London, UK (IFPI) - Organisations representing the legitimate music sector worldwide have rejected as "spurious" the claims of Russian-based website Allofmp3.com to being a legal and licensed service.
Bodies representing authors, composers, music publishers and record companies internationally and in Russia point to the following:
Allofmp3.com sells and distributes hundreds of thousands of songs by international and local artists without having any legitimate licence to do so
It claims to be licensed by a Russian-based society ROMS, but ROMS has no mandate from international rights owners to licence the site in or outside Russia and was expelled by CISAC, the organisation representing copyright societies worldwide, in 2004.
Under the copyright laws of virtually every country in the world, including Russia, it is illegal to distribute recordings without the permission of the rights owners.
John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO of IFPI says:
"Allofmp3.com summoned the world's media to specifically address the issue of their legality - but all they did was duck the questions time and again.
This only confirms the illegal status of this rogue site both within Russia and across the world.
Allofmp3.com's claims to legality are false and spurious. It is totally irrelevant even if ROMS, which was expelled from CISAC, claims to have approached the record companies and offered them money. I could approach Bill Gates and offer to buy Microsoft for one dollar - but I'd get very short shrift.
"Allofmp3.com and ROMS clearly have no intention of respecting copyright laws and paying rights owners."
Notes to editors:
IFPI is working in alliance with the following organisations representing rights owners:
* Mitch Bainwol, President of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
* Eric Baptiste, Director-General of CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers
* Peter Jamieson Chairman, BPI, representing the British recorded music industry
* Martin Mills, Chairman of IMPALA, representing European independent record labels
* Ronald Mooij, Secretary-General of BIEM, representing mechanical rights societies internationally
* Yuri Slyusar, Chairman of the Board of NFPP Board representing record companies in Russia
* Jenny Vacher, General Counsel, ICMP/CIEM representing music publishers worldwide
* Alison Wenham, President of world independent labels body WIN
IFPI Contacts for Information: Adrian Strain, Alex Jacob, Julie Harari + 44 20 7878 7935
