International music rights owners set the record straight on Allofmp3.com

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.
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, the body that has been expelled from CISAC, the organisation representing copyright societies worldwide, 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."

Eric Baptiste, Director General of CISAC, says:

"In accordance with Russian law, and following legal advice received by CISAC from Russian lawyers, copyright societies from all around the world have sent cease and desist letters to ROMS. Copyright societies (who represent hundreds of thousands of authors, composers and publishers and who control millions of copyright works) have made it extremely clear that ROMS has the right, neither to represent them, nor to license their repertoire. Accordingly (and contrary to its assertions) allofmp3.com is making copyright works available to the public without the requisite permission.

In October 2004, CISAC (the international organisation representing 217 copyright societies worldwide) formally expelled ROMS from its membership on the grounds that ROMS continued to issue licences in respect of an international repertoire which it did not control."

Ronald Mooij, the secretary-general of BIEM, the international organisation that represents rights societies, says:

"Allofmp3.com is a notorious website which is illegally making available music internationally without paying composers and songwriters. ROMS, the body in Russia which allofmp3.com claims has licensed it, does not have any mandate whatsoever to licence allofmp3.com for our members' mechanical rights."

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