archives

o Gemstar CEO Reveals Weak E-Book Reader Sales
o Disney to Move Entertainment Sites Under ABC.com; Layoffs to Come
o Extreme Sports Site Swell.com Secures $2 Million Bridge Investment
o Vivendi Universal Gets Exclusive Games Deal for Lord of the Rings
o Digital Music Samples Provider Muze Lays Off 10% of Staff
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: The Future of Digital Entertainment - D.C.
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: E-Publishing - NYC
o Briefly Noted: Video On-Demand, America Online - Madonna, Worlds.com
patent, Anarchy Online, Music.com - Music123.com, DotClick Corporation
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: PR Account Director, Desktop Publisher, Strategic Alliance
Manager, Copy Writing Project Coordinator

> Events/Services: "2001 Digital Content Conference"

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 Gemstar CEO Reveals Weak E-Book Reader Sales

San Francisco -- E-book reader manufacturer Gemstar-TV Guide
International's CEO Henry Yuen said that Gemstar -- which Yuen said leads
the industry -- has sold only 60,000 devices since last fall, CNET
reported on Thursday. "We know how little we sold," said Yuen. "It is not
for this year to make a big splash." Yuen also said that only 4,000 titles
are currently available for his company's two devices. Thomson, RCA and
Franklin have also begun manufacturing devices designed specifically for
reading e-books; other devices such as Palm Pilots and Microsoft PocketPCs
may also double as e-book readers.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5802177.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.ebook-gemstar.com
_____________________________________________

o Disney to Move Entertainment Sites Under ABC.com; Layoffs to Come

North Hollywood, Calif. -- Walt Disney Internet Group announced on
Thursday that it will fold two of its entertainment websites, Mr. Showbiz
and Wall of Sound, into the ABC.com site as part of a reoganization of the
site. The company said only key employees from the Mr. Showbiz and Wall of
Sound will be moved their current Seattle operations to a consolidated
ABC.com Los Angeles office, but did not provide details about other
layoffs. The move is part of the company's changes to ABC.com, which it
said will more closely integrate its content with ABC Network programming.
The new ABC.com site will also feature content from US Weekly magazine --
of which Disney owns 50 percent.
http://www.abc.com
_____________________________________________

o Extreme Sports Site Swell.com Secures $2 Million Bridge Investment

San Clemente, Calif. -- Swell.com, a sports site featuring coverage of
surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, announced that it has secured a
$2 million bridge investment from previous investors including Matador
Capital, Bluestem, Edgewater Funds and Richland Ventures. The company said
that it is currently determining a proposed amount for its next stage of
capital. San Clemente-based Swell.com also announced that interim CEO Jeff
Berg has resigned from the position, but will remain chairman of the
company. The company did not announce plans to replace him.
http://www.swell.com
_____________________________________________

o Vivendi Universal Gets Exclusive Games Deal for Lord of the Rings

Torrance, Calif. -- Games publisher Vivendi Universal Publishing announced
on Thursday that it has secured an eight-year, exclusive deal with Tolkien
Enterprises to develop interactive games based on the author's "Lord of
the Rings" and "The Hobbit" literary works. Vivendi's Sierra games studio
will develop and release the games, the first of which is being created by
Seattle-based WXP and is slated for release in early 2002 for a
"next-generation console system." AOL Time Warner's New Line Cinema is
currently involved in a massive production that will release a trilogy of
films over the next three years based on the Tolkien stories.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010503/sfth010.html
http://www.sierra.com
http://www.lordoftherings.net
_____________________________________________

o Digital Music Samples Provider Muze Lays Off 10% of Staff

New York -- Muze, a provider of music, books and video information
databases and online and in-store digital song samples, has laid off 10
percent of its staff, or 25 employees, Webnoize reported on Thursday. The
company cited the current market conditions as its reason for the layoffs.
New York-based Muze's databases are used by retailers to provide
information on music, books and video to customers, as well as song
samples from providers including BMG Entertainment.
http://www.webnoize.com
http://www.muze.com
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire Seminar: The Future of Digital Entertainment - D.C.

"The Future of Digital Entertainment: What's Next After Napster?"

Washington, D.C. | Sponsored by Katten Muchin Zavis
Wednesday, May 9th at The University Club

For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=13850&Referrer_id=4074

MODERATOR:
- David Halberstadter, Attorney, Katten Muchin Zavis

PANELISTS:
- Fritz Attaway, Executive Vice President & Washington General Counsel,
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
- Russell Frackman, Attorney, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP,
Lead counsel for the RIAA in their litigation vs. Napster
- Declan McCullagh, Washington Bureau Chief, Wired News
- Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office
- Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association (DiMA)
- Jenny Toomey, Executive Director, Coalition for the Future of Music
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire Seminar: E-Publishing - NYC

"E-Publishing: The Promise Of A New Book"

New York City | Tuesday, May 29th at The Cornell Club

For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14290&Referrer_id=4074

MODERATOR:
- M.J. Rose, Journalist - Wired News,
Author of 'How to Publish and Promote Online' and 'In Fidelity'

PANELISTS:
- Wendy Silbert, Vice President of Media Development, LiveREADS
- Claire Zion, Editorial Director, iPublish.com - Time Warner Books
***Additional panelists TBA***
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Cambridge, Mass.) Falling storage and delivery costs, combined with the
cable television industry's ready adoption of the technology, could make
video on-demand (VOD) services a $9 billion industry in the U.S.,
according to a report released Thursday by analyst firm Webnoize. "Viable
VOD services signify the end of video rental stores as we know them," said
Webnoize analyst Joel Karp. "VOD offers consumers all the benefits of
movie rentals without a trip to the rental store or annoying late fees."
http://www.webnoize.com

(Dulles, Va.) America Online announced on Thursday that it will sponsor
Madonna's upcoming "Drowned World Tour 2001." The company is offering new
AOL subscribers the chance to buy two tickets to a show online on Sunday,
before they go on sale to the general public. Current AOL subscribers
become eligible for the offer on Monday.
http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_num=55251896

(San Francisco) Wired News featured a story on Thursday about 3-D virtual
chat site Worlds.com, and the patent it has been granted for its
technology that allows "multiple users to interact in a three-dimensional,
computer-generated graphical space…" The company is eyeing popular games
like Sony's EverQuest to see if the massively-multiplayer online
roleplaying game utilizes any technology covered by the newly-issued
patent.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,43490,00.html
http://www.worlds.com
http://www.everquest.station.sony.com

(Durham, N.C.) International games developer Funcom said on Thursday that
Anarchy Online, a massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game it has
been developing since 1996, will be released on June 27. The game is
similar to Sony's EverQuest and EA's Ultima Online, but will be based on a
sci-fi world in the future. Switzerland-based Funcom also develops games
for Microsoft's Xbox.
http://www.anarchy-online.com

(New York) Music.com, a website for industry professionals and music fans,
announced on Thursday that it has partnered with online musical instrument
retailer Music123.com to create a co-branded online store. Music123.com
will provide fulfillment for the site, which will sell music software and
recording gear in addition to guitars and amplifiers.
http://www.music.com
http://www.music123.com

(Boston) Digital music marketing firm DotClick Corporation announced that
Gene Fein has been named president of the company. Previously, Fein worked
at ABC in Concert, and is the founder of Extreme, an extreme sports video
distributor. Boston-based DotClick Corporation offers record labels
marketing opportunities through media player software, that provides users
with information on artists to which they are listening.
http://www.dotclick.com

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

> The Hoffman Agency, PR Account Director - New York City

Seeking senior-level PR professional w/ 8-12 yrs. high-tech PR exp.,
strong client management skills and proven media & analyst relationships.
Investor Relations experience a big "plus". Duties include: mentoring
account teams, communicating strategies to client & team, developing
'launch' strategies, product positioning, messaging & creative tactical
ideas.
Send resumes to resume@hoffman.com
http://www.hoffman.com
______________________

> Dow Jones & Company, Desktop Publisher - Washington, D.C.

Seeking Desktop Publisher to produce the Dow Jones Newswires family of
Newsletters. Responsible for producing at least one 8-12 page newsletter
per day, combining text, graphics & data graphs exported from
spreadsheets. Must have 3+ yrs. exp. in daily publishing environment.
Knowledge of PageMaker, Acrobat, PhotoShop or Illustrator required.
Send resume to mary.pergament@dowjones.com
http://www.dj.com/careers
______________________

> ClassMates.com, Strategic Alliance Manager - San Francisco

Seeking someone w/ 3+ yrs. strategic selling exp., specifically online
media products and sponsorships to join the Online Media Sales Team.
Proven ability to exceed quotas of $1M/yr. Strong sales, negotiation &
business presentation skills. Must have a 'Rolodex' of contacts. History
of building strategic relationships online & through traditional brick &
mortar channels.
Send resume to lnguyen@corp.classmates.com
http://www.classmates.com
______________________

> Globix, Copy Writing Project Coordinator - New York City

The Project Coordinator will be an accomplished copywriter with talent for
writing original promotional, advertising, informational and technical
copy. Other duties include coordinating projects, dealing with graphic
designers & printers, securing estimates, follow-ups, trade show support,
proofreading & editing. Minimum 2 years copy writing experience.
Send resumes to xyz@globix.com
http://www.globix.com/jobs

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

> 2001 Digital Content Conference, May 8&9 - New York City

This conference will explore opportunities for new revenue streams,
improved production workflows, faster cycles & lower costs - resulting
from digital content creation, management, packaging and distribution
through consumption. It is intended for established and emerging media,
entertainment, communications and consumer electronics companies.
For more info & to register:
http://www.conference-board.org/search/dconference.cfm?conferenceid=2001286
______________________

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