allofmp3.com and other foreign download sites

[riotgirl]

i really want to know for definate whether sites such as www.allofmp3.com, www.peoplesound.com and www.mp3monkeys.com are legal. are there maybe loop holes about the fact that theyre from different countries and their licenses arent valid in this country? therefore am i still downloading illegally?

im using my parents computer and therefore dont want to put any illegal downloads on it. but i also cant see the point of paying �8 or �9 for a downloaded album when i could buy the actual cd for a couple more pounds.

[Headtime]

I have used allofmp3.com, and after a lot of research the legal situation as far as I can tell is that under Russian law (the site is Russian) it is not illegal to sell electronic copies of CD's. That obviously doesn't apply to the UK.

However, Allofmp3 software is not file-sharing software. You simply download tracks from the website to your computer, to listen to at your leisure.

The main reason people have been prosecuted in the UK is that they are using file-sharing software like Kazaa or Limewire. This means thier music collection is available for others to download. And that is what they were prosecuted for.

So whilst downloading tracks via a service like Allofmp3, probably stictly isn't legal, there is no way the record companies can prosecute you as you are not making your downloads available to others. So they will never be any the wiser.