3-LockBox
12-01-2006, 10:47 AM
A year ago I cam across a Russian website for music downloads. These guys approach to downloading is to say the least, as questionable as it is innovative. Russia, whom still controls its market has placed a per bit value on downloading by basically taking a normal wave file and dividing the bit size by its dollar amount, and coming up with a ridiculous low price. An example? A 40 minute album @ 192Kbps will cost about $2.00USD. Is it legal? Yes and no. Until someone shuts it down, there ain't a whole lot that the record companies have been able to do to this service (and they have tried), and the Russian gov't isn't going to shut 'em down.
The fun part? You have a choice as to what bit rate you can download in, anywhere from low bitrates (92Kbps to lossless) in almost every codec available.
Have I used it? Yes, but to be honest, I still hear sound quality deficiencies, even at 320Kbps, so this ain't gonna replace my CDs. Another detractor - the site can be quirky at times, and tempermental at others, where sometimes there's a problem previewing a song, an album, downloading, payment posting, etc...(Russians have the flimsiest concept of customer service). Payment is complicated, but at least you can pay as you go; no contracts, no monthly or yearly fees. Just register, pay an amount, and download. I've spent around $50-$60 at this site. Mostly rare stuff I couldn't find on CD (and these guys have a huge library) and live stuff (a lot of which are bootlegs). Another detractor - lossless downloading (even FLAC) is tortoise slow, even on a T3 connection! Needless to say, 90% of my music dollars go to CD.
The extra fun part? Having registered and spent a measly 20 bucks, I'm allowed to preview any song, at full length. Yes, this is a low bitrate preview, but I have made many CD purchases the last several months after having been able to audition an album without spending money on a CD I'm gonna hate.
The website is called AllOfMP3.com
I've read where some are leary to use their credit card where the Russian Mafia could get a hold of it, but this site uses a payment entity outside of Russia. Besides, I maintain a low-ceiling credit card for internet purchases, so that any hacker who might get a hold of it is only gonna get so much for his trouble anyway.
Even if downloading isn't your thing, this service has been very valuable to me for auditioning albums and making informed purchases.
The fun part? You have a choice as to what bit rate you can download in, anywhere from low bitrates (92Kbps to lossless) in almost every codec available.
Have I used it? Yes, but to be honest, I still hear sound quality deficiencies, even at 320Kbps, so this ain't gonna replace my CDs. Another detractor - the site can be quirky at times, and tempermental at others, where sometimes there's a problem previewing a song, an album, downloading, payment posting, etc...(Russians have the flimsiest concept of customer service). Payment is complicated, but at least you can pay as you go; no contracts, no monthly or yearly fees. Just register, pay an amount, and download. I've spent around $50-$60 at this site. Mostly rare stuff I couldn't find on CD (and these guys have a huge library) and live stuff (a lot of which are bootlegs). Another detractor - lossless downloading (even FLAC) is tortoise slow, even on a T3 connection! Needless to say, 90% of my music dollars go to CD.
The extra fun part? Having registered and spent a measly 20 bucks, I'm allowed to preview any song, at full length. Yes, this is a low bitrate preview, but I have made many CD purchases the last several months after having been able to audition an album without spending money on a CD I'm gonna hate.
The website is called AllOfMP3.com
I've read where some are leary to use their credit card where the Russian Mafia could get a hold of it, but this site uses a payment entity outside of Russia. Besides, I maintain a low-ceiling credit card for internet purchases, so that any hacker who might get a hold of it is only gonna get so much for his trouble anyway.
Even if downloading isn't your thing, this service has been very valuable to me for auditioning albums and making informed purchases.