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Past Editions

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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- March 6, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Napster, RIAA to Meet With Court-Appointed Mediator Friday
o TVT Records Wins Copyright Infringement Case Against MP3.com
o CenterSpan Gets Content from EMusic, Filmspeed for File-Sharing Service
o Stan Lee Media Given Delisting Notice from Nasdaq, Will Appeal
o French Interactive TV Developer NPTV Raises $11 Million
o HP, RealNetworks to Make Entertainment Devices for Living Rooms
o VitalStream to Acquire Web Hosting Firm SiteStream
> Digital Media Wire Networkin' Hoedown, Mar. 12 - SXSW, Austin, Texas
o Briefly Noted: Microsoft Xbox, NBC - Wink Communications, Nortel
Networks - Packet Video, MP3.com - New.net
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Account Executive, Asst. Marketing Mgr./Internet, Music Titler

> Events/Services: "Artesia Digital Asset Management Seminar,"
"Cannes Interactive 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
_____________________________________________

o Napster, RIAA to Meet With Court-Appointed Mediator Friday

San Francisco -- Representatives from Napster and the Recording Industry
Association of America will on Friday meet with court-appointed mediator
and retired federal judge Eugene Lynch, Napster said on Tuesday. The
company would not say what the two groups would discuss; however it is
likely that both sides will raise issues related to Judge Marilyn Hall
Patel's revised injunction issued today, that makes Napster remove all
unauthorized copyrighted songs from its service. The injunction calls for
the two sides to work together to implement Napster's filter that blocks
copyrighted songs from showing up in an index when users search for them
on the service. The song-blocking filter as it stands now has problems
screening out filenames that contain a copyrighted work, but feature
misspelled or altered song titles. Several outlets reported that it may be
nearly impossible for Napster and the recording industry to keep up with
altered filenames; several programs already exist -- including one created
by alternative file-sharing service Aimster -- that purposely alter a
MP3's filename in order to evade the filter.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5042145.html
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=24962&pod_id=9
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,42225,00.html
http://www.aimster.com/pigencoder.phtml
_____________________________________________

o TVT Records Wins Copyright Infringement Case Against MP3.com

New York -- A U.S. District Court ruled on Sunday that MP3.com willfully
infringed on TVT Records' copyrights in using the label's songs for its
My.MP3.com on-demand streaming service, Webnoize reported on Tuesday. A
hearing on March 26 will determine an award of damages, which could be as
high as $150 million. Universal Music filed a similar suit that was
settled by San Diego-based MP3.com for $53.4 million; the company has also
reportedly paid about $20 million to the other four major labels to
license their music for its service. TVT Records also sued Napster for
copyright violations, but has since settled with the company and
authorized the use of its recordings to Napster. Speaking on the company's
litigation against MP3.com, TVT president Steve Gottleib told Webnoize,
"We brought this case initially because we were so appalled when MP3.com
agreed to remove the major labels' recordings from the [My.MP3.com]
service, but refused to take ours down when we asked. They took the
attitude that they would respond to all the big guys, but walk all over
the rest of the creative community." MP3.com would not comment in the
article, saying that the judge has not yet disclosed the rationale behind
his ruling.
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=12207
http://www.tvtrecords.com
http://www.mp3.com
_____________________________________________

o CenterSpan Gets Content from EMusic, Filmspeed for File-Sharing Service

Hillsboro, Ore. -- CenterSpan Communications, the winning bidder in an
auction for file-sharing service Scour's assets, announced that content
partners including EMusic.com and Filmspeed have licensed digital music
and video for the beta test of its new file-sharing service. The
agreements will allow the company to make over 100,000 music and video
files available for the beta test of the new Scour Exchange, for which the
company says it has signed up 220,000 previous Scour users. The agreements
with EMusic, Moonshine Music, Crush Media and Management, Filmspeed and
TVparty.com will provide music from bands like Green Day, Creedence
Clearwater Revival and Bob Marley, in addition to feature-length films,
film shorts, trailers and classic television clips. Testing of the new,
secure Scour Exchange will begin later this month using Microsoft's audio
and video software with incorporated digital rights management.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010306/0073.html
http://www.centerspan.com
http://www.emusic.com
_____________________________________________

o Stan Lee Media Given Delisting Notice from Nasdaq, Will Appeal

Los Angeles -- Stan Lee Media, which has ceased operations and filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said on Tuesday that it has been given a
delisting notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market. Trading on the company's
stock has been halted since December 18. The company said in a statement
that it will appeal the delisting. In addition to the Chapter 11 filing,
the notice cited the staff's concerns regarding residual interest of the
existing securities holders and its inability to sustain compliance with
the Nasdaq's minimum requirements for listing. Los Angeles-based Stan Lee
Media was founded by cartoonist and animator Stan Lee, creator of comics
like the X-Men and Spider-Man.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010305/lam110.html
http://www.stanleemedia.com
_____________________________________________

o French Interactive TV Developer NPTV Raises $11 Million

Paris -- NPTV, a France-based developer of software for interactive
television, has announced the closing of its third round of venture
capital financing, totaling $11 million. New investor ING Barings led the
round with a $5.6 million investment; previous investors CITA and SG Asset
Management also participated. The company's software facilitates the
development of interactive applications -- such as enhanced TV,
interactive advertising, and virtual channels like games and e-commerce --
for the MediaHighway and OpenTV interactive television platforms. NPTV
will use the funds for expansion into the U.K., Italy and other European
countries. Currently, its customers include CNN, Disney Channel Europe and
CanalSatellite France.
http://www.nptv.fr/newspress/index.htm
_____________________________________________

o HP, RealNetworks to Make Entertainment Devices for Living Rooms

Seattle -- RealNetworks said on Tuesday that it has partnered with
computer electronics manufacturer Hewlett-Packard to design a family of
entertainment devices that will let consumers download music and stream
video in their living rooms. Seattle-based RealNetworks said it will
develop a Linux-based software platform for the devices that implements
its RealPlayer and RealJukebox applications. "As the computing and
entertainment worlds converge, consumers are looking for ways to enhance
their entertainment experiences," said Pradeep Jotwani, president, HP
Consumer Business Organization. "Extending our leading technologies from
the home office into other consumer products throughout the home is a
natural next step for HP." The companies said they expect the first
devices and services to be available later this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010306/0282.html
http://www.realnetworks.com
http://www.hp.com
_____________________________________________

o VitalStream to Acquire Web Hosting Firm SiteStream

Irvine, Calif. -- VitalStream, a provider of streaming media technology,
announced on Tuesday that will acquire SiteStream, a provider of Web
hosting services for small and mid-size companies. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed. Irvine-based VitalStream's products and
services enable the management and delivery of audio, video and data over
the Internet. The addition of SiteStream will allow the combined company
to also offer Web hosting services to its clients.
http://www.vitalstream.com
http://www.sitestream.com
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire Networkin' Hoedown, Mar. 12 - SXSW, Austin, Texas

If you're a South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival badgeholder, stop by the
landmark Stubb's BBQ to network and hear live music from The Damnations
TX. Free pint glass (with beer inside!) for the first lucky 500 thru the
door.
Sponsored by: Microsoft Technology Center/Austin.
For more information: michael@digitalmediawire.com
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/dmw_event1.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) Microsoft may lose $2 billion on its Xbox game console,
according to a Merrill Lynch report issued Tuesday, CNET reported. The
report says that the company may lose money on the game for three years
before breaking even in 2005. Ironically, the more units sold in the early
years, the greater the losses," Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget said
in the report. The losses could result from the standard industry practice
of recouping losses on video game hardware with game software sales, which
may not be enough given the high cost of producing the Xbox.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-5041881.html?tag=mn_hd

(New York) NBC and interactive television developer Wink Communications
said on Tuesday that they are expanding an agreement to develop enhanced
programming for NBC TV shows. Programs including Saturday Night Live, The
Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Notre Dame college football games and The
French Open tennis tournament will offer viewers additional features such
as biographies, CD sales for musical guests and ticketing information.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010305/sfm123.html
http://www.wink.com

(Boston) Wireless provider Nortel Networks announced on Tuesday that it
will work with wireless video firm PacketVideo to integrate services like
video messaging, games and video monitoring into its offerings, and work
with the company to market the services. The companies will use Nortel's
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) application and service
framework for wireless data access. San Diego-based PacketVideo also has
deals to develop its technology with wireless providers including Motorola
and Qualcomm
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010306/0212.html
http://www.packetvideo.com

(San Diego) MP3.com has partnered with domain name registrar New.net in
its effort to create and begin selling 20 new top-level domains, Wired
News reported on Tuesday. The company will sell dot-MP3 domain names on
behalf of New.net, which is offering suffixes other than those recently
proposed by ICANN. Many have criticized ICANN's new suffix choices for
being too few and too narrowly focused.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,42201,00.html
http://www.new.net

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

> World Wrestling Federation, Account Executive - New York City

Internet advertising sales candidates will possess strong entrepreneurial
work habits, at least two plus years media sales experience (including at
least one year selling ".com" advertising), and have established
advertising contacts at both the advertiser direct and agency level. Send
resumes to:
resume@wwfent.com
http://www.wwf.com
______________________

> Forbes Magazine, Asst. Marketing Mgr./Internet - New York City

Opportunity to work on Forbes Magazinešs Internet subscription programs.
You'll have reporting & analysis responsibilities and assist in creating
internet promotions. Proficiency in Excel required. Strong analytical,
organizational and planning skills, plus 6+ months consumer marketing
preferred. Send resumes to:
jobs@forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com
______________________

> BuzzHits, Inc., Music Titler - San Francisco

BuzzHits is a technology & services provider that delivers mobile impulse
response solutions for advertising purposes. Quickly & accurately identify
title and artist of songs played on Country or R&B/Oldies format. Ability
to "Name the Tune" in 5 notes or less - 100% accuracy. 2 years radio, DJ
and/or music background preferred. Send resumes to jobs@buzzhits.com.
http://www.buzzhits.com

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

> Artesia, Digital Asset Management Seminar -- SF, LA, Atlanta, NY, DC

Did you know that the average ROI for an enterprise Digital Asset
Management solution is between 9 and 18 months? Artesia Technologies
invites you to a free seminar on digital asset management. Our discussion
will include up-to-the-minute analysis presented for the first time and
speakers from The GartnerGroup, analyst Frank Gilbane and PwC. San Fran
on 3/8, LA on 3/9, Atlanta on 3/13, New York City on 3/14, and DC on 3/16.
Send inquiries to personalseminar@artesia.com
To register go to http://www.artesia.com/seminar/index1.html
______________________

> Cannes Interactive Forum, May 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.mediatekla.com
______________________

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