archives

o Gemstar-TV Guide Shares Up 20% on News of 20-Year Comcast Deal
o Music Site Vitaminic Acquires IUMA for $900,000; Will Re-launch Services
o Hacker Magazine 2600 Files Reply Brief in DeCSS Case
o Game Testing and Localization Firm Babel Media Raises $1.4 Million
o B2B Digital Music Provider PlayNetwork Raises $5 Million in Second Round
o Online CD Store LoudEnergy to Return 100% of Retail Profits to Artists
o MP3.com Service to Help Bands Promote Tour Dates
> Digital Media Wire: NYC & DC Interactive Games Panels
o Briefly Noted: "Hardwiring Copyrights," Microsoft "Secure PC," Sony
Computer Entertainment, Launch Media - Palm, AIAS Interactive Achievement
Awards, Jerry Falwell - "Gladiator," InterTrust - Nokia, JavaGaming.org,
USC Asian Films Connections Project
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> Job Postings: Acct. Executive, Acct. Manager, Acct. Supervisor,
BizDev Director

> Events/Services: "Digital Coast Venture Capital Summit"

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 Gemstar-TV Guide Shares Up 20% on News of 20-Year Comcast Deal

Pasadena, Calif. -- Interactive program guide (IPG) provider Gemstar-TV
Guide announced on Friday a 20-year deal with cable operator Comcast Cable
Communications, to provide interactive guides to Comcast's over one
million digital cable subscribers. The agreement includes the integration
of Pasadena-based Gemstar's IPG's for video on-demand and personal video
recorders such as TiVo. Gemstar's stock rose over 20 percent on the
announcement to close at 35 3/16.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010323/0125.html
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o Music Site Vitaminic Acquires IUMA for $900,000; Will Re-launch Services

San Francisco -- IUMA (Internet Underground Music Archive) announced on
Friday that it has been acquired by Vitaminic, an international network of
sites for unsigned and independent musicians, in a cash and stock
transaction valued at $900,000. Italy-based Vitaminic acquired IUMA from
downloadable music retailer EMusic, which had purchased the company in
1999. San Francisco-based IUMA -- which had shut down many of its
independent musician's resources after EMusic announced they would no
longer fund the company -- said all services will be restored within a
week. "When we ran out of cash the staff volunteered -- when the staff
became overwhelmed, the artists volunteered … we are simply too passionate
to let this community die," said IUMA founder and indie musician Jeff
Patterson. When asked if the company will rehire its staff, Patterson
wrote in an email that he "expects to see many of the same faces joining
us next week."
http://www.iuma.com/About/pagePressRelease_17.html
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o Hacker Magazine 2600 Files Reply Brief in DeCSS Case

New York -- 2600 Magazine, which publishes information relevant to the
hacker community, on Friday filed a reply brief in its litigation with the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). 2600 was successfully sued
by the MPAA for posting and linking to DeCSS -- a code originally designed
to make DVDs playable on computers running the Linux operating system --
that can also crack the encryption security on DVDs. A link to the MPAA's
brief submitted on February 27 is also provided below.
http://www.2600.com/dvd/docs/2001/0319-appellaterb.html
http://www.mpaa.org/Press/DeCSSFinalAmicusbrief.htm
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o Game Testing and Localization Firm Babel Media Raises $1.4 Million

Hove, England -- Babel Media, a provider of game testing and localization
services, announced that it has raised $1.4 million in its first round of
venture capital financing from Classic Fund Management. The company will
use the funds for hiring, marketing, infrastructure and to establish a
London sales office and West coast U.S. office. U.K.-based Babel Media's
staff includes linguists that geographically localize game content based
on different languages and customs. The company's clients include
Microsoft, Eidos, Konami, Infogrames and Vizzavi. Babel has game developer
licenses from Sony, Nintendo and Sega.
http://www.babelmedia.com/ht/common/news/shownews.php3?lang=en&newsItem=towering_force
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o B2B Digital Music Provider PlayNetwork Raises $5 Million in Second Round

Redmond, Wash. -- PlayNetwork, a provider of custom in-store digital music
services for businesses, announced that it has raised $5 million in its
second round of funding. Chartwell Capital led the investment round; Cedar
Grove Investments, Talon Opportunity Fund and Velocity Capital also
contributed. Washington-based PlayNetwork equips businesses with digital
in-store music systems that offer custom-programmed music on long-play
CDs. The company also offers software compatible with the system and can
design streaming music networks for large facilities. PlayNetwork's
clients include Starbucks, Levis and Finish Line.
http://www.playnetwork.com
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o Online CD Store LoudEnergy to Return 100% of Retail Profits to Artists

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Online CD retailer LoudEnergy.com announced the
launch of its "100% Store," which gives artists 100 percent of retail
profits from CDs sold on the site. Artists who have signed on to sell
their music through the store include hip-hop group Outkast, Alanis
Morisette, No Doubt, Social Distortion and Bad Religion. Newport
Beach-based LoudEnergy first buys CDs from retail outlets, providing
compensation to labels and copyright holders. The company then resells the
CDs on its site, giving all profits to the recording artists. LoudEnergy
said that free promotion for its site -- which helps to promote unsigned
bands -- provided by participating artists will make up for the lost
revenue from buying and then selling the CDs. Participating artists "have
a large and direct incentive to market and promote the loudENERGY
community and music store, saving loudENERGY millions of dollars in
advertising and marketing costs," said LoudEnergy CEO Ruben R. Lozano.
http://www.loudenergy.com/about_us/press02.shtml
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o MP3.com Service to Help Bands Promote Tour Dates

San Diego -- MP3.com, a music entertainment site and services provider,
announced on Friday a new six-month program that will help bands that post
music on the site to promote their live concert appearances while on tour.
Participating bands will get access to MP3.com data on users listening to
their music, such as the cities they are located in and their email
addresses, as well as $1 million worth of banner ad placements on MP3.com
pages. Bands with at least 10 confirmed tour dates and one song available
on MP3.com can use the information to target ticket offers and other
promotions to their fans.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010323/laf024.html
http://ontour.mp3.com
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> Digital Media Wire: NYC & DC Interactive Games Panels

New York City -- "Interactive Games on the Internet"
MODERATOR:
-Billy Pidgeon, Analyst, Jupiter Research

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
-Greg Costikyan, Founder & Chief Design Officer, Unplugged Games
-Rob Davis, Executive Producer, Spiderdance
-David Higley, Executive Director, Technology Investment Banking, UBS
Warburg LLC
-Frank Lantz, Sr. Game Designer, gameLab
-Joseph Varet, VP BizDev & Strategy, The Groove Alliance

Date: Wednesday, March 28th, 2001
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCgames.html

------------

Washington, D.C. -- "Interactive Games on the Internet"
FEATURED SPEAKERS:
-Phillip Campbell, Chief Creative Director, Quantic Dream
-Larry Cotter, CEO, Sandbox.com
-David Levine, CEO, Butterfly.net
-Doug Lowenstein, President, Interactive Digital Software Association
*Additional panelists TBA.

Date: Thursday, April 5th, 2001
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCgames.html
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o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) CNET featured a special report on Friday entitled
"Hardwiring Copyrights" that dicusses anti-piracy efforts by computer
electronics manufacturers. It also explores the views of their free-speech
advocating opponents who say that consumers' rights are being overstepped
by security technologies. Several companies have announced that they plan
to implement anti-copying mechanisms in future hard drives and other
storage media.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-5211420-0.html?tag=tp_pr

(London) Microsoft is developing a "Secure PC" that will block any and all
copying of copyrighted digital files, U.K.-based technology news site The
Register reported on Friday. The project is currently little more than a
concept, but is listed as a research project on the company's website.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/17851.html
http://research.microsoft.com/crypto/openbox.asp

(Foster City, Calif.) Sony Computer Entertainment announced on Friday that
it has sold 10 million Playstation 2 game consoles worldwide in the
product's first year on the market, including 2.76 million in the U.S.
since October 26. In order to meet its expected shipments of 20 million
games in 2002, the company said it will increase monthly production from
1.5 million to 2 million units this fall.
http://playstation.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Music entertainment site Launch.com announced on
Friday an agreement with handheld device maker Palm. Under the terms,
Santa Monica-based Launch will provide updated daily content, including
music news, concert information, album reviews and exclusive artist
features to Palm device users.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010323/0127.html
http://www.launch.com
http://www.palm.net

(Los Angeles) The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) on
Friday announced the winners of its fourth annual Interactive Achievement
Awards. Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo II for the PC won for Game of the
Year; other winners included Electronic Arts' SSX for Sony Playstation 2
and Square Co. Ltd./Square Electronic Arts' Final Fantasy IX for Sony
Playstation.
http://www.interactive.org

(New York) Evangelist Jerry Falwell has posted his review of Academy Award
Best Picture nominee "Gladiator" on religious-themed site Beliefnet.com.
In his review, Falwell says that "Gladiator" villain Commodus "reminds me
a lot of Bill Clinton. "Also presented are a rabbi's review of "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and a Buddhist scholar's review of "Traffic."
http://www.beliefnet.com

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Digital rights management provider InterTrust on
Friday said it will release technology developed with Nokia to secure
digital music content streamed to cell phones and other wireless devices.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010322/sfth116.html
http://www.intertrust.com

(San Jose, Calif.) Sun Microsystems said on Friday that it will launch an
online community for game developers working to create games based on its
Java programming language at JavaGaming.org. Companies currently
developing Java-based games include Sony Online Entertainment, EA.com and
GameSpy Industries.
http://www.javagaming.org

(Los Angeles) The USC Annenberg Center for Communication on Friday
announced the launch of its Asian Film Connections Project, an online
catalogue of contemporary films from China, India, Japan, Korea and
Taiwan. The site includes film synopses, biographies, commentaries and
video clips.
http://www.asianfilms.org
http://www.annenberg.edu

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

> Artisan, Account Executive - New York City

Creative services talent agency looking for self-motivated salespeople to
sell graphic arts and multimeda talent to adver, design, web and corp
clients in NY. Required: excellent telemarketing and presentation skills.
Sales/design background a must. Fun company, great earning potential. Send
resumes to adrienne@artisan-inc.com
http://www.etalentagency.com
______________________

> Account Manager - Great Plains/West Coast (California)

The Account Manager will develop and maintain a sales account plan in
conjunction with management goals and strategies. Qualified candidates
will have 4-5 years technology sales related experience or knowledge of
financial or business management. Strong communication abilities,
professional attitude,executive presence, and customer management skills
are required. Send resumes to ptw2@careerrewards.com
OR REFER A FRIEND AND EARN $1000
http://www.careerrewards.com/cr/search/jpd.jsp?jobId=2006
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> Hill and Knowlton, Account Supervisor/Technology - Los Angeles

Acct. Supervisor for global PR firm needs 4+ years experience in an agency
with specialized knowledge of technology. Manage accounts and staff, serve
as client liasion, allocate work to staff, manage client budgets, expand
client business and establish communications strategies. Submit resume and
salary history to careers@hillandknowlton
http://www.hillandknowlton.com
______________________

> AGENCY.com, Business Development Director - San Francisco

This position is responsible for managing the overall relationship with
client contacts from a strategic & long-term planning perspective and
acts as the primary contact on strategic client issues. Must possess
5-10 years of successful, professional services sales, as well as a
strong understanding of eBusiness solutions. Send resumes to
sanfranciscojobs@agency.com
http://www.agency.com

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

> Digital Coast Venture Capital Summit, March 28-29 - Los Angeles

The funding climate has changed dramatically during the past year. But
while the rules of raising capital have changed, investment hasn't ceased.
Entrepreneurs and senior management from high-growth companies at all
stages of development -- as well as executives from the financial industry
and from professional services firms -- should attend this event. To
register: http://www.venturecapitalsummit.com/register.asp
http://www.venturecapitalsummit.com
______________________

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