AllOfMP3.com down, then up (a little bit)

[AlecWest]

More than a few people are puzzled by recent happenings. Recently, the AllOfMP3.com website went down. Then a day or so later, it was back up. But when people attempt to preview or download a song, a message pops up saying that servers are under modification and will be back up shortly.

Two interesting notes on this. The IFPI says they know nothing about the downtime for the site and no action against them that would force downtime is pending. Also, attempts to preview or download the Russian music on their site gets the same message pop-up saying servers are under modification. Because Russian music is also unavailable, this seems to support the "technical" reason for downtime. And yet, some are suggesting this might be a Kremlin crackdown in light of Putin's recent statement regarding intellectual property rights. But, at the same time he made that statement, he also suggested that he "might" kick foreign-owned banks out of Russia - which may translate to, "Sure, I'd like to get into the WTO ... but push me too far and I'll seize your banks."

In any case, even The Register online site (usually the first to get to the bottom of rumors) is still puzzled by the downtime ... and has been unable to reach the site or its host for comment.

P.S. Since my Packet8 broadband phone service only charges 2 cents a minute to call Moscow, I'm tempted (grin) to call them later tonight and ask the obvious question. 7:00PM PDT Wednesday is 6:00AM Moscow time Thursday. If anyone else has cheap LD phone service and wants to call them up, here's their number:

+7 095 506-5258 (MediaServices, Inc. - their parent corporation)

The worst they can tell anyone who calls is to bug off, hehe. Of course (shudder), a call to Moscow might get the NSA to wondering about you. They are monitoring calls, you know.

[adam]

Probably nothing but uh, The Register is the first to get to the bottom of rumors? More like the first to start them. They are basically the National Enquirer of the internet.

[AlecWest]

Probably nothing but uh, The Register is the first to get to the bottom of rumors? More like the first to start them. They are basically the National Enquirer of the internet.

Nolo contendre, Adam.

In any case, the previews now work and the download queue is back up and flying. So, it must have been down (as they suggested) for technical reasons.

[AlecWest]

I wanted to revive this topic. When I made my last post over a year ago, I added to my money balance there. Today, I started a new account to give as a gift to a friend. But, when I tried to add money to the balance, it said their ability to accept credit cards was down and to check back later.

I did some checking on the web and, apparently, this is not a new problem. It seems to have started late last year and has remained unaddressed ... at least on the AllOfMP3.com site. I discovered that some people have found a way around it by adding to balances with a 3 step process:

1) Becoming a member of XROST.
2) Buying a prepaid iCard for XROST at ClickAndBuy.com
3) Adding to balance using the iCard.

But, nowhere did I see an explanation of why this happened ... much less why AllOfMP3.com has left this issue unresolved for so long. However, I have a theory.

I suspect that AllOfMP3.com is on the verge of shutting down ... and that members with balances should use those balances with all possible speed. I do NOT think this is some kind of effort on the part of credit card companies to refuse service to the site, borne out of pressure from the music industry (as some people have suggested). The reason I think that?

MediaServices Inc. is the parent corporation behind the site. But, they're also the parent corporation behind the MP3sale.ru site ... which accepts money from VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal without any issues that I know of. The only difference between the two is that AllOfMP3.com claims to pay royalties to the ROMS licensing agency ... while MP3sale.ru claims to pay royalties to the FAIR licensing agency.

Anyhow, if anyone has any special insight into what's going on with AllOfMP3.com, please share your thoughts.

[BJ_M]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070522-sellers-running-scared-a-look-inside-the...-vouchers.html

see last line


http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061129-8315.html

[AlecWest]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070522-sellers-running-scared-a-look-inside-the-world-of-allofmp3-vouchers.html

see last line


http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061129-8315.html

So, my advice to use up all credit with all possible speed is accurate. But, it leaves more questions than answers. Why is only one site shutting down when there are several ... some which accept credit cards???

Interestingly, in the "what a difference a day makes" department, the following notice did not appear on my balance page yesterday - but now does:



I only have $1.26 credit left at AllOfMP3.com ... so, assuming downloading is still possible, I'll just download some classical music I've wanted. If downloading doesn't work, I'll just do the switch they recommend.

[AlecWest]

Update to last post.

Hehehe. I remember back when Reagan became President that his first act in public office was to honor a campaign pledge ... to close a number of domestic military bases to cut costs. And so, he closed the Fallon Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nevada. But (snicker), a few days later, the base reopened as an "Air Force" facility.

I get the impression that the same "sleight of hand" is going on with AllOfMP3.com. One day it closes as AllOfMP3.com ... the next day, it reopens as MP3sparks.com (grin). I decided "what the heck" and just moved my balances over to Sparks. The transfer of ALL customer info and balances was immediate ... and the site, with a few small cosmetic differences, is a clone of AllOfMP3.com - and is also owned by MediaServices Inc. (as is MP3sale.ru). What a shell game, hehe. But, whatever works I guess.

And yes, both MP3sale.ru and MP3sparks.com accept credit cards.

[teegee420]

Just as you, I discovered a few months back that I could no longer replenish my balance. I decided the 3 step process wasn't for me and I've been using MP3Stor ever since.

[AlecWest]

Just as you, I discovered a few months back that I could no longer replenish my balance. I decided the 3 step process wasn't for me and I've been using MP3Stor ever since.

Interesting. All three new services mentioned ... mp3sale.ru, mp3sparks.com, and mp3stor.com have such similar appearances that I suspect the designer of all three was the same. However, if I'm reading the data correctly, mp3stor.com is registered in the Ukraine, not Russia. I wonder if MediaServices, Inc. (and Vadim Mamotin) is behind all three???