That’s because AllofMP3, which sells individual albums for under a dollar, isn’t exactly licensed to sell music.

As you can probably guess, the major labels already have AllofMP3’s parent company, Moscow-based Mediaservices, in their legal sights. All four major labels –Universal Music Group, EMI, Warners Music Group and Sony BMG have lawsuits pending in Britain against Mediaservices.

But Mediaservices claims that it is on the up-and-up when it comes to music licensing, and that 15 percent of every sale goes to the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society.

Who’s in the right?

Our money is on the labels. While Mediaservices may indeed pay that 15 percent royalty to the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Society is passing those royalties to the record labels.

But it’s not like the Society hasn’t tried. Mediaservices director general Vadim Mamotin recently said the Society’s efforts to pay royalties to the labels had “been rebuffed.”

That should come as no surprise. If the labels accepted the Society’s payments, then a court might rule that the international recording industry doesn’t have a problem with AllofMP3.

As it turns out, Mediaservices’ payments to the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society may only allow the company to sell Russian music online. And only to Russians. In Russia.

“It’s a completely spurious claim,” said a spokesman for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in response to Mediaservices’ claims of innocence. “They haven’t respected the rights of the rights holders and have exploited their works without asking permission.”

But Mediaservices may have more problems than just licensing issues with the world’s record labels. U.S. officials have told the Russian government that AllofMP3 might prevent the country from joining the World Trade Organization.

Mediaservices has enlisted the help of Washington, D.C., based public relations firm Quorvis Communications. But during a press conference organized by Quorvis, a Mediaservices spokesman refused to answer questions about how much money the company makes from selling downloads, and did not respond to questions about how much money it has paid Russian rights societies.

Meanwhile, a Denmark court ordered Swedish telecom operator Tele2 AB to block its customers from accessing AllofMP3. The ruling is a result of a lawsuit filed by the IFPI in July. Sweden-based Tele2 provides Net access to 19 countries.

Taylor Made

You saw him win the big one on “American Idol,” and now you can see Taylor Hicks get his road act together on Rehearsals.com.

Hicks and his band arrived at CenterStaging Corp.’s studios in early October where 10 robot-controlled, high-def cameras captured all the action, resulting in two clips – “What’s Going On” and “Hell Of A Day” – appearing on the behind-the-scenes Web site.

“It’s a process to come out of the shell and present yourself how you are the most comfortable in terms of performance,” Hicks said. “Allowing fans to see a bit of it happen is really great. I am totally comfortable in welcoming Rehearsals.com in for a sneak peek.”