place may cause you to lose your house in this country.

If I were you, I would do more homework, and not just here.

My wife used to be in the business side of the music industry.

Try R.I.A.A., W.I.R.L.A., A.C.M., A.F.I.M.,N.A.M.M. just to name a few.

Contact them and ask your questions.

JaimeVinas

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

06/19/2008 11:47:38 AM · #7

If the Record companies are getting paid for the downloads then they agreed to the prices. But my guess they didnt.

06/19/2008 11:57:27 AM · #8

Man_called_horse...some great info, thanks.

Thank you everyone, I know it's not a easy subject to put into black and white but do appreciate the help.

06/19/2008 11:57:40 AM · #9

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

Try R.I.A.A., W.I.R.L.A., A.C.M., A.F.I.M.,N.A.M.M. just to name a few.

Contact them and ask your questions.

Heh. Isn't this a bit like asking the NRA for a rational discourse about gun control?

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

06/19/2008 12:05:02 PM · #10

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:
Try R.I.A.A., W.I.R.L.A., A.C.M., A.F.I.M.,N.A.M.M. just to name a few.

Contact them and ask your questions.

Heh. Isn't this a bit like asking the NRA for a rational discourse about gun control?

The N.R.A. advocates freedom to bare arms, but there is no amendment to the constitution that says anything about ammunition.

Would it not be good to have ammunition in knowledge before purchasing that weapon?

Olympus 7-14mm f/4.0 Zuiko Digital Zoom

06/19/2008 12:15:13 PM · #11

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:
Try R.I.A.A., W.I.R.L.A., A.C.M., A.F.I.M.,N.A.M.M. just to name a few.

Contact them and ask your questions.

Heh. Isn't this a bit like asking the NRA for a rational discourse about gun control?

The N.R.A. advocates freedom to bare arms, but there is no amendment to the constitution that says anything about ammunition.

Would it not be good to have ammunition in knowledge before purchasing that weapon?

I think you are losing me. My point is that we already know what the RIAA will say so there is no point in asking. They'll say it's illegal. They do not see the other side 1%. They have a vested interest. The RIAA is Evil (with a capital E). They have demonstrated many times that they are fully willing to stifle technology and progress in the name of protecting profits for Big Music ("big" also denoting "evil" just like when we use the term "big oil" to denote the bad guys in the oil industry). I'd even say they are willing to invade people's privacy, but I'm not sure I can lay the whole Sony DRM debacle at the feet of the RIAA.

If it wasn't for Napster and other peer-to-peer sites we would never have had iTunes. Never. The internet has too much lack of control for the RIAA to ever have imagined this method of distribution. In 1773 it was highly illegal for a group of hooligans to dress like indians and throw a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor. Quasi-legal music downloading is, IMO, no different except it's not even as obviously illegal. It is the whip that will force the RIAA to keep moving toward reasonable prices and more for the artists.

EDIT: It's likely now I've steered the thread in the exact direction the OP didn't want it to go... Sorry.

Message edited by author 2008-06-19 12:19:30.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

06/19/2008 12:26:14 PM · #12

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:
Try R.I.A.A., W.I.R.L.A., A.C.M., A.F.I.M.,N.A.M.M. just to name a few.

Contact them and ask your questions.

Heh. Isn't this a bit like asking the NRA for a rational discourse about gun control?

The N.R.A. advocates freedom to bare arms, but there is no amendment to the constitution that says anything about ammunition.

Would it not be good to have ammunition in knowledge before purchasing that weapon?

I think you are losing me. My point is that we already know what the RIAA will say so there is no point in asking. They'll say it's illegal. They do not see the other side 1%. They have a vested interest. The RIAA is Evil (with a capital E). They have demonstrated many times that they are fully willing to stifle technology and progress in the name of protecting profits for Big Music ("big" also denoting "evil" just like when we use the term "big oil" to denote the bad guys in the oil industry). I'd even say they are willing to invade people's privacy, but I'm not sure I can lay the whole Sony DRM debacle at the feet of the RIAA.

If it wasn't for Napster and other peer-to-peer sites we would never have had iTunes. Never. The internet has too much lack of control for the RIAA to ever have imagined this method of distribution. In 1773 it was highly illegal for a group of hooligans to dress like indians and throw a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor. Quasi-legal music downloading is, IMO, no different except it's not even as obviously illegal. It is the whip that will force the RIAA to keep moving toward reasonable prices and more for the artists.

Yeah, I agree, the R.I.A.A. is an evil entity. And I do agree that big business is only looking out for itself, but, I only mentioned 4 associations.

There are more than 4 associations out there.

There is a plethora of associations that represent not just the label, but the artist, and individual music formats as well, not to mention each country has their own version of a music association.....

....point being, doing more homework, not relying on one information playground, will make the investigator more well rounded with the information given.

A sturdy platform to base decisions from is primary to a good resolution, and DPC certainly is not the place to find this information.

one2one

Olympus E-5

06/19/2008 12:27:08 PM · #13

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

ROFLMAO. I needed a good laugh and I found it. Thanks Achoo.

06/19/2008 12:28:05 PM · #14

To the OP- I think it's pretty simple: the point of this should be that the artist "owns" the song and is entitled to some compensation for the effort (putting aside the debate on how much they actually get). Downloading from the Russian site bypasses that compensation and would be no different than buying a pirated copy of Photoshop from Nigeria. Even if the law doesn't quite reach that far, it's still illegal. If someone in a third world country managed to get one of your high-res files and use it for commercial advertising without any permission or compensation, you'd certainly cry foul, no?

06/19/2008 12:40:03 PM · #15

Originally posted by scalvert:

It's not that simple. The Russian sites claim to pay the royalty of the song's playing to the artist. (Whether that happens or not and who is at fault for not getting that money to the artist is another discussion).

06/19/2008 12:44:35 PM · #16

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

It's not that simple.

It's simpler than you think. The site's a scam.

06/19/2008 12:49:35 PM · #17

Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:
It's not that simple.

It's simpler than you think. The site's a scam.

Haha. Well, that makes it easier, doesn't it?

06/19/2008 12:52:01 PM · #18

An explanation of the scam is here (scroll down).

NVPhoto

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/19/2008 01:09:16 PM · #19

If you want to do the "right" thing, buy the CD or buy the songs you want off itunes. All MP3s are degraded quality from the original anyway.

All the mp3 sites that claim to be legal are 1. sketchy as all hell to download from and 2. really not that legal.

Limewire, bearshare etc. all claim to be legal but really its just a matter of time before you get a virus. Its not an if but a when.

Use torrents if you really want quality downloads.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

06/19/2008 01:36:23 PM · #20

just found out the site I originally posted is NOT in Russia, daughter gave me the wrong one. The one in Russia is //www.legalsounds.com

scalvert...thanks for that link, I will be using it often.

KaylaSkye

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/19/2008 01:53:35 PM · #21

Zune Music

This is microsofts version of iTunes. But instead of paying .99 a song, you can pay $14 a month and get unlimited downloads. Which is a much much better deal in my opinion. I haven't actually used it so make sure to read the small print just in case =)

Good luck

06/19/2008 01:58:46 PM · #22

Originally posted by KaylaSkye:

Unlimited downloads that only work as long as you are paying the $14/month. As soon as you stop your subscription, the files no longer are playable...