archives

o Pressplay Music Subscription Service to Launch in September
o Congressmen Propose Another Bill Banning Internet Gambling
o AOL-Amazon Contract Contains "Takeover Provision"
o MPAA Supporting Disney in Dispute Over Streaming Movie Previews
o Inside.com Founding Editor Leaves for VH-1
o Youth Entertainment Network Snowball Demoted to Nasdaq SmallCap
o Briefly Noted: Electronic Arts - AOL, MGM - video-on-demand, CMJ Network
- Savage Beast Technologies, Ebrary - Learning Network, Wink Communications - HBO, InterTrust - Microsoft, Digimarc
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> Job Postings: Listings Editor, Director of Sales, Sr. Director of Q/A,
Programmer/Analyst

> Events/Services: "SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival - Pacific Northwest
Tour," "New England Tech Wire - Free Email News Service"

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
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o Pressplay Music Subscription Service to Launch in September

New York -- Vivendi Universal executive Edgar Bronfman, Jr. said at an
industry conference that Pressplay -- his company's joint venture music
subscription service with Sony Music -- will launch this September,
MSNBC.com reported Wednesday. Bronfman also said Pressplay will not merge
with MusicNet, a rival service being developed by RealNetworks and record
labels Warner, EMI, BMG and Zomba. "I don’t think Pressplay and MusicNet
will merge, but both will have licenses to all music," said Bronfman. Both
Pressplay and MusicNet will likely launch without the explicit approval of
music publishers, who claim they should be paid royalties to compensate
songwriters. "There’s a healthy debate in the legal communities whether we
can launch without publishing," Bronfman said.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/604491.asp?0dm=C19MT
http://www.pressplay.com
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o Congressmen Propose Another Bill Banning Internet Gambling

Washington, D.C. -- Several U.S. Congressmen have once again proposed
legislation that would prohibit online gambling in America, the Associated
Press reported Wednesday. The bill goes further than earlier submissions
-- which did not garner enough votes to pass -- in that it calls for an
outright ban on Internet wagering, as well as a stipulation that casinos
may not collect debts owed through users' credit cards, checking accounts
or electronic transfers. Australian law currently offers similar
protection, allowing banks to reject claims for payment of online
gamblers' debts. Currently, the federal government is interpreting an
existing law as a means of prohibiting online wagering. However, Nevada
has voted to approve online gambling, and without an outright federal ban,
is tentatively proceeding with plans to introduce such services.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6675105.html?tag=cd_mh
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o AOL-Amazon Contract Contains "Takeover Provision"

Dulles, Va. -- Following Monday's announcement that AOL will make a $100
million investment in Amazon.com, various media outlets reported on
Wednesday that the investment contract between the two companies contains
a so-called takeover provision. The provision buttresses initial
speculation that AOL is eyeing Amazon.com for a possible acquisition. "The
provision, which was disclosed in an Amazon filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, permits AOL to suggest an 'extraordinary transaction'
with Seattle-based Amazon.com as long as the talks can be kept
confidential," The Washington Post reported.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB996020523500254887.html
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o MPAA Supporting Disney in Dispute Over Streaming Movie Previews

Haddonfield, N.J. -- In discussions with a federal judge on Wednesday,
Disney-owned Buena Vista Home Entertainment asked permission for the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to file a "friend of the
court" brief on its behalf. The company is asking the judge to grant an
injunction that would prevent Video Pipeline from distributing streaming
previews of its movies to retail websites. The judge has already granted
permission for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM)
and Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) to file briefs on behalf of
Video Pipeline. Buena Vista is suing New Jersey-based Video Pipeline for
$111 million in damages for selling its streaming video previews to retail
websites, while Video Pipeline has asked for a declaratory judgment saying
its service is legal. Buena Vista's injunction hearing is set for August
8; a full trial date will not be set until late September.
http://www.videopipeline.com
http://www.bvhe.com
http://www.mpaa.com
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o Inside.com Founding Editor Leaves for VH-1

New York -- Inside.com co-founder and editor-in-chief Michael Hirschorn
resigned from his position to become senior vice president of news and
production for music TV network VH-1, The New York Times reported on
Wednesday. Hirschorn became a vice chairman of Brill Media Holdings after
the company acquired Inside.com parent Powerful Media. A number of
Inside.com's writers either were laid off or quit after the acquisition,
and the site has since started charging for the vast majority of its
content, offering monthly subscriptions for $3.95. "I think the good news
is that it is still around for me to miss," Hirschorn told the Times. "My
hope is that in five years someone will say, 'This is such a hack
publication -- it's not as good as it was five years ago.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/25/technology/25INSI.html
http://www.inside.com
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o Youth Entertainment Network Snowball Demoted to Nasdaq SmallCap

San Francisco -- Snowball, a network of youth-oriented sites including
IGN.com and ChickClick.com, said on Wednesday that the Nasdaq ruled the
company does not meet the minimum requirements for listing on its main
exchange, and moved trading of the company's shares to its "SmallCap"
market. Snowball has until September 24 to boost its stock price above $1
or it will be further demoted to the "Over-the-Counter" Nasdaq exchange.
San Francisco-based Snowball's stock has been trading below $1 since
January.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010724/0552.html
http://www.snowball.com
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o Briefly Noted:

(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts will provide games
from its recently-acquired games site Pogo.com to AOL subscribers as well
as on its website. Redwood City-based Electronic Arts will offer 43 games
such as chess and hearts to AOL, most of which offer cash prizes to
successful players.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010724/0399.html
http://www.pogo.com
http://www.ea.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Major motion picture studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM) said on Wednesday that the company's president and COO, David
Bishop, will assume additional roles as head of video-on-demand and
pay-per-view initiatives. Santa Monica-based MGM is one of seven studios
to recently announce endorsement of the Digital Transmission Content
Protection (DTCP) standard, a technology developed by consumer electronics
manufacturers to protect digitally-transmitted video content. The standard
has the potential to bring MGM's and other studios' movies to
video-on-demand systems being deployed worldwide.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010725/0214.html
http://www.dtcp.com

(New York) Music news and information provider CMJ Network said that it
has partnered with music recommendation software firm Savage Beast
Technologies to launch the Music Discovery Network. The service will allow
users to get music recommendations on new and emerging artists based on
their particular tastes, using a combination of CMJ staff suggestions and
Oakland-based Savage Beast's proprietary software. Users can also listen
to samples and then purchase CDs online, or else use in-store kiosks at
Tower Records or other retailers.
http://www.savagebeast.com/press_release_072401.shtml
http://www.cmj.com/discovery

(Mountain View, Calif.) Ebrary.com, an online retailer of copyrighted
educational texts, research and periodicals, said on Wednesday that it has
partnered with educational site Learning Network -- a division of Pearson
-- to create a beta test that offers Ebrary.com's service to Learning
Network users. Mountain View-based Ebrary.com has deals with major
publishers to offer collegiate and research texts to browse and search for
free, but visitors must pay to "copy and paste" or print texts.
http://www.ebrary.com/news/010725.jsp;jsessionid=BFKJJMAKOLAK
http://learningnetwork.ebrary.com

(Alameda, Calif.) Interactive TV firm Wink Communications said on
Wednesday that AOL Time Warner's HBO Network will use its technology to
offer interactive TV content for several of its programs. Viewers of
"Boxing After Dark," "World Championship Boxing" and "Reverb" will have
access to program-specific information, games and quizzes. Alameda-based
Wink's interactive TV offering is currently available to 3.2 million
viewers that have Wink-enabled set-top boxes, which allow them to use
their remote control to interact with broadcasts.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010725/sfw018.html
http://www.wink.com
http://www.hbo.com

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Digital rights management developer InterTrust has
added another claim to its patent infringement suit against Microsoft. The
company amended its claim last week to include a new patent it was
recently awarded. Santa Clara-based InterTrust says its patents are being
infringed by Microsoft's Windows XP, Windows ME, Office XP, Windows Media,
Microsoft Reader and Digital Asset Server, and is seeking an injunction to
prevent the company from distributing these products. The new claim adds
Microsoft's "product activation" technology, which disables software that
users have not registered until they call the company for an activation
code.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010724/2245.html
http://www.intertrust.com

(Tualatin, Ore.) Watermarking security technology developer Digimarc said
Wednesday that it has been awarded its twenty-fifth patent for audio and
video watermarking technology. Oregon-based Digimarc's latest patent
covers its technology that addresses "the perceptibility and robustness as
well as the information-carrying capacity and security of video and audio
watermarks." The company is currently embroiled in patent infringement
litigation against rival Verance.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010725/0011.html
http://www.digimarc.com

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

> America Online, Listings Editor - New York City

Get a start in shopping journalism with Digital City, America Online's
local city guide. We're looking for full-time freelance editorial
assistants to help curate our shopping listings and program our shopping
pages. You should be a web-savvy college graduate with good writing
skills. Journalism background and/or Photoshop experience is a plus.
Send resumes in the body of an email to: doctorvas@aol.com
http://www.home.digitalcity.com
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> H2O Networks, Director of Sales - New York City

Must have the ability to sell products & services ranging from a twenty
thousand dollar fixed price solution sale to a several hundred thousand
dollar integrated services sale. Background in Web Development,
Advertising, Affinity Marketing, Agency experience or other related fields
is a necessity. Ideal candidate will have a network of contacts that can
be leveraged to effect immediate sales. Steady commission possible.
Send resumes to: jon@h2onetworks.net
http://www.h2onetworks.net
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> Aether Systems, Sr. Director of Quality Assurance - McLean, VA

Provide leadership and mentoring in component based, mobile and wireless
enterprise-wide software development environment. Proven track record to
lead several QA teams in various geographic locations. Member of core
development team responsible for Object Oriented, iterative, use-case
driven rapid software development. Manage 60+ and integrate QA initiatives
throughout the development organization.
Send resumes to rcronin@aethersystems.com
http://www.aethersystems.com
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> Music Reports, Inc., Programmer/Analyst - Los Angeles

Duties include database & software design, development, coding & testing
for business applications, as well as trouble-shooting & maintenance of
existing systems. Must have extensive coding experience in a complex
relational database/data warehouse environment that includes title
matching for large volumes of data from various sources designing &
implementing technical solutions for research, data retrieval, delivery
and reporting. Send resumes to: Dbrainin@musicreports.com
http://www.musicreports.com

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

> 9th Annual SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival - Pacific Northwest Tour: Aug. 3-13

SHORT MOVIES! Dreamspan presents the 9TH Annual Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival. Shortspan is a non-stop two hour program of ALL NEW
two-minute-or-shorter films, including Michael Moore's "Testify," Canadian
David Weir's collaboration with Douglas Coupland, "Night Shift"-- and 57
more shorts! The tour kicks off in the Pacific Northwest and will travel
to 30 North American cities! Pac NW tour dates are:

VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Blinding Light Cinema - August 3rd and 4th - 8:30PM
SEATTLE, WA: 911 Media Arts Center - August 9th and 10th - 8PM
PORTLAND, OR: Northwest Film Center - August 12th and 13th - 7:30PM
http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan
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> New England Tech Wire - Free Email News Service

New England Tech Wire is a free daily email service that summarizes the
most important technology, venture capital, and Internet stories from
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and
Vermont. Every business day, readers rely on us for a quick, objective
briefing of the region's top technology and venture capital stories.
Sign up for free at http://www.newenglandtechwire.com
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Copyright 2001 Digital Media Wire