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March 10, 2004 --
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Main Stories
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French Copyright Holders Threaten Apple Over Unpaid iPod Tariffs
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Napster, IBM Launch Bandwidth-Conserving Application for Networks
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Online CD Recognition Service Gracenote Raises $13 Million
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Interplay Sues Game Developer BattleBorne Over "Airborne" Contract
> DMW Announcements:
--DMW Events
Games & Mobile Forum -
Early-Bird Registrations > Featured
Advertisement:
--Digital Media Law Report
--Reach Federal Contractors Selling Technologies for Homeland
Security
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o
Briefly Noted: Harry Fox Agency
- ringtone providers, T-Mobile UK - Caller Tunes, BBC - "One-Minute
Movies," Mag Rack - On Command, The Music Engine, RazorPop -
TrustyFiles, Ubisoft - "CSI: Miami," Midway Games - "The Suffering,"
Majesco - "Mighty Beanz," Activision - "Tenchu: Return From
Darkness," THQ - "SpongeBob" bundle, Konami - "Firefighter F.D. 18,"
House Subcommittee Hearing: "Section 115 of the Copyright Act: In
Need of Update?"
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>
Job/Event/Marketplace Classifieds:
--Inside Sales Professional
--Research Manager
--Business Development Associate - Silver Spring, MD
--Sales and Marketing Professionals
--New Business Analyst
--General Counsel in Search of a Two Great Companies
--PricewaterhouseCoopers' Entertainment and Media Outlook
--IT Perm and Contract Placement Services
--Irides: Fully Managed Dedicated Hosting
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o French Copyright Holders Threaten
Apple Over Unpaid iPod Tariffs
Paris -- A French music copyright holders group has threatened
legal action against Apple Computer, over the company's refusal to
pay tariffs on its iPod digital music players intended to reimburse
labels and musicians for sales lost to piracy, the Associated Press
reported on Wednesday. France, like Canada and several other
countries, imposes extra fees on sales of blank tapes, CDs and other
media such as hard drives contained in digital music players like
the iPod that are then doled out to musicians and other rights
holders as a means of compensating them for the assumed unauthorized
copying that the blank media facilitate. The Society of Music
Creators, Composers and Publishers (Sacem) said in a statement that
unless Apple begins paying the fees on iPods it sells in France, the
group "will have no other option than to go immediately to court to
make sure that the rights of artists, composers and producers are
respected." Sacem estimates that Apple sold 20,000 iPods in France
last year. The fees for hard drives vary by capacity, but AP noted
that the tariff on a 40GB French iPod ($677) would equate to $24.63.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N1C732DA7
_____________________________________________
o Napster, IBM
Launch Bandwidth-Conserving Application for Networks
Los Angeles -- Napster on Wednesday announced a new "Super Peer"
application that uses IBM technology to help businesses,
universities and Internet service providers conserve bandwidth while
facilitating the streaming and download of digital music. The system
utilizes IBM eServer BladeCenter systems running Linux, along with
IBM support services to cache popular Napster content in on-site
servers managed by Napster, reducing bandwidth and preserving the
service quality of other network traffic. Both Penn State University
and The University of Rochester, which reached deals with Napster to
offer their students access to Napster at reduced costs, will launch
the IBM Super Peer application on their networks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040310/law027_1.html
http://www.napster.com
_____________________________________________
o Online CD
Recognition Service Gracenote Raises $13 Million
Emeryville, Calif. -- Gracenote, a provider of information
services for digital music and media, said that it has landed $13
million in its fourth round of funding, led by Bessemer Venture
Partners. Previous investors Sequoia Capital, Scott Jones and Simon
Investments also participated in the round, which the company will
use, in part, to expand its staff and accelerate product
development. Gracenote's technology, used by makers of digital music
and entertainment products, provides such functions as music
identification, automatic file formatting and cleaning, automatic
playlists and links to related content. Customers include Alpine,
Clarion JVC, Gibson Audio, Kenwood, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer,
RCA, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Yamaha. The technology
also is used in media players, including AOL's Winamp, Apple's
iTunes and RealNetworks' RealPlayer.
http://www.gracenote.com/corporate/press/article.html/date=2004030800
____________________________________________
o Interplay
Sues Game Developer BattleBorne Over "Airborne" Contract
Los Angeles -- Video game publisher Interplay Entertainment has sued
game developer BattleBorne Entertainment in a contract dispute over
a game called "Airborne," Reuters reported. In the lawsuit, filed in
Los Angeles Superior Court, Interplay says that Reno, Nev.-based
BattleBorne has refused to return a $250,000 advance on "Airborne"
after the developer terminated its agreement to finish the game.
BattleBorne has since negotiated a deal with Acclaim to publish
"Airborne." Irvine, Calif.-based Interplay is seeking to reclaim
rights to the game, in addition to repayment of the $250,000
advance.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O2DA11DA7
http://www.interplay.com
http://www.battleborne.com
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> DMW Events:
2nd
Annual
GAMES & MOBILE FORUM
April 15,
2004
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New York City
www.gamesandmobile.com
OVERVIEW
Games & Mobile Forum is 1-day executive forum focused on business
and technology developments impacting games and mobile
entertainment. In 2003, leading executives from entertainment
and technology companies including, Yahoo! Games, AOL Games,
Atari, Acclaim, Warner Bros. Online, AtomShockwave, CNET,
Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Endeavor Agency, Mythic
Entertainment and Digital Bridges participated in a series of
panels on topics, including "Mobile Games: The Coming Wireless
Revolution", "Developing Games Based on Film, Television & Music
Properties and Visa-Versa"", and "Advergames: Recent Developments
& Opportunities".
CONFIRMED
SPEAKERS
Greg Ballard - CEO, Sorrent
Matt Bromberg - GM, AOL Games
Jason Rubinstein - GM, Ubi.com, Ubi Soft Entertainment
Don Ryan - Studio Manager, Microsoft's Zone.com
Scott Jensen - VP, Business Development, Media &
Entertainment, Mforma
Gordon Bellamy - Executive Dir., The Academy of
Interactive Arts & Sciences
Mike Cartabiano - President, Sennari Mobile
Lee Crawford - Editor, IGDA Mobile Games whitepaper
Ron DiNicola - Partner, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
Michael Dowling - VP, Business Development, Nielsen
Entertainment
Keith Ferrazzi - CEO, YaYa Media
Russell Frackman - Partner, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
LLP
John Kilcullen - President & Publisher, Billboard
Information Group
Brian Robbins - Editor, IGDA Downloadable Games whitepaper
Dan Scherlis - CEO, Etherplay
Ned Sherman - Co-Founder & CEO, Digital Media Wire
Joseph Varet - Vice President, Groove Alliance
John Welch - Chair, IGDA Online Games SIG, VP,
AtomShockwave Corp.
REGISTRATION
Early Bird Special: $ 195 (until March 12)
Pre-Registration: $ 295 (until April 9)
Registration: $ 395 (after April 9)
Online :
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1060
Phone: 323-464-0793
To
submit speakers for the 2004 conference, please send a bio and
photo (optional) to Tinzar Than, VP, Marketing & Events, Digital
Media Wire, Inc. at
tinzar@digitalmediawire.com.
Past Events
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Sponsorship Materials
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Partners & Clients
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> Featured Advertisement:
Digital
Media Law Report
New Featured Section
- Volume
1 - 2004
We are pleased to announce that we have added a "Featured
Section" to Digital Media Law & Policy Report. This month's
featured coverage includes reports on the oral arguments held
before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in MGM v. Grokster and a
"Post-Conference Report" from MidemNet 2004. We will use this
section to provide in depth coverage of certain cases, events and
policy developments each month. Subscriptions
-
Order
Available Now - Volume 1 - 2004 Report - 30 pages
-
Order
___________________
> Reach Federal Contractors Selling Technologies for Homeland
Security
The 2003-2004 Directory of Homeland Security has complete
listings for 532 companies selling technologies and services
devoted to homeland defense. Nearly all major federal contractors
are included in the section, which includes company names, key
personnel, addresses, phone and fax numbers, urls, annual
revenues, number of employees, business sector, general
descriptions and homeland security relevance. To order the
2003-2004 edition,
click here.
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o Briefly Noted:
(New York) The Harry Fox Agency, the licensing body of the National
Music Publishers Association, announced that it has reached separate
licensing agreements with cell phone ringtone providers Dwango North
America, For-Side.com USA Ltd., Improvista Interactive and Sharp
Robot. The deals cover monophonic, polyphonic and pre-recorded
ringtones (also known as master clip ringtones) distributed by the
firms in the U.S.
http://www.harryfox.com
http://www.dwango.com
(Frankfurt) T-Mobile UK announced on Wednesday that it has
introduced a ring-back tone service in the U.K. called Caller Tunes.
The service, which allows customers to replace the standard ring
their callers hear with a range of recorded music, will cost $2.70
per tune, in addition to a $1.80 monthly rental fee, the company
said. Industry experts estimate that the overall European market for
ring-back tones could be as large as $1.2 billion annually.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?X20C24CA7
(London) The BBC announced on Wednesday that it has launched a new
website designed for aspiring film directors called "One-Minute
Movies." The site, which also provides hints and tips on basic
filmmaking, allows anyone to produce a short one-minute move and
publish it on the Internet. Users can also access free downloadable
soundtrack music from its archives to use for their films, the BBC
said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/oneminutemovies
(New York) Mag Rack, a video magazine video-on-demand service from
Rainbow Media Holdings, said on Wednesday that it has partnered with
On Command to distribute its content through the company's
video-on-demand service for hoteliers. Five of Mag Rack's programs
were introduced in February for 300,000 of On Command's 1 million
serviced hotel rooms.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040310/nyw013_1.html
http://www.oncommand.com
http://www.magrack.com
(London) The Music Engine, a U.K.-based provider of digital music
services, said on Wednesday that next week it will launch an offer
for labels to digitize their song catalogs for sale as downloads for
free, taking only a percentage of the profit when downloads are
delivered to buyers. The company charges 2 pence per MB downloaded,
meaning that its cut on an average song download would be about
$0.16. The company also offers free creation of ringtones for
selected tracks, as well as logos, wallpaper and SMS/MMS content.
The company said that Siouxsie Sioux and label Hydrogen Dukebox have
signed on to use its services.
http://www.themusicengine.com
(Dallas) Software developer RazorPop has announced the release of a
peer-to-peer file-sharing application called TrustyFiles, which
allows users to search both on the popular FastTrack network (Kazaa,
Grokster) and on the Gnutella and Gnutella 2 networks. Dallas-based
RazorPop says the application contains no "spyware" or additional
bundled software.
http://www.trustyfiles.com
(San Francisco) Ubisoft Entertainment announced that it has acquired
the rights from CBS Consumer Products to produce PC games based on
the network's "CSI: Miami" TV series. Ubisoft has already developed
titles based on CBS' original "CSI" series. The company said 369
Interactive will develop the new title for a winter 2004 release.
http://www.ubisoft.com
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi_Miami
(Chicago) Midway Games has shipped its "The Suffering" title for
PlayStation 2 and Xbox to North American retailers. Chicago-based
Midway said it will support the action horror game with a national
print, TV and online ad campaign.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040308/85237_1.html
http://www.midway.com
(Edison, N.J.) Video game publisher Majesco said on Wednesday it has
licensed the rights from Spin Masters to develop games based on the
collectible toy line "Mighty Beanz." Spin Masters said that it
shipped over 10 million units of the Mexican jumping beans-inspired
toys during 2003.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040310/105144_1.html
http://www.majescogames.com
http://www.mightybeanz.com
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Video game publisher Activision has released
its "Tenchu: Return From Darkness" title for Microsoft Xbox.
Developed by K2, Ltd. in conjunction with Prosoft Corp., the game
feature online play through Microsoft's Xbox Live service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040309/latu056_1.html
http://www.activision.com
(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) Game developer THQ said on Wednesday that
it has bundled two popular PC titles based on Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob
SquarePants" series, and will sell the pair for $19.95. "SpongeBob
SquarePants: Employee of the Month" and "SpongeBob SquarePants:
Operation Krabby Patty" will now be sold together as the "SpongeBob
SquarePants Krusty Kollection."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040310/105132_1.html
http://www.thq.com
(Redwood City, Calif.) Japanese game developer Konami announced that
it has released "Firefighter F.D. 18" for PlayStation 2 in North
America.
http://www.konami.com/usa/press/firefighter030904.html
(Washington) The U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on
Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold an
oversight hearing on Thursday entitled, "Section 115 of the
Copyright Act: In Need of Update?" The hearing will examine the
music industry's compulsory licensing scheme, which allows use of
copyrighted music provided that users pay royalties to rights
holders. Record labels, publishers and performing rights
organizations battled over the minutiae of Section 115 with regard
to digital music and "limited" downloads and streaming services. A
live streaming webcast of the hearing will be available from the
link below.
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/schedule.htm
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>
Classifieds:
> Inside Sales Professional
A PG county Commercial and Government solutions specialist seeks
a dynamic inside sales professional. Candidate must have 3 years
of inside sales experience demonstrating software sales, 2 years
of Business to Business software or solutions sales. Media
Relations and Government relations a plus. ASP, ON Demand or web
based sales a plus. Salary to 50k plus with total compensation to
130k. Send resumes to
mark@allandavidrecruiters.com
___________________
> Research Manager
Strong Research Manager needed for Interactive consultancy with
major blue chips clients. Experience in primary, secondary
research along with quantitative testing and questionnaire
development are required. This position would require relocation.
Send resumes to
info@market-search.net
___________________
> Business Development Associate - Silver Spring, MD
Looking for a rewarding career opportunity with the freedom to
ultimately build a client base? Strategic Communications Group,
Inc. (Strategic) is seeking a Biz Dev Assoc to accomplish lead
generation, qualification & subsequent follow-on activities; PR
agency, professional services or consultative sales experience is
preferred. Track record of success in lead generation and
qualification required; minimum 2 years work experience. Send
resumes to
careers@gotostrategic.com
__________________
> Sales and Marketing Professionals
AllanDavid Recruiters Inc. a permanent placement recruiting
firm has opened its doors in the Mid-Atlantic region. We are
looking for entry-level and Senior Sales/Marketing professionals
in the fields of Government, Pharmaceutical, Information
Technology and Medical Device and Supply. If you are looking to
work for a Leader in your prospective field, send resumes to
mark@allandavidrecruiters.com
__________________
> New Business Analyst
John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. requires a self motivated
individual that has an eye for detail. The primary responsibility
include, processing of all new business for LTC, working with
vendors to request underwriting requirements, supporting case
management, registering applicants into our administrative system
and being able to meet department standards for quality and
quantity of work. Other responsibilities include: issuing
business on administrative platform, producing, binding, and
mailing policies; verifying quality of data entry and issuance.
Apply online at
http://www.jhancock.com/jobs Click on Search for Open
Positions at JH. Enter Job Code: 2299 in the Job I.D. Field
___________________
> General Counsel in Search of a Two Great Companies
I am looking for two medium sized companies in the Md/DC/NoVa
area, to act
as General Counsel for each half time. For 12 years, I was head
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property
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have 3
years as partner at an American Lawyer top 100 law firm. Very
wide legal
background. If you have been paying too much to outside counsel
but are
not yet ready to commit to a fulltime GC, please reply to
WCBR@att.net No
headhunters, please.
___________________
> PricewaterhouseCoopers' Entertainment and Media Outlook
Purchase the book every entertainment and media executive must
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More
Information
___________________
> IT Perm and Contract Placement Services
Technical Staffing Solutions specializes in recruiting the hard
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___________________
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About Us
Digital Media Wire, Inc. is a news organization, publisher and
events company serving the digital media industry since May 2000.
Our daily newsletter delivers original briefings on
business, legal and financial developments shaping digital media and
read by over 30,000 executives and professionals. To
subscribe for free, please
click here.
Digital Media Wire, Inc. is part of the Tech Wire Media Group, an
international network of publications that includes Digital Media
Law Report, Potomac Tech Wire, New England Tech Wire, Southeast Tech
Wire, Bay Area Tech Wire, Tri-state Tech Wire and European Tech
Wire. The network reaches more than 70,000 individuals from over 70
countries each business day.
Advertising & Sponsorship
Publications, Events & Information
Executive & Editorial Team
Chief Executive Officer: Ned Sherman
VP, Marketing & Events: Tinzar Than
Editor: Mark Hefflinger
Contact Us
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Copyright 2004 Digital Media Wire, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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