archives

o Record Industry Sees Fewer CD Shipments in First Half of Year
o Fifty-two Independent Music Publishers Sue MP3.com for Infringement
o Musician Peter Gabriel Launches Subscription Music Service
o Digital Jukebox Maker TouchTunes Secures $5 Million Loan
> DMW Panel Discussion: Microsoft vs. AOL | August 30 | Virginia
> DMW Panel Discussion: iTV | Sept. 5 | New York
o Briefly Noted: OpenTV - IBM, Pressplay, MTV - SkyGo, Berklee College of
Music - IntraLearn, New Order, MP3.com, SubstanceTV, BET Interactive -
Oddcast, Vitaminic
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Website Design/Marketing, Director of Strategic Sales,
Client Service Rep., Editor at Large

> Events/Services: "SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival: SOUTHEAST Tour,
August 24- Sept. 22," "Digital Rights Management"

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 Record Industry Sees Fewer CD Shipments in First Half of Year

Washington -- Domestic shipments of CDs from record labels to retail
stores dropped 5.3 percent in the first half of 2001 as compared with the
same period a year ago, according to mid-year figures released Tuesday by
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The total value of
the CDs shipped to retailers fell from $6.2 billion at this point last
year to $5.9 billion the first half of this year -- a decline of 4.4
percent. CDs represented about 90 percent of all units shipped; sales of
cassettes dropped off 41.9 percent compared to last year, while vinyl
sales increased 3.3 percent. "Our companies recognize the fact that more
consumers are looking to get music on-line and are experimenting with a
number of approaches, including legitimate subscription services," said
RIAA CEO Hilary Rosen. "We are committed to delivering the music consumers
love when they want it and how they want it. We are confident that our
year-end numbers will be strong."
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=446
http://www.riaa.org/pdf/midyear_2001.pdf
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o Fifty-two Independent Music Publishers Sue MP3.com for Infringement

San Diego -- Digital music distributor MP3.com, was recently purchased by
Vivendi Universal for $372 million, has been sued by Copyright.net Music
Publishing and 51 other independent music publishers for copyright
infringement, The San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday. The suit --
which seeks $25 million in damages -- claims that MP3.com's streaming
service did not seek permission from the music publishers before
distributing around 1,000 songs to which they owned the copyrights. San
Diego-based MP3.com faces similar suits from a number of indie labels, and
has already paid out about $163 million in damages to major record labels
and music publishers for infringements relating to its My.MP3.com service.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/mp3082101.htm
http://www.copyright.net
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o Musician Peter Gabriel Launches Subscription Music Service

London -- Peter Gabriel, the one-time bandmate of Phil Collins in Genesis
and solo artist known for his collaborations with world music performers,
has announced the launch of a digital music subscription service. The
$7.20 per month service will give users the choice of 40 tracks from
Gabriel, his Real World Records label -- featuring an assortment of world
music artists -- as well as music labels Telstar, Edel and those
represented by the Association of Independent Music (AIM). "The Internet
is allowing small, independent and minority interest music makers to be on
a level playing field with the big guys," said Gabriel. "I am always happy
to see David come home ahead of Goliath." The tracks will be deleted each
month and replaced by 40 new tracks, although users have the option to
purchase a permanent version of any song. Tracks can be played on a PC or
portable player, but may not be transferred to a different PC. A free
trial of the service is available at a link below.
http://www.womad.org/od2/moreinfo.html
http://www.womadshop.com/digitalchannel/
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o Digital Jukebox Maker TouchTunes Secures $5 Million Loan

Las Vegas -- TouchTunes, a maker of coin-operated, digital music-based
jukeboxes, said that it has secured a $5 million loan -- $3 million of
which came from CDP Capital Communications and $2 million from CDP
Sofinov. Las Vegas-based TouchTunes also reported a 42 percent increase in
revenues as well as decreased losses for the current financial quarter.
The company has agreements with record labels including Capitol, BMG,
Universal, Warner and their music subsidiaries to provide digitized music
to businesses that use their jukeboxes.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010820/nym073a.html
http://www.touchtunes.com
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> Digital Media Wire Presents a Panel Discussion:
"Microsoft vs. AOL: The Battle of the Internet Titans"

McLean, VA | Thursday, August 30th at The Ritz-Carlton, Tyson's Corner

This panel of journalists, policymakers and others will discuss the
increasing rivalry between these two monolithic companies -- and how their
competition will affect the development of the Internet for years to come.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCbattle.html

MODERATOR:
Paul Sherman - Editor | Potomac Tech Wire

SPEAKERS:
Declan McCullagh - Washington Bureau Chief | Wired News
Edmund Sanders - Staff Writer | Los Angeles Times
***Additional Panelists TBA***

MEDIA SPONSOR: Potomac Tech Wire

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCbattle.html
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire & iLounge Present a Panel Discussion:
"iTV: Defining the New Face of Television"

NYC | Wednesday, September 5th at the Verizon Headquarters

This panel of players ranging from content providers to middleware
developers 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.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv.html

MODERATOR:
Lydia Loizides - Senior Analyst | Jupiter Media Metrix

SPEAKERS:
Sean Bratches - EVP, Affiliate Sales & Marketing | ESPN
Tim Larcombe - Regional President iTV, North America | AGENCY.com
David Nathanson - VP, Broadband Strategy & Channel Development | FOX
***Additional Panelists TBA***

SPONSOR: Verizon

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Mountain View, Calif.) Interactive TV software firm OpenTV announced on
Tuesday that IBM will use its technology on chips it makes for use in
set-top boxes designed to deliver interactive TV services. The
PowerPC-based IBM chips can be used by different device manufacturers, and
will help add to the 18.2 million set-top boxes that currently run on
Mountain View-based OpenTV's operating system for interactive TV.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010821/210231.html
http://www.chips.ibm.com
http://www.opentv.com

(New York) Pressplay, a music subscription service joint venture between
Sony Music and Universal Music Group, said on Tuesday that is has
appointed Glenn Kaino as executive vice president, head of programming and
creative director; Deborah Newman as senior vice president of marketing;
and Alex Luke as vice president of music programming. Kaino was previously
head of programming and creative director for Universal's online music
site Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub.com; Newman was most recently vice
president of strategic marketing for Chicago-based subscription service
FullAudio; and Luke has served as program and music director at various
radio stations, in addition to launching entertainment trading platform
Spun.com. The Pressplay service is expected to launch yet this summer.
http://www.pressplay.com

(New York) MTV said on Tuesday that it has recruited wireless ad firm
SkyGo to develop wireless advertisements for its upcoming Music Video
Awards. The ads will tie into the online, print and broadcast ads prior to
the event, and will run on wireless networks operated by AT&T, Sprint,
Palm and OmniSky.
http://www.skygo.com

(Boston, Mass.) The Berklee College of Music said on Tuesday that it will
use software developed by Massachusetts-based IntraLearn Software to run
the world's first online music school, which Berklee plans to launch in
the first quarter of 2002. The software will allow students to access
audio and video files developed by instructors, as well as interact with
digital sheet music online.
http://www.berklee.edu
http://www.intralearn.com

(Dulles, Va.) AOL said that its Spinner.com Web radio site will offer a
streaming preview of "Get Ready," the upcoming album on Reprise Records
from British pop group New Order. The album will be streamed in its
entirety on the site from now until August 27. Similar promotions have
streamed Radiohead's "Amnesiac" and other anticipated albums ahead of the
date they are released in record stores.
http://www.spinner.com
http://www.repriserec.com

(San Diego) MP3.com on Tuesday announced its MP3 CD Store, which offers
pre-produced, genre-specific albums filled with up to 110 songs in MP3
format. The CDs are playable in computers, as well as in several portable
players made by Rio, Memorex and Ross and in car players designed by
Clarion, Kenwood and Aiwa.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010821/latu024.html
http://www.mp3.com/mp3cdoverview

(Austin, Texas) The game developers who designed "Max Payne" have launched
SubstanceTV, a DVD videomagazine that the company says will "deliver
high-quality video content that transcends the sound-bite mentality of
today's mass media and uses advanced technology to examine the human
condition through digital eyes." The company chose the DVD format to
address the 25 percent of households with access to DVD hardware, which
include DVD players and computer DVD drives. Eleven two-hour long issues
will be available for a subscription price of $14.95; each issue will
consist of four to six "features" that combine multimedia elements.
http://www.substance.tv

(New York) BET Interactive, the online arm of the black entertainment TV
network, has launched a contest on its site that lets users edit video to
create a video remix of hip hop artist Ludacris's single, "Area Codes."
Technology developed by New York-based Oddcast -- which is also used for
an interactive karaoke feature on UMG's GetMusic website -- is used for
the "Video Cut Creator" contest on BET.com.
http://www.bet.com/MUSIC/0,1821,C-7-67-231642,00.html
http://www.oddcast.com

(San Francisco) CNET on Tuesday published a feature story on European
music site Vitaminic, whose stock price has actually risen since the
beginning of the year. The company has made a number of acquisitions in
the online music space, and caters to a niche crowd of independent and
unsigned artists in a number of different countries in Europe, as well as
the U.S.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6932913.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.vitaminic.com

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

> InternetFuel.com, Website Design/Marketing - Los Angeles

We are a marketing firm looking for an experienced and motivated Webmaster
with a background in web and print design. You must have an excellent
working knowledge of Photoshop, HTML and JavaScript on a PC platform (Mac
available). Duties include: Webpage design & maintenance, online/print
advertising and creative marketing.
Send resumes to: jobs@internetfuel.com
http://www.internetfuel.com
______________________

> National Hockey League, Director of Strategic Sales - New York City

Generate revenue via the sale of online advertising and sponsorships to
league sponsors and non-league prospects. The director will be required to
identify and create sales opportunities, follow up on targeted contacts
and close deals. Must have strong understanding of the Internet and
successful sales strategies, experience in sports and/or entertainment,
and demonstrated advertising sales and marketing accomplishments.
Send resumes to: knova@nhl.com
http://www.nhl.com
______________________

> Verance, Client Service Rep. (Western Region) - Los Angeles

Responsible for the day-to-day servicing of the advertiser/agency client
base, which includes training clients in all aspects of utilizing the
various Media Information Group systems and product offerings, encoding
content, utilizing the website for registering content, producing and
understanding reports and utilizing these reports to further their
respective business. Minimum 3 years advertising industry-related
experience.
Send resumes to: jobs@verance.com
http://www.verance.com
______________________

> CNET Networks, Editor at Large - San Francisco

This newsroom leader is expected to write an average of 1-3 stories per
day if needed, and on a more analytical & exclusive basis than the average
reporter's assignment. Other duties include proposing and writing Special
Reports, news analyses, features and investigative stories. This position
also plays a key role at budget meetings, performs editing functions as
needed and serves as a mentor for less experienced reporters.
Send resumes to: careers@cnet.com and seanl@cnet.com
http://www.cnet.com

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

> SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, SOUTHEAST Tour, August 17th- 20th

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 ultra-short documentaries like
"Peekaboo Sunday," a story about raising miniature horses or "Exotic
World," an inside look at the lives of some of America's first burlesque
performers-- and 57 more shorts! The tour will travel to 30 North American
cities. Southeastern tour dates include:

ATLANTA, GA: The Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center - August 24th - 8PM
ATHENS, GA: The Georgia Museum of Art - September 5 th - 7:30PM
ATLANTA, GA: Cinefest Theatre- September 14th and 15th - 9PM/12PM
ATHENS, GA: The Georgia Theater - September 18th - 10PM
SAVANNAH, GA: Trustee's Theater - September 20 th - 9PM
GAINSVILLE, FL: The University of Florida - September 22nd

More info: http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan
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> Digital Rights Management, September 20-21 - New York City

DRM for Sports, Media & Entertainment -- Learn How To Monetize & Protect
Content, Digital Assets & Intellectual Property. Featuring Forecasts, Case
Studies & Strategies from: AOL Time Warner, Sony Music, NY Times, National
Hockey League, A&E Networks, Microsoft Corporation, BET, Artisan,
Reciprocal, IBM, NASCAR Digital Entertainment and many more!
Contact dmitry@worldrg.com -- mention this ad for a special discount!
http://www.DRMconference.com
______________________

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