Posted by BertsPost on July 28, 2009 |
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By Dashal.com
On July 8th I posted the widely popular article Is Zookz The Next Napster?, my review about the Antiguan Company that offers unlimited downloads of music or movies for $9.95 or $17.95 for both. Zookz then proceeded with their official launch on July 15th, full steam ahead, fueled by press from the 2007 WTO ruling. The negative press only helped feed Zookz’s popularity.
So all was well on the soap, The Bold and the Zookz. Then on July 18th, the Zookz website suddenly went offline. I remember it well; it was right after Led Zepplin II and the beginning of Led Zepplin III. I immediately thought that their servers had crashed or were bogged down. Then, the hours crept slower than a night of Bingo fun at the old folk’s home. There was no site and Zookz issued no official statement. It was just an empty browser that had once been filled with music that taunted “download me download me, come on you know you want to.” I looked like Humphrey Bogart slouched over a bottle of Scotch telling Sam “If she can stand it, I can. Play it. Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” The only problem was, that scene where Ingrid Bergman walks in, wasn’t there (favorite scene).
We finally hear from Zookz on the July 20th when they issued the following statement:
“The ZookZ website service has been temporarily interrupted due to circumstances beyond our control.
We’re sorry you can’t get the music and movies you love at this time. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again soon
Due to the service interruption, ZookZ is returning all membership fees paid to date by our customers.
Keep checking Twitter, Facebook and http://www.zookz.com for more details”
Zookz gave no details, just the promise that they were working hard to get back online. Then naturally, since no details were given, blog posts hit the airwaves about the end of Zookz. Most posts worked under the assumption that Zookz had been shut down do to their misinterpretation of the WTO ruling between Antigua and the United States .
I had many theories, some of which were later disproven (server crash etc.), and I figured that I would just drop it. But, I should have known that it would just eat at me.
What was bothering me so much is the assumption that the outage had to do with the WTO. Why would Antigua care? Why would they go so far as to issue a statement from their attorney? You would think that Antigua would welcome with open arms the potential tax revenue that Zookz could bring them. However Antigua is like most other cash-starved countries, and their government is known for its shady operating, to say the very least. Why would they want Zookz shut down? I ruled out US involvement because it happened way too quickly. Antiguan government involvement seems to be the only possible scenario that makes any sense. My theory is that perhaps there was another company trying to do provide a similar service and bring more revenue for the country. This is all my own personal theory since I have no actual facts, and Zookz has been mum. They seem to only want to talk about how many movies and CDs they uploaded that week.
Over the past week Zookz, has been aggressive with their Twittering and the Zookz’s Facebook fan page trying to keep their supporters and gain new ones.
This all makes me wonder if Zookz can actually make a comeback. I would think that a lot of companies would have trouble even if they were allowed to operate, but then again most companies aren’t Zookz. You simply cannot beat the price for unlimited downloads.
If they do come back, something in which Zookz appears to have complete confidence, the actual WTO is going to play a pivotal role in the future of Zookz. My personal bet is that they last over a year at best if they are able to make a return. Nothing great lasts forever, but if it does come back we should treat it preciously, like life. You never know when it is going to go away, so we should live each day to its fullest. Meaning, crank up the hard drive, turn off your phone, and post a message on Twitter saying “I’m downloading, don’t bother me.”
Nick Harrison – Creative Director for Dashal.com
