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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- June 29, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Wireless Video Firm Emblaze Invests $6.4 Million in Cell Phone Maker
o Vans Buys Warped Tour From Launch Media for $4.1 Million
o Secure File-Sharing Firm CenterSpan Raises Additional $1 Million
o EU Considering Proposal to Provide 'Net Access to All Homes
o Australia Prohibits Internet Gambling
o Game Development Software Firm Havok Raises $2.9 Million
o Briefly Noted: Napster, Inside.com, Liquid Audio patent, Visiosonic -
Universal Music Group, Digital media taxation, 11 subscription services
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Product Specialist, Flash Programmer, Content Editor,
Sales Associate, Senior Director, Control Buyer/Business Analyst,
Sr. Business Development Mgr.

> Events/Services: "Software Company Moving Sale," "Free WebCast Series:
Delivering Results in Today's Changing Environment"

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 Wireless Video Firm Emblaze Invests $6.4 Million in Cell Phone Maker

London -- Emblaze Systems, a developer of streaming video technology for
wireless and IP networks, announced that it has signed a $15 million
licensing agreement with AlphaCell, a designer of cell phone handsets. As
part of the agreement, London-based Emblaze will invest $6.4 million in
AlphaCell, giving it a 19.8 percent interest in the company. In addition,
Emblaze will provide AlphaCell with a $12.6 million loan that will be used
for research and development and product design. The $15 million paid to
Emblaze gives AlphaCell a license to integrate the company's wireless
streaming video technology into high-end cell phone designs created for
use by large-scale cell phone manufacturers.
http://www.emblaze.com/serve/news/show_news1.asp?id=574
_____________________________________________

o Vans Buys Warped Tour From Launch Media for $4.1 Million

Santa Fe Springs, Calif. -- Shoe and clothing manufacturer Vans announced
on Friday that it will purchase a 70 percent interest in the Vans Warped
Tour -- an annual touring music festival featuring rock bands like Green
Day and Blink 182 -- from Launch Media and the tour's other founders for
$4.1 million. Music entertainment company Launch Media -- which operates
Launch.com -- announced yesterday that it would sell its interest in the
tour as part of its acquisition by Yahoo. In 1996, Santa Fe Springs-based
Vans became the title sponsor of the tour and purchased a 15 percent
interest for $500,000. Then in August 2000, the company sold its interest
in the tour to Santa Monica-based Launch for $7.5 million and additional
considerations that will be forgiven in light of the current sale. Launch
Media will continue to operate this year's tour, after which Vans will
take over. Launch Media also has the exclusive right to sell sponsorships
to the 2002 and 2003 tours. The Vans Warped Tour attracts an estimated
400,000 attendees at shows in around 40 U.S. cities.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010629/2202.html
http://warpedtour.launch.com/
http://www.vans.com
_____________________________________________

o Secure File-Sharing Firm CenterSpan Raises Additional $1 Million

Hillsboro, Ore. -- CenterSpan Communications, which operates a secure
music and movie file-sharing service based on acquired technology from
Scour, announced on Friday that it has raised an additional $1 million to
a round of financing announced earlier this month, bringing the round's
total investments to $6.4 million. The investment came in the form of
stock purchased by undisclosed investors at the same price offered for the
rest of the round. Oregon-based CenterSpan purchased the assets of
now-bankrupt Scour in December of 2000 for $9 million, and has since
launched a new version of the file-sharing exchange with added digital
rights management and limited content from providers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010629/0051.html
http://www.centerspan.com
_____________________________________________

o EU Considering Proposal to Provide 'Net Access to All Homes

Luxembourg -- The European Union is considering legislation that would
force telecommunications providers to equip every home in the Union's
member countries with "functional" Internet access, according to a Reuters
report. The law includes providing for even the most remote residents,
which would incur heavy costs for providers. Individual countries would
have to determine how to compensate companies for providing the service.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/593207.asp?0dm=C21DT
_____________________________________________

o Australia Prohibits Internet Gambling

Canberra, Australia -- The Australian government has passed legislation
that prohibits gambling on the Internet by its citizens, Newsbytes
reported on Friday. The law prohibits Australian online casinos from
offering online wagering to Australians, but allows the casinos to take
bets from countries that allow it. Most all other forms of gambling are
permitted in Australia, and the bill does not affect online sports
betting, such as horse racing, which will be permitted. Oddly, the law
does allow Australians access to foreign wagering websites, and
surprisingly the government has even given local banks the power to refuse
to honor credit card-based overseas gambling debts.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167452.html
_____________________________________________

o Game Development Software Firm Havok Raises $2.9 Million

Dublin, Ireland -- Havok, a developer of 3D software used by game
developers, announced that it has raised $2.9 million in its first round
of venture capital financing led by ICC. Enterprise Island also
participated. Dublin-based Havok -- the entertainment technology wing of
Telekinesys Research Limited -- develops 3D modeling technology for game
developers and graphic artists. The software simulates traditionally
difficult items to render such as cloth and water. The company will use
the funds for sales and marketing of its products.
http://www.havok.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Redwood City, Calif.) Users trying to log on to Napster recently were
told that they must upgrade to a newer version of the software, which
contains "audio fingerprinting" technology that identifes songs shared.
The company said that older versions of the software will no longer work
on the service, and that the decision was "part of our ongoing effort to
comply with the court's orders." Since Napster started implementing
filtering technology to comply with a court-ordered injunction to block
unauthorized copyrighted songs, the average number of songs traded by
users has dropped from a high of 220 to just 1.5 songs Wednesday morning,
reports Webnoize.
http://www.napster.com

(New York) Brill Media chairman Stephen Brill said in an email sent on
Friday to Inside.com newsletter subscribers that in the coming weeks,
"virtually none of Inside.com will be available unless you are a paid
subscriber." The move was expected as part of Brill Media's acquisition of
Inside.com parent company Powerful Media. Brill also announced a reduced
price of $3.95 per month for access to Inside.com content.
http://www.inside.com
http://www.brillscontent.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Digital music distributor Liquid Audio announced on
Friday that it has been awarded a new patent for watermarking technology
that decreases the amount of processing power needed, and "greatly
increases the watermark decoder's ability to detect the watermark inside
recorded music." Redwood City-based Liquid Audio said its digital rights
management technology -- which includes the newly patented technology --
is currently used by over 10,500 artists on 1200 labels. The company
distributes digital music downloads through a retail network that includes
TowerRecords.com and BestBuy.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010629/sff004.html
http://www.liquidaudio.com

(Clearwater, Fla.) Visiosonic, a developer of digital audio mixing
software for professional DJs, said that Universal Music Group will
distribute the company's mixing software on select UMG artist releases, as
well as on UMG-owned and controlled websites. CDs that come with the
software will let users play and remix songs from the album on their
computers. The first release to include Florida-based Visiosonic's
software is UMG label Def Jam's release of the soundtrack to "Rush Hour
2," due July 31.
http://www.pcdj.com
http://www.umusic.com

(Washington, D.C.) House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy
Tauzin said this week that his committee will introduce a bill in July
aimed at prohibiting state taxes on digital goods such as music downloads,
Reuters reported. Currently a moratorium on federally-collected Internet
taxes is in effect, but is due to expire in October.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-06-27-net-tax.htm

(San Francisco) Wired News featured an article Friday on the 11 digital
music subscription services planned to launch by the end of the year, none
of which at this time are slated to offer full catalogs from all the major
and independent labels. The article questions consumers' willingness to
pay for multiple services in order to obtain access to all the music they
desire.
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,44858,00.html

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

> XM Radio, Product Specialist - Washington, D.C.

Reporting to Director of Product Development, this position will manage
radio equipment for demos & tradeshows, in addition to serving as 2nd tier
technical resource for customer care. Work w/ retailers, manufacturers &
marketing to identify operations issues. 3 years exp. in consumer
electronics field, excellent organization & communication skills and
Associate's degree in technology or equivalent experience. Send resumes
to: jobs@xmradio.com
http://www.xmradio.com
______________________

> The Illusion Factory, Flash Programmer - Los Angeles

Flash expert needed for entertainment/multi-media design company
specializing in websites for film/television/multimedia, as well as
specialty e-mail for various clients. You will work w/ art directors in
developing sites translated into various languages. Candidates should have
strong skills in Flash, Photoshop & Illustrator. Experience in Director,
GoLive a plus. Send resumes to: tara@illusionfactory.com
http://www.illusionfactory.com
______________________

> Law.com, Content Editor - New York City

Well-funded Internet service for lawyers seeking Content Editor to work on
New York Web site and other products. Position requires evening hours.
Salary to mid-30s. One to three years writing/editing experience required.
Legal and/or HTML experience helpful.
Send resumes to: kjackson@corp.law.com
http://www.law.com
______________________

> Walt Disney Internet Group, Sales Associate - Los Angeles

Join the ABCNEWS.com/ABC.com sales team. Responsibilities: creating
Powerpoint proposals; prospecting for leads; managing active programs;
providing tracking for existing ad campaigns; quantitive & qualitative
research; & handling clients while all sales reps are out of the office. 1
year experience at an interactive agency. Media background preferred. Send
resumes to: hr.recruiting@dig.com
http://www.dig.com
______________________

>Dittus Communications, Senior Director - Washington, D.C.

Working with the Vice President, this individual will be responsible for
developing and implementing communications programs for our high-tech
clients. Creative writing, strong media pitching, management experience,
solid marketing background as well as 5 to 8 years agency experience
required. Send resumes to karine.elsen@dittus.com
http://www.dittus.com
______________________

> Alloy Online, Control Buyer/Business Analyst - New York City

Alloy Online, a new media and e-commerce company, is looking for a
quantitative person for inventory control, sales forecasting & other
special business analyses. Must be a self-starter who can work within a
team and contribute to building the business. Must have good business
judgment, problem solving & people skills. BS/BA & strong Excel exp. Send
resumes to: bstankard@alloy.com
http://www.alloy.com
______________________

> AGENCY.COM, Senior Business Development Director - Boston

Position is responsible for driving revenue-producing activities such as:
qualifying leads, proactively managing accounts & cultivating senior-level
relationships w/ new & existing accounts. 8-10 yrs. professional
servicessales, successful sales track record and understanding of
eBusiness solutions. Must be able to manage overall relationships w/
clients. Apply online at: http://www.agency.com

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

> Software Company Moving Sale - Los Angeles

An LA-based software company is moving offices and selling various
equipment & furnishings: Uninterruptible Power Supplies (a must for
looming blackouts); printers (HP Color Laserjet 4500, Laserjet 1100 and
many Epson 850s); PCs; firewall; hubs; desks; tables; chairs; whiteboards,
etc. Priced to move. Office located in mid-Wilshire at 3333 Wilshire Blvd.
(near Vermont), Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
For information, please call Barney: 213.365.6545, ext. 204.
______________________

> Free WebCast Series: Delivering Results in Today's Changing Environment

Pacific Edge Software, an enterprise solution provider of project
portfolio management, is joined by webcast speakers Geoffrey Moore, Bill
Rosser & Jim Highsmith to address challenges you face as an executive in
today's uncertain environment. Get expert advice & learn how Pacific
Edge's solution of software & services enables organizations to manage
project portfolios & measure progress toward strategic goals.
SIGN-UP at http://www.pacificedge.com/campaigns/DigitalMedia
or email info@pacificedge.com
______________________

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