You may have heard of the extremely popular, but thorn-in-the-side of the music industry AllofMP3.com. Well after selling non-DRM’d MP3’s to the masses for dirt cheap (they didn’t pay royalties), the Russians are at it again – this time offering movie downloads for $1.99. After AllofMP3 was shut down, it was re-branded & re-launched as MP3Fiesta and continues to sell music online. And now they’ve launched this new movie download service, called ZML, which will most definitely be on Hollywood’s hit list.
Their terms of service imply they’re following the Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems (ROMS) policies (although ROMS won’t recognize the organization if this goes down like it did with AllofMP3):
You can’t buy movies on the site if it violates the laws of your country.
Yes, this statement is pretty silly and no, it doesn’t mean you can legally purchase movies from ZML.com or that they’re legally permitted to sell them. But they’ll move a ton of movies here until they get shut down.
The site offers thousands of movies and the downloads are compatible with all the major devices including iPods, Zunes, and DivX players. While I think this would be the perfect model (DRM-free and usable in all devices) for movie download sites, I don’t think purchasing movies from ZML is a good idea. Without paying studio royalties, ZML looks like it’s unethical and illegal as well.
Brent enjoys sharing his reflections on tech, gadgets, software and media. Check out more at Brent Evans Geek Tonic.