Home › FAQ › SongBoom.com

Where can I get AllOfMP3 / Alltunes PIN codes, gift certificates, or vouchers?

Sat, 08/11/2007 - 15:52 — Rob

The short answer is probably nowhere - and definitely not at SongBoom.com.

The re-selling of codes/certificates/vouchers is certainly legal to do (depending on which country you reside in, of course), but the major music labels (and their RIAA/IFPI henchmen) put a lot of effort into threating people that chose to do so. However, this isn't the reason that you can't buy them from SongBoom.com - there is a much different reason.

Some time ago an agreement was made between the owner of SongBoom and representatives at AllOfMP3/AllTunes (MediaServices) in which PIN codes could be bought in bulk. However, instead of delivering the said PIN codes, the company representatives (namely Jack Uspehoff and Andrei Pica) kept the money and cut off all communication. You heard right: AllTunes violated a contractual agreement and stole thousands of dollars from a regular every-day joe.

This doesn't reflect well on a company that has been struggling with image problems to begin with. Although many users of AllOfMP3/Alltunes were very satisfied with the service, the fact that they so blatantly stole such a large amount of money from a normal consumer should serve as a warning to all Alltunes/AllOfMP3/MP3Sparks users: they just may take your money and run too.

So please be warned about dealing with these sites (AllTunes, AllOfMP3, MP3Sparks, MemphisMembers). I strongly recommend that consumers look elsewhere when making a decision about where to purchase music online.

Comments

Fri, 10/09/2009 - 06:36 — Guest (not verified)

AllOfMP3, MP3Sparks and

AllOfMP3, MP3Sparks and MemphisMembers are brands of online music store that were operated by Mediaservices, Inc., a company founded in 2000 in Moscow, Russia. The stores formerly sold music encoded in standard, non-protected audio formats at a significantly lower cost than other online music stores. In 2008, the original AllOfMp3 site has been replaced by a blog . The company has been plagued by legal issues for some time due to accusations, mainly from the record industry, that they are operating illegally and engaging in music piracy. In 2009 Mediaservices, Inc was sold to an American company who hopes to turn it into a multi-media company to compete with Apple Inc.'s, iTunes Store. Run by the Moscow company MediaServices, AllOfMP3 had an estimated revenue of US$30 million in 2006. According to the IFPI and various other label representatives the company has never transferred money to any (western) label. AllofMP3 claims to have offered settlements to IFPI, which AllOfMP3 claims IFPI refused to accept. AllOfMP3's legality is controversial. It is licensed in Russia by the Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems, a license similar to agreements held by Russian radio stations . AllOfMP3 states that this agreement allows it to legally distribute music from all artists and all labels. This is disputed by most major record labels, which generally do not recognize ROMS or believe that it has the authority to distribute their works. AllOfMP3.com makes no claims as to its legality outside of Russia. However it is accessible to visitors in all countries. In 2005, Moscow authorities began investigating the site as a result of a formal complaint from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), who accused the site of "large-scale copyright infringement". On June 1, 2006, the New York Times reported that US trade negotiators have warned Russia that the continued existence of AllOfMP3 could jeopardize Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization . This was reiterated by the United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab in remarks to the US Chamber of Commerce on September 28, 2006. She later told reporters that "I have a hard time imagining Russia becoming a member of the WTO and having a Web site like that up and running that is so clearly a violation of everyone's intellectual property rights."