Let me first say that Digital “Rights” Management (DRM) has nothing to do with copy protection or the “rights” of the artist or the user. DRM does not stop peer-to-peer file sharing and it never will. For most people, making an audio CD from their DRM’d copy of a song they purchased from iTunes and then ripping that to MP3 will be good enough quality for what they’re likely to use the songs for. Sure it’s not easy or fun but for those that are really into file sharing, it’s a labor of love. Nature always finds a way.
The RIAA would like you to think that new and creative forms of DRM are their future and that this is good for the consumer. It’s good for the RIAA! They get to charge you again and again for music you have already purchased and have a legal right to make copies of and in some cases even redistribute. Lets take a step back for a moment and think about why allofmp3.com is so popular and why it can and will work for the music and movie industry. I am certain that allofmp3.com is operating legally in Russia due to some quasi-legal loophole. I am almost certain that it is not legal for a US resident to purchase, own or redistribute any music obtained from allofmp3.com while physically residing in the US. Legal or not, the people over at allofmp3.com are making money! Probably a lot of it. We are talking about people buying the quality of music they choose for a reasonable rate. No track downloaded from allofmp3.com has any DRM. None! But people are going there and buying music! They are paying for something because to them, it has value. To them the value is they can get a quality downloaded song that they can plan on any music player from any vendor. The rest of the music industry would do well to recognize this success and embrace it. If iTunes and Napster and the rest of the gang would all stop with the DRM madness and just sell a quality song that is not crippled with DRM they would see more sales not less.
RIAA and company; embrace allofmp3.com and watch your profits and customer relationships flourish.