I’ve noticed some price increases over at the website of my favorite Ruskies, allofmp3.com. I don’t mind the higher prices too much; they’re still leaps and bounds cheaper than competing services like iTunes and Napster. Still, I would like to know exactly what I’m paying for so I sent them a friendly message asking for some clarification. The following is a transcription of my first request:

You wrote:
How does your payment structure work now? It used to be $.02/MB, but I don’t see that anywhere on the site now and prices are up. Please clarify. Thanks.

Allofmp3.com support reply:
The price of the files that you download is determined by their quality that is by the file format and bitrate.

The order total is shown on the Order screen

You will NOT be charged for either previewing tracks or for the encoding process

OK… :-/

That didn’t exactly answer my question, so I slightly rephrased and asked again. My question was deleted.

Though irritated, I persisted and asked yet again:

You wrote:
What is your payment structure for 160kbps MP3s?

*Note - this is not a repeat of my previous question; I’m asking for a specific number, like “x cents per megabyte” or “x cents per minute”.

Allofmp3.com support reply:
The price of the files that you download is determined by their quality that is by the file format and bitrate.

The order total is shown on the Order screen

I still haven’t received a clear answer. Weird. I ask again:

You wrote:
I understand that the order total is shown on the Order screen, and that the price of the files I download are determined by their quality (the file format and bitrate). What I don’t understand is the base price. For instance, on Green Day’s American Idiot, “She’s a Rebel” is 2 minutes / 2.81MB / $0.10 at 192kbps. By that example, Allofmp3’s prices are approximately 2.8 cents per MB. However on the same album, “Letterbomb” is over 4 minutes - more than twice that of “She’s a Rebel” - so it should be at least twice the price ($0.20), right? But it’s not - it’s $0.17. That’s what I’m confused about. Is your new price structure on a sliding scale now? Or is there a base price, like $0.05, then a price per MB on top of that (ie, $0.02 per MB)? Thanks for helping me understand how this works.

Allofmp3.com support reply:
We have introduced some changes in our pricing policy.
Some items may cost more and for some the price may depend not only on file size but also on the variety of other factors.

Wow. Great answer. These guys must be lawyers. I ask again - my fifth attempt:

You wrote:
From your previous reply:
“Some items may cost more and for some the price may depend not only on file size but also on the variety of other factors.”

What are the other factors? How are the prices determined for those other factors?

Allofmp3.com support reply:
.

Wow. Really. Well, if that’s the case, maybe I’ll just take my pennies elsewhere. I looked around and found GoMusic but I’m not sure about it - I’ve never heard of it. Have any of you ever heard of it? GoMusic is extremely cheap - for Dream Theater’s Octavarium, it’s just $0.99 at GoMusic (at 256kbps) compared to a very random and unjustified $2.92 at Allofmp3 (at 192kbps). GoMusic has a very nice and clean layout, and their prices are far cheaper than Allofmp3. In fact, I think I’ll give ‘em a try and let you know how it works out. Does anyone have any other suggestions?