archives

o Free Audio Content Site Audiohighway.com Files For Chapter 11
o CNN to Announce Layoffs in Online Division
o Streaming Video Developer AVS Technologies Raises $6 Million
o Personal Webcam Broadcaster SpotLife Lays Off 25% of Employees
o Napster Upgrade Includes Links to Online Retailer CDNow
o Visual Media Delivery Firm Vianet Technologies Raises $2.1 Million
o Briefly Noted: "Convergence Lab," Sonomic.com, MP3.com - Sputnik7.com -
Palm Pictures, DreamWorks Music Publishing - LicenseMusic.com,
Shockwave.com - Pink Floyd, EMusic.com - Pamplin Music Company, "E-Book
Forecast: Cloudy"
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> Job Postings: Account Executive, Sr. Copywriter, Account Executive/Sr.
Account Executive, SW & FPGA Engineers, Market Technology Manager, Account Manager

> Events: Master the Technology, iHollywood Forum

Full Job/Event descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section or at
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html 

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html 
To Post an Event: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html 
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o Free Audio Content Site Audiohighway.com Files For Chapter 11

Cupertino, Calif. -- Audiohighway.com, a provider of free music, spoken
word and audio news content, announced on Thursday that it has filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company laid off most of its
employees in November, maintaining a small technical and operations staff
while it sought additional financing and pursued strategic alternatives.
Unsuccessful, the company filed for bankruptcy protection to protect its
assets. Cupertino-based Audiohighway.com was founded in 1994 to provide
audio content to fixed and wireless Internet users.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010111/ca_ahwy_ch.html 
http://www.audiohighway.com 
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o CNN to Announce Layoffs in Online Division

New York -- Time Warner division CNN News Group is expected to announce
"deep cuts" in its interactive department next week, The Wall Street
Journal reported on Thursday. The department currently employs 750, but it
is unclear how many will lose their jobs or when the layoffs are expected
to begin. Atlanta-based CNN will reorganize its operations to fold its
news-gathering staff into a single operation, rather than its current
state where many divisions report to various different cable channels and
websites under the CNN umbrella. When asked about the layoffs, a
spokeswoman for CNN told the Journal that the company "does not engage in
speculation about personnel matters."
http://www.cnn.com 
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o Streaming Video Developer AVS Technologies Raises $6 Million

Espoo, Finland -- AVS Technologies, a developer of streaming video
technology, announced that it has raised $6 million in its second round of
venture capital financing. Zouk Ventures led the round with an investment
of $5 million; previous investor Nokia Venture Partners contributed $1
million. Finland-based AVS Technologies' streaming video software allows
providers to encode video into a single format to be accessed by both PCs
and wireless devices. The company said it will release its
wireless-supported product in the first half of 2001. Its competitors
include San Diego-based PacketVideo and Israel-based Geo Interactive Media
Group.
http://www.avstechnologies.com/News/Zouk.htm 
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o Personal Webcam Broadcaster SpotLife Lays Off 25% of Employees

San Mateo, Calif. -- SpotLife, a provider of software and web-based
broadcasting services for personal webcam users, has laid off 25 percent
of its employees -- leaving the company with a staff of 52. In a
statement, the company said it is changing its strategy to focus on
providing managed video services to Internet service providers. San
Mateo-based SpotLife offers users the ability to share video they have
recorded through personal webcams on its websites. The company recently
raised $30 million in its third round of financing from Philips, Aventic
Partners, CMGI @Ventures, Atlas Venture and Logitech.
http://www.spotlife.com 
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o Napster Upgrade Includes Links to Online Retailer CDNow

Redwood City, Calif. -- Online music-swap site Napster announced on
Thursday that the latest version of its free music download software
includes the ability to link to CDNow, an online CD retailer.
Pennsylvania-based CDNow is a division of Bertelsmann, the company that
recently made a deal with Napster to drop BMG's lawsuit against the
company and provide it with financing if Napster can develop a paid,
membership-based file-sharing service. The link to CDNow is the first
visible indication to Napster users that they will soon be asked to pay
for at least some of the music that they find through the program.
http://www.napster.com 
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o Visual Media Delivery Firm Vianet Technologies Raises $2.1 Million

Dallas -- Vianet Technologies, a developer of visual media delivery
technology, announced on Thursday that it has raised $2.1 million from
undisclosed institutional and private investors, in addition to an equity
line of up to $10 million. The company also announced a restructuring plan
that includes the planned sale of its optical access product line.
Texas-based Vianet provides corporate intranets and Internet-based clients
with broadband streaming video software.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010111/tx_vianet_.html 
http://www.vianet.com 
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o Briefly Noted:

(New York) Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings announced on Thursday a
new consumer measurement system. "Convergence Lab" will measure television
viewing and Internet activity as they occur in the same sample households.
New York-based Nielsen Media Research said the division's first set of
data will be released in March. The research will measure -- among other
things -- any correlation between respective time spent watching
television and using the Internet, simultaneous usage of both media, the
correlations between the type of programs watched on TV and websites
visited and how often users visit TV program websites.
http://www.netratings.com 

(New York) Sonomic.com, an online sound effects library for the
professional audio community, announced on Thursday the launch of its
site. New York-based Sonomic.com allows producers at TV and radio stations
and other studios to search for sound effects, preview them in streaming
audio and purchase a professional-grade version to use in production. The
company's sound providers include Q Up Arts, Clack Sound Studios,
Numerical Sound, CA Sound, Titus and Electronisounds.
http://www.sonomic.com 

(San Diego) MP3.com announced on Thursday that it has signed a five-year
marketing and promotional agreement with entertainment site sputnik7.com
and Palm Pictures -- which are both financed through Island Records
founder Chris Blackwell. Under the agreement, Palm Pictures' music
releases have been licensed to San Diego-based MP3.com's on-demand
streaming service, My.MP3.com. MP3.com will create promotional pages on
its site for Palm Pictures' artists on the Palm and Rykodisc labels.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010111/ca_ny_sput.html 
http://www.mp3.com 
http://www.sputnik7.com 

(Beverly Hills, Calif.) DreamWorks Music Publishing announced on Thursday
that it has partnered with LicenseMusic.com, an online music industry
service. Under the agreement, Beverly Hills-based DreamWorks Music
Publishing will make its "demo/master" series of recordings available to
San Francisco-based LicenseMusic.com. The site enables the film,
advertising, television, online, and other audio/visual industries to
license music in their productions.
http://www.licensemusic.com 
http://www.dreamworks.com 

(San Francisco) Shockwave.com, an entertainment site built around
Macromedia's Flash animation software, announced on Thursday that it has
partnered with record label EMI to produce a "Shockwave Single" featuring
the music of classic rock band Pink Floyd. The format includes Flash
animation accompanied by MP3 audio. The Pink Floyd single was created by
longtime band album cover artist Storm Thorgerson, and commemorates the
25th anniversary of the release of the band's album "Wish You Were Here."
http://www.shockwave.com 
http://www.emigroup.com 

(Redwood City, Calif.) EMusic.com, a retailer of downloadable music,
announced on Thursday that it has secured a digital distribution agreement
with Oregon-based Christian Pamplin Music Company. The agreement will
allow users to purchase and download songs and full albums from Pamplin
labels including Pamplin Records, Red Hill Records and Crossroads Records.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010111/ca_emusic_.html 
http://www.pamplinmusic.com 
http://www.emusic.com 

(San Francisco) Wired News featured an article on Thursday entitled
"E-Book Forecast: Cloudy," that cited sources from both traditional and
e-publishing commenting on the future of the technology. Competing formats
for the technology were seen as an obstacle to the widespread consumer
acceptance of e-books. The article also discussed the potential use of
e-books in the educational market.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,40984,00.html 

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Job Postings:
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html 

> Directrix, Account Executive - Los Angeles

Identify and acquire new customers in the Content Provider and .com space.
Digital asset service provider seeks aggressive sales person with content
distribution network knowledge to expand new area of business: primarily
the Adult web site area. Must work independently to exceed revenue
targets. Identify opps., cold call and close target prospects. BA/BS
preferred with 5+ years successful, quota carrying, direct high-tech sales
experience. Solution and/or Value Selling training preferred. 
Send resumes to
lmoutal@directrix.com
http://www.directrix.com
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> FCB Interactive, Sr. Copywriter - Web - New York City

Understand business needs and translate them into artistic solutions,
which are consistent with the brand goals and deliver superior value to
the customer. Work with Art Director to develop concepts and then execute
all copy treatments. Oversee all copy of freelance writers. Present the
work to the client along with the Creative Director. Must be able to
think visually as well as verbally and work with little supervision. Send
resumes to KPicariello@fcb.com (attn: KP-Sr. Copy).
http://www.fcb.com
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> GCI Group, Account Executive/Senior Account Executive - Los Angeles

GCI Group, a leading, global public relations firm, has a great
opportunity to work in our Los Angeles office as a member of the Consumer
Technology team. We are currently seeking an Account Executive and Senior
Account Executive with 2 to 3 years experience in public relations.
Excellent written and communication skills a must. Send resume, cover
letter and salary requirements to Jeri Gardner: jgardner@gcigroup.com
http://www.gcigroup.com
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> Convergent Companies, Inc., SW & FPGA Engineers - Greenbelt, MD

We are developing break-through video compression technologies for the
Internet and are looking for FPGA and Software engineers with 1-8 yrs
experience. BSEE/CS familiarity with C++, image processing, object
programming. FPGA position, exp FPGA programming, DSP architectures esp
w/Xilinx. Check out Employment section of our website for details.
Send resumes to jobs@convergentcompanies.com
http://www.convergentcompanies.com
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> Cambridge Technology Partners, Market Technology Manager - Los Angeles

If you're an experienced, team-oriented technical architect who has a
passion for providing leadership and mentorship to a talented technical
community, ensuring high quality project delivery and supporting business
development efforts, please send us your resume. Broad technical delivery
experience including client/server and Web architectures is required.
Send resumes to Joe Young: jyoung03@ctp.com
http://www.ctp.com
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> pogo.com, Account Manager - Internet Sales - San Francisco

You will be selling Internet advertising and sponsorships on the company's
network of 13 family entertainment websites. Must be creative, motivated
and organized individual who loves to prospect and build long-lasting
business relationships. This position will be responsible for agency and
direct advertiser accounts. Must have 1 to 3 years interactive
advertising sales experience, with 1 to 5 years of other media sales
experience a plus. Send resume and cover letter to resumes@pogo.com
http://www.pogo.com

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Event Postings:
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Master the Technology that is Changing the World - GW Virginia Campus

The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science
will hold an informational session at the Virginia Campus in Ashburn from
6-8 p.m. on January 11th . This is a great opportunity to find out about
cutting edge graduate engineering degree programs including: Computer
Security and Information Assurance; Multimedia, Animation, Graphics and
User Interfaces; Software Engineering and Systems; Computer Architecture,
Networks, Parallel and Distributed Computing; Wireless and Mobile
Networks; Telecommunications and Computers. Contact: scason@va.gwu.edu
http://www.seasva.gwu.edu
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> iHollywood Forum: How Adult Entertainment Profits From the Internet

Whatever one's attitude toward adult entertainment, one fact is
undeniable: it's the only segment of the entertainment industry that
consistently makes money on the Internet. Panelists include: Larry Flynt,
Publisher of Hustler Magazine; Gail Harris, CEO and President of Falcon
Foto; David Schlesinger, Vice President of Internet Marketing at Vivid
Video; Fred Lane, Author of "Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of
Pornography in the Cyber Age" (Routledge 2000); Mike Rick, Co-founder of
Cybersynergism (Webmaster Superstore for Online Adult Entertainment) and
kSEXRadio.com. When: Wednesday January 17, 6:00 pm-10pm; Where: Santa
Monica Doubletree.
To Register: http://www.ihollywoodforum.com/new/events/jan17_2001.htm
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