Home › Forums › Music Sites › LegalSounds

Beware of Legalsounds? [Yes, it is legal]

Wed, 07/18/2007 - 09:00 — hardmoon

My review of Legalsounds was removed so I will post my comments here on Legalsounds. I'm a signed artist who has released some work for free a few years back. It's available for free on the netlabel www.subco.org . However, Legalsounds is trying to pull off money from unsuspecting customers by selling it on their website.

I do understand that people rave about LS's low prices on tracks, but be aware that in some cases, you're paying too much and filling LS's russian pockets with money that should still be yours!

Great MP3-Downloader ›
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 13:24 — Visitor (not verified)

So if the Legalsounds is not

So if the Legalsounds is not legal in Russia but would not be in the US is it legal to buy music from that website in the U.S.
Wed, 09/05/2007 - 04:09 — Daniel Farnsworth (not verified)

Legalsounds: Message from the RIAA

I went to the Legalsounds website when I heard of it. It seemed too good to be true and as most of you know, it has under legality in its website, a portion where it explains that it is legal in Russia but as for other countries you'll have to find that out yourself. I emailed several people from the American Musicians Federation, the RIAA, and even the Federal Trade Commission and the department of justice. I just wanted answers. About a month later, and through some bugging I received this email: "Daniel, thanks for your e-mail. As you imagined in your first e-mail, the site is most certainly not licensed to deliver music to the United States. Indeed, the site is not even licensed to deliver music in Russia, but that is another matter. You may have heard of another Russian site called allofmp3.com that offers a similar service. They both claim licenses from an entities called ROMS and/or FAIR. Unfortunately, these so-called collecting societies are not authorized by relevant rightholders themselves, and the entire “licensing” process is a sham that does not result in the payment of money to artists or to labels. We have been struggling for some time to secure the closure of these sites that rip off American performing artists and labels, with mixed results. But in any event, the answer to your question is very easy and straightforward—they are not legal in the United States. I hope that helps." So there you have it, straight from the RIAA. Now, you may be thinking, so what if it's not legal? If the company gets in trouble I won't get in trouble. You may be right. The thing is that there is also a good possiblity that Legalsounds is not only shady is selling but not very careful with your credit card number. I just think there are a lot of question marks and grey areas that it is be better to completely avoid the site. If you are reading this, I applaud your effort to become aware and make a wise decision. -Daniel Farnsworth
Thu, 08/28/2008 - 02:05 — Harlan Broussard (not verified)

About Legalsounds

I did not actually buy any songs from them, but I did get 2 free downloads, and I was wondering if I should delete them or something, cause I do not want to get involved with any copyright laws. I have had my suspicions about that 9 cents per song thing. I just want to know if I should worry, or what do I do?
Wed, 09/05/2007 - 06:53 — Rob

Legality Response

I have avoided discussion on this site related to the law when it comes to music downloads only because it seems that almost everyone interested in downloading music has an opinion, and usually that opinion is far from the truth or riddled with RIAA propaganda. Yes, that is what it is: when the RIAA/IFPI says things like "this is not legal even in Russia!", when they know full well that it is, in fact, completely legal in Russia (much to their chagrin), I no longer consider them a trustworthy source of information about the legality of music downloads in any country. Your asking of a greedy corporation (or, rather, group of them) about the legality of something involving money will of course be biased (or an outright lie).

ROMS and FAIR are the legal entities in Russia for collecting royalties. That is the law; that is how it works in that country. Even though the RIAA/IFPI might not be happy about the laws in Russia, that is simply the way that country chose to deal with copyrights and collecting royalties. Those legal entities in Russia have contacted the major music labels in order to give them their legally owed royalties, which those corporations have rejected. ROMS and FAIR have fulfilled their legal obligations under Russian law.

There is one single thing that they told you that is true, however: they would not be allowed to operate in the United States in their current form. That point is completely irrelevant, since they don't operate in the USA and have no plans to. If LegalSounds wanted to operate in the USA, they would have to go through the channels dictated by the laws of the USA to get permission to sell copyrighted material and collect royalties, since that would be where the company is based. This is exactly what they have done in Russia, and that is why they have complied with the laws there. The statement that they wouldn't be able to operate legally in the USA is borderline silly and shows an infantile understanding of law, since no company could simply switch to a different country without adapting policies to fit the laws of the host country.

And your completely unfounded statement that there is a possibility that they are "not very careful with your credit card number" shows that you are willing to regurgitate a simple (yet effective) scare tactic that is often used to deter people.

However, anyone that knows anything about the way online transactions occur knows that :

  1. LegalSounds (and most other sites similar to it ) do not handle your credit card information at all. They don't get your credit card information, so they can't possibly mishandle it. A third party credit card processor does the payment processing and handles the transaction.
  2. When your credit card information is processed by a third party credit card processor, it is generally safe - they have been trusted and given permission by VISA, Mastercard, etc. to operate the business that they have. Take a look at Chronopay for example - they are a trustworthy payment processor, and have been (or still are) used by some sites. In the end it is up to you to decide whether or not you trust these third party processors with your payment information in the same way that you must decide whether or not you trust any payment processor when buying things online.

One last thing: never forget that the RIAA, American Musicians Federation, FTC, and US DOJ are American corporations or entities. America does not run the world, and those entities have no bearing or relation to the laws outside of the USA. Although the RIAA/IFPI might wish they could directly write their own advantageous set of laws into the Russian lawbooks, there isn't any legal way they can do that (but I wouldn't be surprised if they have their hands in some dirtier methods to influence the law there).

Your comment seems nicely worded, and reminds me of the type of comments that have been infused quietly on various blogs/websites to make the RIAA/IFPI look better and try to scare people away from cheap music. If you have no relation to them, then I apologize for associating you with them.

Sat, 05/10/2008 - 10:49 — Tralfaz (not verified)

What about the artists?

You have valid points, but I am trying to make my purchasing decision based on whether the artist is paid for their work. Can you point me toward sites that actually cooperate with the artists and labels rather than offer a mere pittance and say "I tried" when the labels refuse to accept a severly inadequate token payment?
Tue, 06/03/2008 - 18:43 — Brandon (not verified)

What about the labels, you mean?

A good friend of mine is in a reasonably successful rock band and it doesn't bother him in the least that their music is sold on sites like LegalSounds. Royalties on things like that would only benefit their label, not change how much they (the artists) actually get paid. This obviously depend on the contract between the artist and the label, but I presume most bands that could actually use the money are in similar circumstances.
Wed, 01/23/2008 - 05:20 — Visitor (not verified)

More Perspective on Corporatation-Inspired Legality

Absolutely perfectly put Rob, you rock.

Who could say it better: Laws and legal restrictions -- particularly regarding commerce -- are the result of lobbying efforts by companies to protect and extend their interests. Their "interests" being, obviously, profits for themselves.

It's certainly not my or your or any other company's or *country's* job to help any particular business do that.

And so, if China or Russia or whoever decides they don't want to play by rules constructed to facilitate the profit of particular American companies, that's their choice. It's not wrong legally, it's not wrong morally. It's their sovereign right.

So legalsounds.com and companies like them are as legal as their countries want them to be. After that, if anyone has a problem with them "morally," then they can do that. But it's certainly not our concern. (And go worry about the people really hurting through starvation, oppression, genocide -- please, anyone making THIS their moral mission has to be an industry plant, they can't be serious.)