After years of debate, controversial Russian music website Allofmp3 has been shut down accused of violating copyright law. The issue of closing the site was raised at the highest levels, becoming the stumbling block for Russia's accession to WTO.

“It’s an excellent piece of news for the music industry, which has been trying for more then two years trying to close down this particular web site, which was involved in ripping of the creators and artists,” believes Igor Pozhitkov from International Federation of Phonographic Industry.

It is still unclear who closed the web site. Some say the owners shut it down at their own initiative, while others are convinced the authorities persuaded them. One thing is clear though, despite the site’s closure, cheap downloading continues. Alternative sites reportedly run by the same company have already filled the niche.

Oleg Nezus is a man who provides sites like Allofmp3 legal grounds for their business scheme. He works for a private licensing society that claims to have the right to collect royalties for foreign stars. But not a single dollar has ever reached the other site of the Atlantic, the music publishers say.

“We have collected millions of roubles on their behalf but they never provided us with numbers of their bank accounts so we cannot transfer the money,” Oleg claims.
 
Millions of roubles are nothing compared to the business’s volume. Allofmp3.com was reportedly making $US 30 MLN per year.

Boris, a dedicated Allofmp3 customer, was unabashed by the site’s closure.

“For every track worth one dollar, there is somebody who can sell it for 70 or 50 cents. If copyright holders continue their pressure, they may end up in a situation when their music will be distributed for free. And that’s already happening,” he believes.