AllofMP3.com Responds to US's Threat

In its first online press conference today, P2P-blog reported that AllofMP3.com, the dirt cheap, DRM-lacking, internationally available online music store, said it is completely legal under Russian law. Vadim Mamotin, Director General of the site's parent company, Mediaservices, also downplayed a threat from US Trade Representative Susan Schwab that Russia could be denied WTO membership as a result of harboring the site, calling it part of the US recording industry's negotiation tactics:

"We operate under Russian law, we pay taxes in Russia and we payroyalties to ROMS, the official licensing agent in Russia. ROMS hasoffered to pay the record companies the royalties they collected butbeen rebuffed. Clearly, the recording industry is trying to gainadditional leverage before entering in to direct negotiations witheither us or ROMS."

He also asserted, "Of course, we will survive. The music industry is rapidly changing and we will change with it."

The Moscow Times reported yesterday that "EconomicDevelopment and Trade Minister German Gref said Friday that piracyworries were no longer holding up U.S. talks on Russia's accession tothe World Trade Organization and expressed hope for a deal by the endof October," and that some sort of deal would happen within the next two weeks.

Something'sgot to give, and I doubt it's going to be the major US record labels,
who have shown an aversion to the selling of music in the unprotectedMP3 format.