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On Tuesday, the credit card company Visa International said it had suspended card service to the site, citing concerns over copyright issues.The U.S. trade representative, Susan Schwab, has warned that continued operation of the site signals a lack of respect for intellectual property law that could jeopardize Russia's long-sought entry into the World Trade Organization.AllofMP3 said Tuesday that as of Wednesday, its business model would move toward an ad-supported distribution of free content. The company, which previously charged about $1 an album, plans to offer consumers a new software program that allows them to download any song from the site for free. AllofMP3 claims to have a catalogue of hundreds of thousands of albums, increasing at a rate of 1,000 per month.Users of the new service will only be able to listen to songs by using the AllofMP3 software, and the songs will be usable on just one computer at a time. The interface, called Music for the Masses, will initially be available for Microsoft Windows, with an Apple version arriving in several weeks, Mamotin said.Consumers who wish to transfer their songs between computers or to a music device like an iPod or another MP3 player, will have to pay for the music.The idea, Mamotin said, is to make the offering attractive enough to win new customers and build a big enough community to attract advertising."We eventually plan to run advertisements on the music player," Mamotin said. "We will lose revenue from music sales, but we hope that the advertising will more than make up for it."
Mediaservices today announced that the disqualification of the legal online music service, AllofMP3, by Visa International and MasterCard International (MA) was based on preconceived notions about the company and that the companies lack justification for the action. “Visa and MasterCard should immediately re-qualify AllofMP3,” said Vadim Mamotin, Director General. “There is no valid reason and absolutely no legal basis for the action”. A spokesperson from Visa stated, "The action Visa has taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and with basic international copyright and intellectual property norms." Clearly, Visa has misinterpreted the new copyright laws because they do not require AllofMP3 to alter its business model. The new copyright laws do not prevent the online sale of music. It is evident that Visa and MasterCard made the decision on factors other than legal grounds since the decision was not based on an adjudicated verdict by any court in the Russian Federation or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. To disqualify AllofMP3 based on a payment processing company’s whim is irresponsible and sets a bad precedence. AllofMP3 will pursue every course of action, including legal options, to reverse Visa’s and MasterCard’s decision.
Consumers who wish to transfer their songs between computers or to a music device like an iPod or another MP3 player, will have to pay for the music.
