archives

o AT&T to Scale Back Interactive TV Plans
o AOL Time Warner Acquires New Economy Publication Business 2.0
o Digital Media Storage Firm DataPlay Raises $55 Million
o Game Developer Moderngroove Raises $20 Million
o Music Site Vitaminic to Acquire PeopleSound.com
o MetaTV Names New CEO Amid Rape Charges Against Former Chief Executive
o Interactive Webcaster E-StudioLive Raises $4 Million in Second Round
o Digital Asset Marketplace TurboSquid Raises $5.1 Million in First Round
> DMW & socalTECH Seminar: Digital Asia -- June 20 | Los Angeles
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: iTV -- June 27 | San Francisco
o Briefly Noted: SunnComm - Sound Choice Karaoke, Scientific Atlanta - Two
Way TV, Video Pipeline - Lion's Gate Pictures, ISPs - piracy, AOL -
Aimster, Nintendo Game Boy
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> Job Postings: New Media Designer, Product Manager, Director of Product
Management

> Events/Services: "Wireless 2001," "Loyola Marymount MBA in the Media,"
"Investing in Early Stage Deals," "Tickets On-Sale for Sensory Circus"

Full Job/Event/Services 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/Service: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o AT&T to Scale Back Interactive TV Plans

New York -- AT&T will scale back its plans to offer an interactive
television set-top box with advanced features in favor of two simpler
devices, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The advanced features
that will not be included in the simpler boxes include personal video
recording capabilities and a high-speed modem. The scaled-back set-tops
will still offer email and Internet access, an interactive program guide
and video-on-demand. The news is a blow to Microsoft, which invested $5
billion in AT&T after the company said it would use Microsoft's iTV
software to run its set-tops.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010607/tc/at_t_set_top_box_1.html
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6221523.html?tag=mn_hd
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o AOL Time Warner Acquires New Economy Publication Business 2.0

New York -- Confirming earlier published reports, AOL Time Warner's
Fortune Group announced on Friday that it will acquire new economy
publication Business 2.0. The Wall Street Journal reports a purchase price
of $68 million. The company will combine Business 2.0 with its struggling
eCompany Now title and re-launch it as a monthly publication in September.
The Business 2.0 website will be folded into the eCompany Now site, which
will be re-launched at the Business2.com Web address.
http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_num=55251991
http://www.ecompany.com/business2/0,,12162,00.html
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=32578&pod_id=7
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o Digital Media Storage Firm DataPlay Raises $55 Million

Boulder, Colo. -- DataPlay, a developer of quarter-sized recordable discs
that hold digital media, announced on Friday that it has raised $55
million in its latest round of venture financing. Investors in the round
included Eastman Kodak, Intel Capital, Olympus Optical Company, Trans
World Entertainment, meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Imation, Sequel Venture
Partners, Colorado PERA, Portage Venture Partners, SG Cowen Securities,
A.G. Edwards Capital, Graystone Ventures and musician David Crosby.
Colorado-based DataPlay's optical storage discs hold music, video, digital
images, games and software. One of its 500MB discs can hold 11 hours of
music downloads or five complete pre-recorded albums of CD-quality music,
hundreds of high-resolution photographs or dozens of games. The company
expects to release its first blank discs this fall, which will retail for
$10 each, and will release discs with pre-recorded content such as music
by the fourth quarter of 2001.
http://www.dataplay.com/jsp_files/en/news/pressreleasesdesc.jsp?pressrelease=pressrelease-desc-01-06-08
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o Game Developer Moderngroove Raises $20 Million

Vancouver, B.C. -- Moderngroove, a developer of video games for game
consoles and the PC, announced on Friday that it has raised $20 million
from an undisclosed institutional investor. The company has developed a
music-based title that combines DJ-driven electronic music with 3-D visual
graphics. The company will use the funds to develop new console games as
well as to test its proprietary network architecture. Nevada-based
Moderngroove operates a design studio in Vancouver, B.C.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010608/0159_2.html
http://www.moderngroove.com
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o Music Site Vitaminic to Acquire PeopleSound.com

Milan, Italy -- Vitaminic, which operates music entertainment websites in
the U.S. and a number of European countries, announced on Friday that it
will acquire PeopleSound.com, a music entertainment site and industry
resource, in a stock deal worth about $28.8 million. Peoplesound's
shareholders will own about 19 percent of the combined company after the
transaction. While Italy-based Vitaminic offers downloads from mainly
independent artists in each country it targets, it also has negotiated to
sell digital music from three major record labels. London-based
PeopleSound.com provides consumers with music news, reviews and free
downloads. It also lets musicians post their own music to the site and
offers business services like licensing, marketing and syndication to the
recording industry.
http://www.vitaminic.com/press/peoplesound.pdf
http://www.peoplesound.com
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o MetaTV Names New CEO Amid Rape Charges Against Former Chief Executive

Sausalito, Calif. -- MetaTV, a developer of software for iTV portal and
enhanced TV content production, announced on Friday that it has appointed
co-founder and president Andrew S. Lev as president and CEO of the
company. Lev replaces Ranjit Sahota, who the company said is on
administrative leave. Sahota was recently arrested by the FBI and
Sunnyvale, Calif. police for allegedly seducing a 12-year-old girl on the
Internet and then raping her in a Sunnyvale motel. The FBI arrested Sahota
in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco last weekend during an undercover
operation where Sahota allegedly conversed online with an FBI agent posing
as a 14-year-old girl with whom he arranged to meet in the park. The
company has not commented on the arrest, other than to say that it relates
to Sahota's "personal activities entirely unrelated to company
operations." The Wall Street Journal reported that Sahota is being held
without bail by the U.S. Marshal's office.
http://www.metatv.com/news/new/06072001.htm
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o Interactive Webcaster E-StudioLive Raises $4 Million in Second Round

Chelmsford, Mass. -- E-StudioLive, a provider of interactive webcasting
services, is expected to announce on Monday that it has raised $4 million
in its second round of venture capital financing. Apex Investment Partners
and Putnam Investments led the round in which other individual investors
also participated. Massachusetts-based E-StudioLive provides businesses
with technology that lets them insert real-time chat and surveys into live
and on-demand webcasts. Its clients include Boeing and Williams
Communications. The company will use the funds for growth and to increase
its market share.
http://www.e-studiolive.com
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o Digital Asset Marketplace TurboSquid Raises $5.1 Million in First Round

New Orleans -- TurboSquid, which provides software that lets artists and
software developers post their creations on the Web for people to
purchase, announced that it has raised $5.1 million in its first round of
funding. Advantage Capital Partners led the investment round; Eastman
Kodak and Intel Capital also participated. New Orleans-based TurboSquid's
software lets users post, price and track the sales of their own assets --
which initially consist of mainly Web-based 3D content -- in addition to
providing a search engine that lets prospective buyers search its
offerings. The company will use the funds for further product development,
sales and marketing and to pursue strategic partnerships.
http://www.turbosquid.com/TSWebsite/Website/HTML/PR13_june7_01_intel.htm
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> Digital Media Wire & socalTECH Present a Panel Discussion:
"Digital Asia: Recent Developments & New Business Opportunities"

Los Angeles | Wednesday, June 20th at the Wyndham Bel Age

SPONSORS:
Jones Day Reavis & Pogue (LA - Taipei), Loyola Marymount Int'l MBA in
Media

This panel of executives, investors and professionals will discuss the
latest developments in digital media, with a focus on business
opportunities, strategies and ventures being created between the United
States and China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14674&Referrer_id=4074

SPEAKERS:
Ravin Agrawal - Partner | EastWest VentureGroup
Bryan Biniak - COO | Premium Wireless Services & YourMobile Network
Eric Choi - Senior Business Development Manager (Asia Pacific) | Akamai
James Hsu - Attorney | Jones Day Reavis & Pogue
Stuart Levy - Co-Founder & CEO | TOKYOPOP
Beth Minehart - SVP Business Development | Universal Studios Television

MODERATOR:
Stephen Liu
Co-Founder & President | Reelplay, Founder & Chairman | APEX

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:
Asian Business League, AINT, Asian Professional Exchange, Asia Society,
larta
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> Digital Media Wire Presents a Panel Discussion:
"iTV: Defining the New Face of Television"

San Francisco | Wednesday, June 27th at The City Club

SPONSOR: UBS Warburg

This panel of players ranging from content developers to investment
bankers will discuss the new face of television, which will include an
amalgam of services like email, IPGs (interactive program guides), PVRs
(personal video recorders), enhanced TV, etc., and what it means for
Hollywood, the tech industry and most importantly, the consumer.
For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14770&Referrer_id=4074

MODERATOR:
Michael Kline - Senior Manager | Deloitte Consulting

SPEAKERS:
David Higley - Exec. Director Technology Investment Banking | UBS Warburg
Bill Niemeyer - Director of Strategic Development | Spiderdance
Jonathon Spatz - Chief Financial Officer | Wink Communications
Nicholas Wodtke - SVP Interactive Television | Sony Pictures Entertainment
***Additional panelists TBA***
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o Briefly Noted:

(Phoenix, Az.) SunnComm, a developer of encryption technology for music
CDs, announced on Friday that Sound Choice Accompaniment Tracks will use
the company's technology on 2 million of its karaoke CDs, in a deal worth
$1 million. Phoenix-based SunnComm's technology -- which claims to
prohibit a user from "ripping" the CD and making copies of it with a PC --
was first used commercially to encrypt an album released by country artist
Charley Pride.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010608/0160_2.html
http://www.sunncomm.com
http://www.soundchoice.com

(Atlanta) Set-top box manufacturer Scientific Atlanta said on Friday that
it has partnered with London-based Two Way TV to provide software for its
interactive television devices. Two Way TV will provide infrared remote
control technology that lets Scientific Atlanta set-tops differentiate the
commands of up to four players engaged in multiplayer gaming on the
system. The technology, for example, will know which home player "buzzes
in" first when responding to a question on a TV quiz show.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010607/atth016.html
http://www.twowaytv.com
http://www.sciatl.com

(Haddonfield, N.J.) Video Pipeline, a provider of VHS tape and streaming
movie previews to video stores, announced on Friday that Lion's Gate
Pictures will use the company's service to encode, host and serve
streaming movie trailers to the Lion's Gate website as well as Video
Pipeline's network of 35 retail websites. The company recently asked a
federal court to rule that its streaming movie preview service is legal,
in response to a cease-and-desist letter sent by Walt Disney's Buena Vista
Home Entertainment that asked it to stop offering the studio's previews.
http://www.videopipeline.com

(San Francisco) CNET reported on Friday on the pressure Internet service
providers (ISPs) are facing from copyright holders, who are increasingly
asking the companies to terminate users' accounts who routinely use their
Internet connections to distribute copyrighted music and movies. The
article examines just what ISPs are required to do under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act when copyrights are violated. "It's one thing to
ask us to take material down," said Sarah Deutsch, associate general
counsel for Verizon Communications. "But asking for subscriber termination
is a very drastic remedy that infringes on people's rights and speech."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6221068.html?tag=tp_pr

(New York) Inside.com reported on Friday on the continuing litigation
between AOL and file-sharing service Aimster. The company lost the rights
to its Aimster.com Web address to AOL in an arbitration panel's ruling of
trademark infringement on AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) software, on which
Aimster piggy-backs. New York-based Aimster has appealed the arbitration
panel's ruling in a Virginia court.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=32604&pod_id=13
http://www.aimster.com

(San Francisco) CNET featured a story on Friday on the competition
Nintendo's handheld video games including Game Boy will face as other
handheld devices such as cell phones and PDAs enter the market for
portable gaming. Japan-based Nintendo's products make up 90 percent of the
handheld gaming market, and also accounted for 23 percent of the total
revenue for the worldwide game industry last year, largely on the strength
of its Pokemon-related games.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6220934.html?tag=tp_pr
http://www.gameboy.com

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

> CCBN, New Media Designer - Boston

Designer needed to conceptualize, design and develop visual interfaces
utilizing user-centered design principles. Ideal candidate will be
detail-oriented, extremely organized, highly creative and aware of tight
deadlines. BA or BFA -or- 2-4+ yrs. exp. in related field. Proficiency in
Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, DreamWeaver, as well as graphic design
principles. Send resumes to: jobs@ccbn.com
http://www.ccbn.com
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> Aleron, Product Manager - McLean, VA

The successful candidate will be responsible for defining, launching &
supporting Aleron's product suite of on-net and private line services, in
addition to interfacing with Engineering, Marketing Communications,
Finance & Sales groups, as well as vendors. Must have proven track record
in product mgmt., 3-5 yrs. exp. in telecommunications - preferably in
Internet, data and/or private line services.
Send resume to: resumes@aleron.com
http://www.aleron.com
______________________

> About.com, Director of Product Management - New York City

The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing product design,
planning, testing, documentation and implementation of company products
and sales integrations. This person will report to the SVP of Product
Development and will be managing a team of top notch dedicated HTML
Producers, Project Managers and Designers.
Send resume and cover letter to Kevin Donovan at kdonovan@about-inc.com
http://www.about.com

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

> Wireless 2001, June 13-14 - New York City

PLATORMS * PARTNERSHIPS * CAPITAL: Wireless 2001 - NYC speakers include James Balsillie, RIM; Thomas Dolby Robertson, Beatnik; Ikuo Nishioka,
Mobile Internet Capital (Japan); and James Brailean, Packet Video. SAVE
$100: REGISTER ONLINE TODAY! Visit www.wireless2001.com/register.asp  and enter "EMKTRCOMB2" for an exclusive $100 discount.
http://www.wireless2001.com
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> Loyola Marymount University, International MBA in Media - Los Angeles

Loyola Marymount's International MBA in Media is a unique 1-year program
for individuals who are interested in the business aspect of the growing
entertainment and media industries. In cooperation with the Center for
Asian Business at LMU, this innovative program is offered through LMU's
famous College of Business Administration and the School of Film and
Television.
For more information, please visit: http://www.lmu.edu/acad/cab/immba/
______________________

Investing in Early Stage Deals, July 23-24 - Boston

With the dramatic changes and new developments affecting venture capital
investing, how are venture capitalists strategizing and doing business in
uncertain markets? Hear discussions from top industry leaders as they
explore the opportunities, as well as the pitfalls, of early stage
investing.
For more information, please email ipakoys@srinstitute.com
To register: http://www.srinstitute.com/cx375
______________________

> Tickets On-Sale for Sensory Circus, June 9 - Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Times calls Sensory Circus a "cool event" and the LA
Weekly says it will be a "Pick of the Week". Proceeds from the event
benefit non-profit, Red Road. To purchase tickets for the event, please
visit
http://www.acteva.com//booking.cfm?bevaID=14341
For more information about the event, please visit
http://www.sensorycircus.com
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