archives

o Publisher, E-Book Retailer Argue Definition of "Book" in Court Case
o Consumer Electronics Association Releases Sales Data for 2000
o AtomShockwave Begins Selling Games Online
o Streaming Music Services Firm Supertracks Lays Off 60%, Seeks Buyer
o IFPI Offers Software to Musicians Seeking to Track Napster Usage
o Digital TV Channel Developer TViFusion Raises $10 Million
o Streaming Media Services Provider Streampipe Lays Off 30% of Staff
o XM's Second Satellite in Orbit; Radio Service to Launch This Summer
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: E-Publishing - NYC
o Briefly Noted: Listen.com CEO, Electronic Arts - Nintendo GameCube,
Garageband.com, Generic Media - Palm - Cannes Film Festival, Nortel
Networks - Game Park, Cantametrix - HiFind Systems, Olympics websites?,
E-books - kids
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> Job Postings: PR Account Director, Desktop Publisher, Strategic Alliance
Manager, Copy Writing Project Coordinator

> Events/Services: "SpyWorm's SEX* Awards," "Sensory Circus"

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 Publisher, E-Book Retailer Argue Definition of "Book" in Court Case

New York -- Publisher Random House argued in a New York court on Tuesday
that its rights to publish its authors' titles "in book form" includes the
e-book medium. Random House is asking the federal court for an injunction
against New York-based RosettaBooks that would compel it to stop selling
e-book versions of works by authors like Kurt Vonnegut, who have signed
e-book contracts with the company. RosettaBooks argues that traditional
author contracts are narrowly worded, and that "in book form" does not
include e-books -- where users read text from some form of computer
display -- and can simultaneously access a digital dictionary, highlight
text and perform other features. Judge Sidney H. Stein gave hypothetical
examples such as a poem written in chalk on the sidewalk and asked Random
House lawyers whether or not this was "a book." Random House argued that
the text, not the form the text comes in, is what is important, although
it concedes that audio books are not "in book form." Only eight titles are
at issue in this case, but Random House says that e-book revenues from its
backlist of older titles are what are at stake. The publisher began adding
digital provisions covering e-book technology to its author contracts in
1994. Judge Stein did not give any indication when he would issue a ruling
in the matter.
http://www.washtech.com/news/media/9651-1.html
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=30458&pod_id=8
http://www.rosettabooks.com/pages/legal.html
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o Consumer Electronics Association Releases Sales Data for 2000

Arlington, Va. -- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on Wednesday
released its annual sales report for 2000, which showed growth in almost
all product divisions. The CEA represents more than 625 U.S. companies
involved in the design, development, and manufacture of consumer
electronics products.
Some highlights from the report:
-DVD player sales doubled in 2000 to over 8 million units
-Digital music player sales exceeded one million units for the first time
-PVR (Personal Video Recorder) sales increased ten-fold, topping one
million units
-Digital TV saw sales of $1.4 billion in its third year of availability
http://www.ce.org/digitalamerica/default.asp
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o AtomShockwave Begins Selling Games Online

San Francisco -- Online games and short films provider AtomShockwave
announced on Wednesday that it will begin selling some of its games in
bundles to consumers, which will enable them to be played off-line. The
offer constitutes the first paid content from AtomShockwave, but all of
its games and short films will still be available for free on its
websites. The game bundles will sell for $19.95 for one or $29.95 for
both. The Midway Classics bundle features arcade titles like "Joust" and
"Spy Hunter." The other bundle is composed of popular Shockwave.com games
like "Real Pool," developed by The Groove Alliance and gameLab's "Loop."
http://www.shockwave.com/aboutus/press_releases/05_09_01_shockmachine.html
http://www.shockwave.com/bin/shockwave/entry.jsp?script=/download/shockmachine/
index.jsp%3Fpack%3Dmidway%26p%3D
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o Streaming Music Services Firm Supertracks Lays Off 60%, Seeks Buyer

Portland, Ore. -- Supertracks, a provider of streaming radio services for
businesses, will lay off 60 percent of its staff and is actively seeking a
buyer, Webnoize reported on Wednesday. The company's 25 remaining
employees will wind down operations. Oregon-based Supertracks recently
changed its business plan from selling digital music downloads to its
current streaming radio services model.
http://news.webnoize.com
http://www.supertracks.com
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o IFPI Offers Songbird to Musicians Seeking to Track Napster Usage

London -- The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
(IFPI), a trade group representing the recording industry, is distributing
software from Utah-based MediaEnforcer called Songbird that lets musicians
and others track the activity of specific recordings on file-sharing
services such as Napster. The anti-piracy unit of the IFPI said that
Songbird can help artists find out how their copyrights are being
infringed, and that it is particularly useful "for artists and independent
record companies who are not part of the Napster litigation in the United
States, putting them in a better position to identify unauthorized files
on the Napster network." The software returns a list of all the different
versions of a song being traded on Napster. The IFPI also pointed out that
Songbird could be used as a measurement tool for artists who endorsed
Napster. "The idea of Songbird is not to stand in the way of those who
want to distribute music for free, but to protect the choice of those who
don't," according to the Songbird FAQ.
http://www.iapu.org
http://www.ifpi.org
http://www.mediaenforcer.com
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o Digital TV Channel Developer TViFusion Raises $10 Million

Denver, Colo. -- TViFusion, a provider of digital television services and
developer of digital television channels, announced that it has raised $10
million in its first round of venture capital financing from Warburg
Pincus. Denver-based TViFusion CEO Jeffrey Reiss founded cable networks
Showtime and Cable Health Network. TViFusion will provide sales and
distribution for other digital TV providers. The company will use the
funds for product development, and plans to launch two channels by the end
of the year.
http://www.tvifusion.com
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o Streaming Media Services Provider Streampipe Lays Off 30% of Staff

Alexandria, Va. -- Streampipe, a provider of streaming media services for
businesses, has laid off about 30 percent of its staff, or 20 employees,
Washtech.com reported. The company said the cuts will help it to become
profitable by the end of the summer. The company also reported an
undisclosed investment from a member of the company's board.
Virginia-based Streampipe helps companies to integrate streaming webcasts
on their websites, and recently announced that it will provide streaming
services to financial information service Standard & Poor's.
http://www.washtech.com/news/media/9647-1.html
http://www.streampipe.com
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o XM's Second Satellite in Orbit; Radio Service to Launch This Summer

Washington, D.C. -- XM Satellite Radio, a provider of subscription-based,
commercial-free digital radio programming, announced on Wednesday the
launch of its second commercial satellite, dubbed "Roll." The company's
other satellite -- "Rock" -- is already in orbit, and D.C.-based XM says
it expects to launch its service by late summer. Competitor Sirius
Satellite Radio has its satellites in orbit as well and plans to launch a
similar service this year. Both companies will offer digital radio
stations available nationwide, programmed with a wide variety of
commercial-free music and talk radio.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010508/dctu078.html
http://www.xmsatelliteradio.com
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> 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***
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o Briefly Noted:
(San Francisco) Web radio and digital music search provider Listen.com
said on Wednesday that Rob Reid has stepped down from his position as CEO
of the company, TheStandard.com reported. While Reid will remain on as
chairman, current president Sean Ryan will take on the additional
responsibility of chief executive. The company said Reid will now be able
to focus on the company's efforts to become a streaming music delivery
provider. San Francisco-based Listen.com recently laid off 25 percent of
its staff, leaving it with just over 100 employees.
http://thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24314,00.html
http://www.listen.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts said on Thursday
that it is currently developing ten games for Nintendo's upcoming entry
into the console market, the GameCube. The console will compete with
Sony's Playstation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox. Redwood City-based Electronic
Arts said its "Madden NFL 2002," "FIFA Soccer," "SSX snowboarding" and
"NBA Street Basketball" are among the games in development.
Nintendo GameCube is scheduled to launch in Japan in September 2001 and in
North America in November 2001.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010509/0062.html
http://www.ea.com

(San Francisco) Garageband.com, an online record label and resource for
unsigned musical acts, announced on Wednesday that it will provide more
cash advances and services for a larger number of acts. The "New Deal"
will give the top five bands from San Francisco-based Garageband.com's
bimonthly Top 20 charts an initial infusion of cash as well as legal,
marketing, and distribution services. Depending on the band's ongoing
success -- which is measured by the company's software and judged by its
staff of A&R professionals -- the band will receive more funding and
additional support services.
http://www.garageband.com/newdeal

(Palo Alto, Calif.) Media player developer Generic Media is distributing
its software on Palm Pilots being given to select Cannes Film Festival
attendees, as part of a promotion with 20th Century Fox for the premiere
of its film "Moulin Rouge." Palo Alto-based Generic Media's free software
allows digital video to be transferred to and viewed on Palm's handheld
devices.
http://www.genericmedia.com/news_pr10.html

(Seoul, Korea) Nortel Networks announced on Wednesday that it has
partnered with Korean game developer Game Park to develop a wireless
gaming service for the Korean market. The companies said the service will
focus on multi-player games and will initially be offered to Korean and
other Asia Pacific wireless operators, for 2.5G and 3G wireless standards.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010509/0135.html
http://www.gamepark.co.kr

(Bellevue, Wash.) Cantametrix, a provider of digital music song
identification technology, said on Wednesday that it will combine and
jointly market its technology with Germany-based HiFind Systems, a
provider of categorized music database technology. Washington-based
Cantametrix said the deal will help it to distribute its product to the
European market.
http://www.cantametrix.com
http://www.hifind.com/index?flash=true&lang=en

(San Francisco) Wired News on Wednesday featured an article on NBC's
efforts to find a new partner to develop the websites for the 2002 Salt
Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Quokka Sports -- which developed the site
for the summer games in Australia -- declared bankruptcy last month. NBC
says it has narrowed its search to three companies and expects to announce
a partner "in about a week."
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,43531,00.html
http://www.nbcolympics.com

(New York) Inside.com on Wednesday reported on the major publishing
houses' efforts to develop and market e-books to children. The thinking is
that the industry could benefit in the future if it gets children used to
the experience of reading a book on a screen instead of on paper. "It's
just complete experimentation at this point," said Mary Beth Kilkelly,
director of new media marketing for children's books at Random House.
"We're all just trying to find out what works, how we can convert the
great content we have into the most entertaining and cost-efficient kind
of book experience.''
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=30357&pod_id=8

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Job Postings:
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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
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> 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
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> 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
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> 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

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

> SpyWorm's SEX* Awards, September 13 - Los Angeles

SpyWorm, a webcasting production house based in Venice, CA, is recruiting
thirty filmmakers to each create a 5-minute "reality based" short on SEX.
Each filmmaker will be provided with DV gear, $100 lunch money and three
(3) days of postproduction services. The top fifteen (15) pieces, as
determined by a panel of esteemed judges, will screen at SpyWorm's SEX*
Awards on September 13, 2001, and compete for cash prizes: 1st Prize
$5,000; 2nd Prize $2,500; 3rd Prize $1,000. All interested filmmakers are
encouraged to e-mail their resumes & best short pitch about SEX* by June
15 to
pitches@spyworm.tv
http://www.spyworm.tv
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> Sensory Circus, June 9 - Los Angeles

Art, fashion, music, technology and film come together for the debut of
Sensory Circus on June 9, 2001 at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel in West
Hollywood. This electric and sophisticated event will extend throughout
every ballroom, terrace and rooftop showcasing new bands and DJ's, the
latest fashions, and visual, technological and sculpture artists.
Sponsors include The Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, Digital Media Wire, SpyWorm,
DreamSpan, Lisa Kline, Otto Models and Green Galactic. Artists are invited
to submit works for consideration. To submit an artistic work, inquire
about sponsorship or register for the event, please visit
http://www.sensorycircus.com
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