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Past Editions

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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 22, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Vivendi Universal, Sony to Launch Music Service to Compete With Napster
o Napster Case Goes Back to Court on March 2nd
o Advertising Downturn Hits Standard Media: 16% of Staff Laid Off
o Video-On-Demand Firm eVideoTV Raises $10 Million
o Storage Provider DataPlay Invests $30 Million in Asian Plant
o Briefly Noted: SegaNet's "Un-Civil War," FilmStew.com, Tribune
Interactive - Yahoo, SportsLine.com - Nextel Communications, ZapMedia -
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Roxio, Tonos.com - Music123.com,
Worldwinner.com
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Dir./Mgr. of Public Relations, Biz Dev/Sales, Project
Mgr./E-Commerce

> Events/Services: "Legal & Financial Foundations of Venture Success,"
WebMessenger

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
_____________________________________________

o Vivendi Universal, Sony to Launch Music Service to Compete With Napster

Paris -- In an interview Thursday, Vivendi Universal chairman Jean
Marie-Messier confirmed that the company is partnering with Sony Music
Entertainment to develop a music service that will compete with Napster,
Reuters reported. The service -- called "Duet" -- would have access to
music put out by Universal and Sony, and is in "advanced discussions" with
other labels to license their music. "We hope to license 50 percent of the
world's music," said Messier. When asked if there had been discussions
with Napster, Messier replied, "We often thought that an alliance with
Napster would be the only possibility but I don't believe it is right to
give the advantage to pirates." There is no announced pricing structure
for the Duet service, which is now scheduled to launch in the summer, but it
will offer both subscription and pay-per-listen options.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=24159&pod_id=9
http://www.vivendi.com/home/en/index.html
http://www.sonymusic.com
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o Napster Case Goes Back to Court on March 2nd

San Francisco -- Napster will go back to court on March 2nd, when U.S.
District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel will hold a hearing regarding the
modification of the injunction against the company filed by the major
record labels. A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last week asked
Patel to narrow the terms of the injunction while still prohibiting the
use of copyrighted works on the music file-sharing service. Once approved,
the injunction has the potential to make Napster shut down while it
installs a means of blocking copyrighted music and attempts to secure
licensing from the major labels. The litigation will then proceed with
determining damages to be levied against Napster for contributory
copyright infringement.
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/Calendar.nsf/572d47d88520f842882566a2007f2
b59/5fe82599c33a833e882566a30060ea5a?OpenDocument

http://www.napster.com
_____________________________________________

o Advertising Downturn Hits Standard Media: 16% of Staff Laid Off

San Francisco -- Standard Media International, publisher of Internet
economy publication Industry Standard and organizer of technology-focused
conferences, has laid off 16 percent of its staff, or 69 employees,
Inside.com reported. In a January round of layoffs in which 36 employees
were let go, the company's editorial staff was not affected. The current
layoffs include 18 from the editorial staff, and 10 of 20 from its
conferences division. The company also canceled a mergers and
acquisitions-focused conference, "i_deals.2," which was planned for May in
Arizona. "While we had hoped our smaller reduction in January would be
enough, we reluctantly concluded that we had to do this to make it through
a soft market," wrote Standard CEO John Batelle, in an internal memo
obtained by Inside.com. "Our profitability is at stake, and we told you
earlier this year, that made this move necessary." A downturn in the
advertising market was cited as the key factor prompting the layoffs --
advertising pages in the Industry Standard have dropped nearly 60 percent
through its Feb. 19 issue.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=24124&pod_id=7
http://www.thestandard.com
_____________________________________________

o Video-On-Demand Firm eVideoTV Raises $10 Million

Scottsdale, Az. -- eVideoTV, a provider of copy-protection and
video-on-demand (VOD) technology, announced on Thursday that it has
received $10 million in equity financing from Hunter Wise Financial Group.
Arizona-based eVideoTV offers copy-protection for video files that are
sent to digital set-top boxes over cable, satellite, DSL and wireless
connections. The company plans to use the financing to fund its worldwide
marketing efforts. Digital rights management provider Macrovision owns an
equity interest in eVideoTV.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010222/0119_2.html
http://www.e-videotv.com
http://www.macrovision.com
_____________________________________________

o Storage Provider DataPlay Invests $30 Million in Asian Plant

Boulder, Colo. -- DataPlay, a developer of digital content recording and
distribution media, said that it will invest $30 million in Singapore over
five years to develop and manufacture the technology for its quarter-sized
recordable discs. The company will increase its staff in Singapore from 15
to about 120 by the end of the year, and said it will begin production of
its products in July. DataPlay's discs have 250 MB or 500 MB capacities,
and can hold any type of media, such as MP3s, video, images, games
software or text. The company expects discs with pre-recorded media to be
available for the 2001 holiday shopping season -- the same time when
players supporting the technology have planned release dates. Universal
Music Group, EMI Group and Rosetta Books are currently planning to release
pre-recorded music and e-book content on DataPlay discs, while electronics
manufacturers including Toshiba and Samsung are creating digital music
devices that will play the discs.
http://www.dataplay.com/jsp_files/en/news/pressreleasesdesc.jsp?pressrelease
=pressrelease-desc-01-02-21

_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) SegaNet announced on Thursday the launch of "Un-Civil
War," the company's first online console tournament, for players of its
Quake III Arena game for the Dreamcast. Players will compete against one
another by connecting their Dreamcast console to the Internet, and will
compete in succeeding rounds of the tournament on a fixed-time schedule.
The company partnered with San Francisco-based TeamSphere for the
tournament, which will provide streamlined player registration, player
seeding, automated match results, and automated bracket updates. Winners
will be awarded a specially-designed and engraved Dreamcast console, sure
to become a collector's item when Sega stops making the console in March.
http://uncivilwar.sega.net/d?e=101
http://www.eventricity.com/d?e=45543

(New York) A former CAA talent agent has launched FilmStew.com, a site
offering information regarding which agents represent specific actors,
directors and writers, IndieWire.com reported. Sperling Reich -- who was
fired from CAA for sending such information through email -- says that his
new company has collected information on about 4,000 individuals and their
agents, availabilities, specialties and credits on the site.
http://www.indiewire.com/film/biz/biz_010221_briefs.html
http://www.filmstew.com

(Chicago) Tribune Interactive, the subsidiary of news organization Tribune
Company that operates online news sites like ChicagoTribune.com,
LATimes.com and NewsDay.com, announced on Thursday that it will syndicate
local news and headlines from these and other regional sites to Web portal
Yahoo. The announcement comes days after New York Times Digital also said
it would make select articles from NYTimes.com and Boston.com available on
Yahoo.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010222/cgth027_2.html
http://www.tribune.com

(Fort Lauderdale, Fl.) Online sports news site SportsLine.com said that it
has partnered with wireless provider Nextel Communications to make its
content available to Nextel wireless Web subscribers. Users will get
breaking scores, news, standings, schedules, transactions and injury
reports, as well as fantasy information, including live scoring, stats,
standings and schedules on the service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010220/fl_sportsline_com.html
http://www.sportsline.com
http://www.nextel.com

(Atlanta) ZapMedia, a developer of Web-enabled audio and video convergence
devices, said on Thursday that Samsung Electro-Mechanics will manufacture
a product based on its technology. The Samsung Zapmedia Station will
include a 30GB hard drive that can store up to 30 hours of video and up to
10,000 songs, a digital audio jukebox featuring Windows Media Audio and
MP3 formats, CD and DVD player, CD ripper, Internet browsing, e-mail and
broadband or dial-up service access. Atlanta-based ZapMedia's devices can
connect to both a television and home stereo, and do not need to be
connected to a computer in order to access the Internet.
http://www.zapmedia.com
http://www.sem.samsung.com/

(Milpitas, Calif.) Adaptec said on Thursday that it will proceed with the
intended spin-off of Roxio, its digital media software unit. The company
had planned an IPO for Roxio, but withdrew the offering in light of market
conditions. Milpitas-based Adaptec now plans to distribute Roxio shares to
existing Adaptec shareholders in April. Roxio offers such programs as Easy
CD Creator and Toast, which let users burn music and data onto recordable
discs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010221/sfw144.html
http://www.roxio.com

(Culver City, Calif.) Tonos.com, an online resource for singers,
songwriters and industry professionals, said on Thursday that New
Jersey-based Music123.com will provide online sales of music equipment and
merchandise for its site. The partnership will allow Tonos.com users to
buy instruments, amplifiers, software and sheet music from its site.
http://www.tonos.com
http://www.music123.com

(Newton, Mass.) Worldwinner.com announced on Thursday the launch of its
fee-based games site. Massachusetts-based Worldwinner.com claims to offer
an alternative to largely-illegal online gambling by asking users to wager
up to $9 on a credit card in order to win prizes playing skill-based
games. Even so, the company does not offer its fee-based tournaments to
residents in ten states due to legal prohibitions.
http://www.worldwinner.com
http://www.worldwinner.com/legal/index.shtml#eligibility

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

> Load Media Network, Director/Manager of Public Relations - Los Angeles

Develop and execute Load Media's PR strategy. Manage relationship
with external PR agency. Implement standard public relations and
communications practices including but not limited to: media tours, events
and trade shows, desk side briefings, media pitching, press release
development, approvals and distribution, and message documents. 4-8 years
marketing/advertising experience. Send resumes to danderson@loadmedia.com
http://www.loadmedia.com
______________________

> everse, Business Development / Sales - Los Angeles

Internet professional services firm seeks star sales person to identify
and drive strategic business to closure. Assist clients in defining
business objectives, goals and budgets. Position requires establishing and
maintaining long-term relationships with client base. Bachelor's degree,
MBA preferred. History of closing web service business or agency-related.
Ability to generate leads through cold-calling.
Send resumes to stevey@everse.com
http://www.everse.com
______________________

> RichFX, Project Manager / E-commerce - New York City

Change the face of on-line shopping by helping to create the world's first
ONE PAGE storefront. This is an opportunity to work on truly breakthrough,
cutting-edge technology. Very competitive salary and equity in a
well-funded mature startup. Professional, but business casual environment.
Comprehensive benefits package.
Send resumes to nyrecruiter@richfx.com
http://www.richfx.com

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

> Legal & Financial Foundations of Venture Success, Mar. 3 - Pasadena, CA

In association with the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum, this two-part
program looks at the high-tech venture from a legal & financial
perspective, providing both aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs with a
working knowledge of critical issues that can have a major impact on
venture success.
For more information and to register:
http://event3.inetevents.com/event/public/event.cfm?event_id=108
______________________

> WebMessenger: Wireless and Streaming Media Software

WebMessenger does Premium Software Development for Wireless,
Medical, Online Media, and Internet Industries. Competitive Contractor:
California based development and management with oversees support.
Excellent client relationships with perfect referrals. Top-Notch staff:
PhDs and Masters in Computer Science with many years of experience.
Quality Assurance dept. that ensures the highest standards are met.
High-Speed product development cycle: 24-hour global operations. Cost
effective development.
Contact: Aaron Hirsch aaron@webmessenger.com 202-483-5999
______________________

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