Russia has caved to pressure from the United States and closed down the online music store AllofMP3, which sold unprotected MP3s at the sort of prices many music-hungry consumers expect from online music stores, considering how much less it costs to produce and distribute an album these days.
However, as reported by the Times Online, MediaServices, the same company that ran AllofMP3, has set up a similar shop at MP3Sparks. Like its predecessor, this new store charges users according to the amount of data comprised by the music they order (in the MP3, WMA, or OGG formats), all the way up to full CD quality (with several lossless options).
It would seem that the game is afoot once again, as MediaServices claims that MP3Sparks is legal under Russian law, specifically "license 31/ZM-07 of the noncommercial partnership RightholdersFederation for Collective Copyright Management of Works UsedInteractively."
However, MP3Sparks is not accepting credit card orders from the US.
I was able to register just now, but when I tried to add music-buyingmoney to my account, I received the following message:
