archives

 events
 about us
 resources
 privacy
 news tips
 contact us
 home

Sign up for our free daily email briefing

Past Editions

===================================================
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 26, 2001
===================================================
To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Napster Requests Full Appeals Court Rehearing
o Yet-to-Launch Musicbank Lays Off 29% of Staff
o P2P Music Service J. River Offers Labels $3 Billion for Licenses
o Walt Disney Internet Group Lays Off 135
o Networking Provider SkyStream Networks Raises $44 Million
o CinemaNow Offers Territorial Rights Management with Subscription Service
o Set-Top Box Technology Developer Navic Networks Raises $20 Million
o Briefly Noted: Digital Music Network - OnCommand, Snoopstar, Quokka
Sports - Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Sonicblue Rio Car,
MidStream Technologies
_____________________________________________

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

> Events/Services: "Cannes Interactive Forum," "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 Napster Requests Full Appeals Court Rehearing

San Francisco -- Late in the afternoon on Friday, Napster filed a petition
for a rehearing and rehearing "en banc" of the Ninth Circuit's ruling
against the company on February 12. The petition seeks a rehearing before
an eleven-judge panel of the Appeals Court, during which additional briefs
and new arguments may be presented. If the Court votes to hold a
rehearing, the legal process could be lengthened by up to three months.
One main point of the petition says that the proposed injunction is
overbroad and limits Napster's free speech; another says the part of the
ruling that asked Napster to "police" its service for copyrighted files
did not follow the prescriptions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Finally, the petition looks to the Court to draft compulsory royalty
licensing agreements between Napster and the labels. Last week, Napster
offered record labels $1 billion over five years to license their songs
for its file-sharing service, an amount that some analysts have remarked
may be too low to appeal to the labels.
http://www.napster.com/pressroom/pr/010223-qanda.html
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=24335&pod_id=9
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4941991.html?tag=mn_hd
_____________________________________________

o Yet-to-Launch Musicbank Lays Off 29% of Staff

San Francisco -- Musicbank, a developer of online lockers for digital
music, has laid off 29 percent of its staff -- or 19 employees --
VentureWire reported on Monday. The layoffs will affect the company's
engineering and operations departments, as beta testing of its technology
is near completion. Musicbank's service will closely parallel MP3.com's
My.MP3 service, which allows users to store and access music they have
purchased on CDs in an online storage locker. Unlike MP3.com, San
Francisco-based Musicbank has worked to attain licenses from all of the
major labels and music publishers before launching its service. Digital
locker provider Myplay also recently announced layoffs, as well as the
fact that it will now offer businesses the technology to create
subscription-based music services, instead of online storage. Musicbank
has not yet announced a launch date for its service.
http://www.musicbank.com
http://www.venturewire.com
_____________________________________________

o P2P Music Service J. River Offers Labels $3 Billion for Licenses

Minneapolis -- J. River, a developer of network connectivity and music
jukebox software, said on Monday that it would up Napster's $1 billion bid
and offer record labels $3 billion over a five-year period for licenses
that would give unlimited access to their songs. The company plans to
build a subscription service based around its Media Jukebox software,
which lets users access music streams from other users on a peer-to-peer
network. These users then also act as content providers, sending streams
of music from their own computers to other users on the network. "Record
labels recognized immediately that the Napster offer was not realistic,"
said John Norris, COO at J. River. "Napster may have undermined its
credibility by underbidding. We are confident that $3 billion is a
conservative estimate, and we believe that the actual five-year payout
could be closer to $10 billion. Minneapolis-based J. River says that about
1 million users have downloaded its Media Jukebox software, many fewer
than the over 60 million software downloads that Napster claims.
http://www.jriver.com
http://www.musicex.com
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4951102.html?tag=mn_hd
_____________________________________________

o Walt Disney Internet Group Lays Off 135

North Hollywood, Calif. -- Walt Disney Internet Group announced on Monday
that it will lay off 135 employees, mainly within its ABCNEWS.com and
ABC.com websites staffs. The layoffs cover the areas of operations,
technology, marketing, sales support, administration and human resources
in the North Hollywood, Seattle and New York offices. The company said
that it is "streamlining its business to achieve increased efficiencies."
The Walt Disney Company also recently shut down its Go.com entertainment
portal, eliminating 400 jobs there for which it will take an $800 million
charge in 2001.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010226/2587.html
http://www.dig.com
http://www.abcnews.com
_____________________________________________

o Networking Provider SkyStream Networks Raises $44 Million

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- SkyStream Networks, a provider of broadband
networking technology, announced on Monday that it has raised $44 million
in its fourth round of venture capital financing. Participants in the
round included AOL Time Warner Ventures, Shaw Ventures, Amerindo
Investment Advisors, Crosslink Capital, IVP, Integral Capital Partners,
Mayfield, Norwest Venture Partners and WestBridge Ventures.
Sunnyvale-based SkyStream develops technology that connects the networks
of satellite providers, cable providers and television broadcasters with
those of traditional Internet bandwidth owners in order to speed the
delivery of multimedia content. The company said it will use the funds for
growth and to enhance its networking hardware platforms. SkyStream's
clients include EchoStar Communications, iBEAM, Microsoft TV and
Telefonica.
http://www.skystream.com
_____________________________________________

o CinemaNow Offers Territorial Rights Management with Subscription Service

Marina del Rey, Calif. -- CinemaNow, an online film site owned by Lions
Gate Entertainment, announced on Monday that it has partnered with
Vancouver-based Digital Envoy to offer territorial rights management to
studios using its online distribution. The technology lets studios release
films in the same manner they do in theaters, where they are able to limit
distribution and release dates according to geographic regions. "Coming
from the traditional film business ourselves, we are well acquainted with
the specific needs of Hollywood in terms of selling films on a
territory-by-territory basis," said Curt Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow. The
announcement coincides with the company's offering of a $9.95 per month
movie subscription service, which gives users unlimited access to select
films during a 30-day period. All of the site's movies use Microsoft's
Windows Media player and rights management technologies. Marina del
Rey-based CinemaNow recently began offering first-run movies online during
the traditional pay-per-view period, typically in between when movies exit
the theaters and show up for rental on video.
http://www.cinemanow.com
http://www.digitalenvoy.com
_____________________________________________

o Set-Top Box Technology Developer Navic Networks Raises $20 Million

Newton, Mass. -- Navic Networks, a developer of technology for digital
set-top boxes, said on Monday that it has raised $20 million in its third
round of funding. Pilot House Ventures Group and Pequot Private Equity led
the investment round; Highland Capital Partners and Himalaya Capital also
participated. Massachusetts-based Navic Networks provides data tracking
services for set-top box makers that include audience measurement,
addressable advertising and downloadable content distribution.
http://www.navic.tv
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Denver) OnCommand, a provider of interactive entertainment technology to
hoteliers, said on Monday that it has gained a controlling interest in
Digital Music Network, a provider of on-demand music systems. Denver-based
OnCommand will use Laguna Beach-based Digital Music Network's content and
back-end services to add a music on-demand service to its offerings. The
service will give hotel guests access to about 600 CDs from labels
including Warner Music to listen to through their room's television.
Guests will be able to order CDs they hear from an e-commerce feature of
the service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/010226/0202023767.html
http://www.oncommand.com
http://www.hotelmusicnetwork.com

(San Francisco) Snoopstar, a file-sharing service beta tested last month,
is reportedly owned by Bertelsmann and is seen as an alternative entry
into peer-to-peer distribution should Napster be forced to shut down, the
Industry Standard reported on Monday. The service allows users to search
for music, video and other files available on Napster, Gnutella, iMesh and
other file-sharing networks.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,22460,00.html
http://www.snoopstar.com

(San Francisco) Online sports site Quokka Sports has partnered with Major
League Baseball Advanced Media, to provide an official live-scoring
technology for every game webcast on MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media staff at
baseball games will enter information like pitch location, hit location
and hit type into the system in real-time; this data will then accompany
live audio webcasts and television broadcasts of the games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010223/sff037.html
http://www.quokka.com
http://www.mlb.com

(Vancouver, Wash.) Sonicblue, a developer of digital music player
technology, announced on Monday the shipment of Rio Car, an in-dash MP3
player capable of holding up to 1000 hours of music on a hard drive as big
as 60GB. The player works with existing car radio, tape and CD players,
and can also be ported and attached to a home stereo. Prices for the Rio
Car range from $1,199 for a 10GB version to $1,999 for the 60GB version.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010226/0224.html
http://www.riohome.com/products/riocar.htm
http://www.sonicblue.com

(Bellevue, Wash.) MidStream Technologies, a developer of streaming media
server technology, said that it has appointed Edward L. Huguez as
president and CEO. Previously, Huguez served as senior vice president of
Akamai. Former MidStream president, Richard Oesterreicher, will continue
to serve as chairman and CTO.
http://www.midstream.com/pressroom/news_events/default.html

===================================================
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

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

> Cannes Interactive Forum, Mar. 9-19, 2001 - Cannes, France

MITIC 2001, an official part of the Cannes Film Festival, introduces
THE CANNES INTERACTIVE FORUM, a high-profile cost-effective way to
demonstrate computer-based technologies such as web content, production
software, streaming systems and more to entertainment industry elite.
Deadline to register is April 1.
rweiner@ddapr.com
/ 323.692.2330.
http://www.mediatek.com
______________________

> 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
______________________

To subscribe, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com

Questions or comments? Send email to:
mark@digitalmediawire.com

News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@digitalmediawire.com