But the recording industry cried foul and claimed the store wasn’t authorized to sell music downloads. In fact, AllofMP3 was often cited as an example of Russia’s lax copyright enforcement policies and was even considered an obstacle for the country’s admission to the World Trade Organization.

Eventually AllofMP3 went dark, and although Moscow prosecutors haven’t yet commented on the site’s closure, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington said Russian authorities cut the connection between the site’s operator – Media Services – and its Internet service provider.

But almost as quickly as AllofMP3 vanished from the Net, another site with the same look and feel emerged and, like its predecessor, offered downloads at dirt cheap prices.

Sporting an almost identical interface as AllofMP3 and operated by the same company that controlled that music download site, MP3sparks also claims to be legitimate, saying operator Media Services “pays license fees for all materials downloaded from the site subject to the Law of the Russian Federation.”

The only problem is that even though the site may be paying royalties to a Russian licensing group, the major labels claim that group is not authorized to collect royalties.

Adding to the confusion is the licensing body in question – Russian Multimedia and Internet Society. Although the organization has admitted to having an agreement with Media Services, it also said it has been months since it received any royalty payments from the Web site operators.

Operating a Russian music site selling western music at bargain-basement prices has not exactly been a smooth boat ride on the Volga. Visa International and MasterCard Inc have already stopped accepting credit card transactions for purchases made from any Media Services Web sites, and the company is the target of several lawsuits by record labels the world over.

But while Media Services does have its legal problems, it has made quite a profit on its downloads, with reports indicating that the company has made anywhere from $18 million to $30 million.

“AllofMP3.com violated copyright law in Russia and internationally by ripping off artists and taking music it had no right to sell worldwide,” said Igor Pozhitkov, head of the Russian office of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. “The apparent closure is a positive move which recognizes what we have always stated – that the site is illegal. But this is not the end of the story – Russia is a huge source of Internet piracy.”

Aside from the labels, perhaps the one suffering the most harm from all that alleged music piracy is the unidentified receptionist at a Russian company selling wooden flooring. Evidently, MP3sparks listed that company’s phone number on its Web site.

“Why do people keep calling here?” asked the receptionist.