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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- August 18, 2000
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com 
o CNET: Viacom Considering Major Reorganization of MTVi
o Digital Books Provider Netlibrary Files For IPO
o In Court Filing, Napster Argues Judge Erred
o Briefly Noted: Intellectual Property, United Pan-Europe 
Communications, Musicbank.com - MP3.com, Audible Inc. - 
James Fallows - Karen Breslau, LiveWave - Discovery.com, Reciprocal -
McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, LifeMinders - BMG Music Service,
Soundom.com - SpinRecords.com
 _____________________________________________
o CNET: Viacom Considering Major Reorganization of MTVi
Los Angeles -- CNET reported on Friday that Viacom is considering a major
reorganization of its MTVi Group now that the likelihood of an initial
public offering for the Internet division has greatly diminished. Citing
unnamed sources close to the company, CNET said that MTVi's Internet
properties -- including MTV.com, VH1.com and SonicNet -- are at a
crossroads, with many senior executives considering leaving the company.
"Several people close to the company said Viacom is actively talking about
several options for the unit, including potentially dismantling the
holding company and folding MTV.com and VH1.com back under the management
of their accompanying TV stations," the article said.
http://yahoo.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2555237.html?pt.yfin.cat_fin.txt.ne 
_____________________________________________
o Digital Books Provider Netlibrary Files For IPO
Washington, DC -- Amid increased attention on Internet books in recent
months, Netlibrary Inc., an electronic book technology company, has filed
registration papers to raise $82 million through an initial public
offering. Colorado-based Netlibray said it has digitally converted more
than 28,000 books. The company says it has the largest collection of
e-books, which are primarily provided to academic, corporate and public
libraries. It also sells its technology to book publishers, allowing them
to sell and distribute digital books online. The e-book industry has
received increased attention in recent weeks after Stephen King began
distributing installments of his new novel, The Plant, over the Internet
under an arrangement with Amazon.com. Credit Suisse First Boston is the
lead underwriter for the Nelibrary offering.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000818/tc/netlibrary_ipo_dc_2.html 
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o In Court Filing, Napster Argues Judge Erred
San Francisco -- In a filing on Friday with the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, Napster argued that a lower court judge had erred by issuing a
preliminary injunction that would have effectively shut-down the popular
audio file-sharing service. Napster, which argued that the lower court
judge did not understand its technology, maintained its previous argument
that users of its service are simply sharing music with others. "Napster
is not liable. If our users are themselves not infringing, then we are not
liable for contributory infringement," said Jonathan Schiller, a lawyer
for Napster. On July 26, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, a federal district
judge, granted an injunction requested by the Recording Industry
Association of America, which sued Napster in Decemeber. The appeals court
stayed the injunction last month and is now hearing more detailed
arguments about the validity of the injunction. Napster said it has 22
million users.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000818/tc/napster_lawsuit_1.html 
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(Los Angeles) An Upside magazine article on Friday argued that the
creation of Napster has led to the creation of more intellectual property
protection. "Far from obliterating intellectual property restrictions and
connecting musicians directly with fans, the music-swap program has
ushered in hordes of new music-publishing middlemen and attracted huge new
swaths of red tape," the article said.
http://www.upside.com/Ebiz/399c76f50_yahoo.html 
(Amsterdam) Reuters reported that Microsoft has confirmed that its
interactive TV software will not be ready for launch in October in Europe
as initially expected. The delay could impact Europe's largest cable
operator, United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC), which is developing
set-top boxes for interactive television. Microsoft has an 8 percent stake
in the UPC.  Mark Schneider, the chairman of UPC, said that the October
launch of set-top boxes in Amsterdam would not be postponed.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000818/tc/microsoft_delay_dc_2.html 
(San Francisco) The Associated Press reported that major record companies
are driving hard bargains with online music distribution companies,
casting doubt on the business models of companies including San
Francisco's Musicbank and San Diego's MP3.com. "There are some worthwhile
ideas out there, but everything is still dependent on the whims of the
companies that control the content," Malcolm Maclachlan, an online
entertainment analyst for IDC, said in the article.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000818/tc/beyond_napster_1.html 
(Wayne, NJ) Audible, Inc., a provider of spoken audio over the Internet,
announced on Friday that two noted journalists -- James Fallows and Karen
Breslau -- are creating a weekly political program that will focus on the
2000 elections. The program, called Audible Politics, will be available
free of charge over the Internet. James Fallows is a columnist for The
Industry Standard and national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. 
Karen Breslau is the San Francisco bureau chief for Newsweek. The show
will be about 20 minutes in length and consist of a discussion of
political issues by the two journalists.
http://www.Audible.com 
(Newport, RI) LiveWave, a developer of live interactive video programming
for television and the Internet, has announced a two-year licensing
agreement with Discovery.com, the online division of the Discovery
Channel. As part of the agreement, Discovery.com will receive live video
feeds from the "Giant Ocean Tank" at the New England Aquarium, from the
Gorilla Habitat at the Zoo New England and from Boston's Logan Airport.
http://www.LiveWave.com 
(New York) Reciprocal, a digital rights management (DRM) transaction
services, announced that McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group, a leading
trade publisher, will its service.
http://www.ebooks@mcgraw-hill.com. 
http://www.reciprocal.com 
http://www.contentguard.com 
(Herndon, Va.) LifeMinders, an email marketing service, announced today
that it has signed an agreement with BMG Music Service, a mail-order
retailer of CDs. BMG Music Service said it hopes to expand its customer
relationships through LifeMinders’ direct marketing services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000818/va_lifemin.html 
(Los Angeles, Calif.) Soundom.com, an Internet site that pays users to
listen to their music and pays royalties to artists, said it has signed a
licensing agreement with SpinRecords.com, an independent record label and
online distributor that primarily focuses on new bands.
http://www.SpinRecords.com 
http://www.Soundom.com 
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