archives

o Lawyers for Napster Appeal Judge's Order
o Napster Users Downloading Files Ahead of Friday's Deadline
o Reuters: MP3.com Reaches Settlement Deal With EMI Group
o UK-based First Call Cancels Merger With Tickets.com
o FCC Holds Hearing on AOL-Time Warner Merger
o Briefly Noted: Cycore - PuppetTime, Digital Lava,
Virtagame.com, iNetEvents - Live Media Events,
Gartner Group - MP3, Pinnacle Systems -
World Entertainment Network, Z.com - Excite@Home,
TheLibraryplace.com - Alibris, FoxSports.com - Global Sports,
CastPro.com, Spinal Tap - Tapster.com
_____________________________________________

o Napster Files Appeal To Postpone Judge's Order

San Francisco -- A day after a federal district judge issued an order that
would shut down Napster's main service at midnight on Friday, lawyers for
Napster filed a request on Thursday asking an appeals court to postpone
the order. Napster argued in a filing to the Ninth Circuit Court that
Judge Patel's preliminary injunction would result in "irreparable injury"
to the company and would force it to seriously curtail its operations. The
recording industry must file a response to Napster's request by Friday
morning. The appeals court does not have to act on Napster's request,
however, many legal analysts expect the court to make a decision on Friday
because of the high-profile nature of the case. Patel's order blocks
Napster from facilitating the exchange of copyrighted music; Napster could
theoretically make available music that is not copyrighted, but this
accounts for only a fraction of downloads by its members.
http://yahoo.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2363887.html?pt.yfin.cat_fin.txt.ne
_____________________________________________

o Napster Users Downloading Files Ahead of Friday's Deadline

Los Angeles -- The Napster debate officially became a media frenzy on
Thursday, just hours after Judge Patel issued her preliminary injunction
that could shut down much of the Napster audio file-sharing system. Press
reports and chat rooms from around the country told of Napster users
feverishly downloading audio files ahead of Friday's planned closure.
Radio talk shows debated the recording industry's position, as students
downloaded copyrighted material at a frenetic pace. "Download as much as
you can today!'' one Napster user said on a chat room. CNBC reported
Thursday that the number of Napster downloads spiked after the judge's
ruling. Yet others were planning for their own mini-Napster file sharing
services or looking to jump to other file-sharing services such as
Gnutella and Freenet.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000727/wr/tech_napster_dc_26.html
_____________________________________________

o Reuters: MP3.com Reaches Settlement Deal With EMI Group

New York -- Reuters reported on Thursday that MP3.com, a Internet-based
music service, has reached an agreement with the EMI Group. Reuters
reported that San Diego-based MP3.com is expected to pay EMI about $20
million in damages to settle a copyright infringement suit. In the future,
MP3.com will also pay a fee each time that EMI's CDs are used on MP3.com.
Ever since a federal judge ruled that MP3.com could be forced to pay
damages to record companies for its unauthorized use of their songs,
MP3.com has pursued settlement talks with major record labels. The EMI
deal is believed to be similar to two deals it recently reached with
Warner Music Group and Bertelsmann. MP3.com still has not reached
agreements with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000727/wr/mpdotcom_dc_2.html
_____________________________________________

o UK-based First Call Cancels Merger With Tickets.com

London -- First Call International, the UK's second largest ticketing
company, announced Thursday that it has canceled its planned merger with
Tickets.com. The sharp drop of Tickets.com's share price in recent months
scuttled the all-stock deal. At the time of the merger announcement, Costa
Mesa-based Tickets.com was trading around $16 a share; on Thursday, its
stock price closed at $2.75. "The strategic rationale for merging with
Tickets.com was strong,'' said Keith Mills, chairman of First Call
International. "Unfortunately the economic conditions make this impossible
right now."
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000727/l27396706.html
_____________________________________________

o FCC Holds Hearing on AOL-Time Warner Merger

Washington, DC -- At a packed hearing room at the Federal Communications
Commission on Thursday, the CEOs of AOL and Time Warner told federal
regulators that their proposed merger would lead to a "Second Internet
Revolution." However, critics warned that the merger would result in a
reduction of competition, particularly in the cable television market. In
his opening statement, AOL's CEO Steve Case said that the merger would
help lead to "a Second Internet Revolution that reaches as many people as
possible, as quickly as possible -- and serves the public interest."
However, critics said the companies were hoping to leverage monopoly
power. "These companies are positioning themselves to use their status as
the cable provider in cities across the country to favor content that they
have a financial interest in - and undermine the content that they don't,"
said Andrea Buffa, the executive director of Media Alliance.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000727/n27321394.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted: 

(Uppsala, Sweden) Cycore, a Swedish Internet company focused on 3-D
technology, today announced that it will acquire PuppetTime, a San
Francisco-based developer of 3-D storytelling technologies. The financial
terms of the deal were not released. Cycore said the acquisition will
allow it to integrate 3-D character animation into its existing services.
visit http://www.cycore.com

(Marina Del Rey, CA) Digital Lava Inc. today announced that it has raised
$9 million through a private placement of its shares. Digital Lava is a
communications application services provider (ASP) that offers rich media
software applications, including digital video and audio content. The
company said that it has applied for a listing on the Nasdaq small cap
market.
http://www.digitallava.com

(San Diego, Ca.)  San Diego-based Virtgame.com, a provider of technology
for Internet gambling companies, today announced that it has discontinued
its Antigua Internet Casino Operation and is looking to sell its
Constellation Casino and International Sports Market. These sites offered
online casino-style gambling and international sports betting for non-U.S.
residents. The company said it wants to focus its efforts on providing
technology services for gambling sites.
http://www.virtgame.com

(Los Angeles, Ca.)  Los Angeles-based iNetEvents, Inc., a provider of
web-based software for event producers, today announced that it will
acquire Los Angeles-based Live Media Events, Inc., the producer of
consumer-based events and festivals, for $7 million in stock.
http://www.inetevents.com
http://www.efestivals.com

(San Jose, CA) The Gartner Group released a study today that shows that
MP3 users are buying more CDs than non-MP3 users. Gartner said it surveyed
40,000 households in February, and the survey showed that MP3 users are
purchasing three times more CDs on average than non-MP3 users.
http://gartner12.gartnerweb.com/public/static/aboutgg/pressrel/pr20000727a.html

(Mountain View, Ca.) Pinnacle Systems, Inc., an Internet streaming
software company, and World Entertainment Network Inc., an entertainment
web site for world music, today announced an alliance. Under the terms of
the deal valued at $1 million, Pinnacle Systems will be the exclusive
supplier of webcasting software for World Entertainment Network’s live
music webcasting and world music reporting services.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com

(Burbank, CA) Burbank-based Z.com, an Internet entertainment studio, and
Excite@Home, a major broadband company, today announced an alliance that
will increase the entertainment content available for Exite@Home
subscribers. Z.com content will be featured on the Excite ClickVideo
program available to Excite@Home subscribers. Advertisements for Z.com
will also appear across the Excite network.
http://www.z.com
http://www.excitehome.net

(Provo, UT)  Utah-based TheLibraryplace.com, a web site for academic
libraries, today announced a partnership with San Francisco-based Alibris,
a supplier of hard-to-find books. Under the terms of the deal,
TheLibraryPlace.com will provide access to Alibris' inventory of over 10
million rare or out-of-print books.
http://www.thelibraryplace.com
http://www.alibris.com

(Los Angeles)  FoxSports.com and Pennsylvania-based Global Sports, Inc., a
developer of Internet-based sporting goods businesses, today announced an
alliance. Under the agreement, Global Sports Inc. will sell sporting goods
items on FoxSports.com. The service is expected to launch in the third
quarter.
http://www.foxsports.com
http://www.globalsports.com

(Los Angeles, Ca.) Los Angeles-based CastPro.com, a live webcasting
company, today announced that it is the first webcasting company to
receive press credentials from the Orange County Sheriffs Department.  The
press passes will allow CastPro.com to cross police lines and cover other
stories in the county.
http://www.castpro.com

(Los Angeles, Ca.) As part of a publicity campaign leading up to the
re-release of its movie, English heavy metal band Spinal Tap announced
Thursday the launch of a music site called Tapster. A new Spinal Tap song,
called "Back From the Dead," will be available on the site. In
mid-September, the site will formally launch in conjunction with the
re-release of the film "This is Spinal Tap." Artistdirect and MGM
developed the Tapster site. Promising to "be more controversial" than
Napster, bassist Derek Smalls joked, “We’re not unnecessarily concerned
with intellectual property -- this isn’t Harvard, Yale, or Oxford.”
http://www.spinaltap.com
____________________

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