Your Music. Your Choice
- Broadcasts dozens of music channels, reaching 35 million digital cable and satellite TV households
- Extending reach to broadband in late 2004
- Distributes exclusive televised concerts for 44 million cable and satellite TV homes

Main Stories
o Microsoft Launches Beta Version of Digital Music Download Store
o Apple Introduces 5% Commission Affiliate Sales Program for iTunes
o Nintendo Slashes Game Boy Advance SP Price From $99 to $79
o Nokia Ships One-Millionth N-Gage Hybrid Phone/Mobile Game Deck
o Report: U.S. Digital Cable Subscribers to Number 43 Million in 2009
o U.K.'s Monstermob Buys Mobile Content Firm 9 Squared for $2.9 Million
o Report: U.K. Quickly Becoming Nation of Videogame Mavens

o Briefly Noted: Blu-Ray Disc Association - Microsoft, Jupitermedia - eMarketer, iHoopla Music - eBay, Audi - satellite radio services, TVN Entertainment - Widevine Technologies, Zone4Play - Avago, Sony Pictures Digital Networks, Topheavy Studios - "The Guy Game," Eidos - "Championship Manager Online," ESPN Videogames - "NHL 2K5," Activision Publishing - "Rapala Pro Fishing," Napster CEO Chris Gorog
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Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft on Wednesday launched a beta version of its new digital music download store -- a day earlier than expected -- in its bid to challenge rival Apple for a share of the growing digital music market. The MSN Music store will allow users to purchase tracks for $0.99 each and download them on up to five PCs, burn playlists to seven CDs, and transfer tracks to portable devices that support the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. In addition to a standalone store, Microsoft will also sell music tracks through its Windows Media Player 10, which is set for release tomorrow. The site is also integrated with the company's streaming MSN Radio service. Microsoft plans to launch the full version of MSN Music in October, when it hopes to have an expanded library of 1 million songs.
http://beta.music.msn.com 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?X13D51139 
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o Apple Introduces 5% Commission Affiliate Sales Program for iTunes

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple on Wednesday launched the iTunes Affiliate Program, which will reward websites that provide direct links to songs and albums offered in its online music store with a 5% paid commission on sales they generate. "By working with affiliate websites we're not only expanding access to iTunes, but are giving site owners the ability to connect to one of the hottest brands online, creating a quick and easy way for them to generate additional revenue," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of applications. Apple said it has to date sold over 125 million songs from its iTunes Music Stores in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France. The company offers other third-party sales programs for iTunes, providing discounts on bulk purchases of songs by colleges, and also by companies looking to provide downloads in free promotions. Apple said 55 schools have signed up for site licenses to offer iTunes on their campuses.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040901/sfw041_1.html
http://www.itunes.com/affiliates 
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o Nintendo Slashes Game Boy Advance SP Price From $99 to $79

Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Wednesday that it will cut the price of its Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP handheld gaming console by $20 to $79. The company has sold more than 20 million units of the device worldwide, and will support the Game Boy Advance SP's new price point with a national ad campaign entitled "Start Mayhem." Including older versions of the device, Nintendo has sold over 170 million Game Boy handhelds worldwide. "This new price point makes Game Boy Advance SP affordable for the vast majority of the mass market, and gives people a 'gotta-have' gift to automatically put at the top of their holiday gift lists," said George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U14C52139 
http://www.startmayhem.com 
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o Nokia Ships One-Millionth N-Gage Hybrid Phone/Mobile Game Deck

Espoo, Finland -- Cell phone maker Nokia announced on Wednesday that it has now shipped one million units of its N-Gage hybrid cell phone/mobile game deck, since the device went on sale 11 months ago. The first version of the device garnered negative reviews for its design and functionality -- making users remove the battery to switch games and hold the device at an awkward angle to talk on the phone -- but Nokia says its newer N-Gage QD model rectifies these issues. "We're proud to have reached the one million milestone. Thanks to the enthusiastic consumer response to the N-Gage QD and our latest titles, we're confident that our success in leading the mobile gaming world will continue," said Ilkka Raiskinen, Nokia's senior vice president of games. Finland-based Nokia also said that over 100,000 N-Gage owners have signed up for its N-Gage Arena, a mobile gamer community for the device.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040901/ukw007_1.html 
http://www.n-gage.com 
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o Report: U.S. Digital Cable Subscribers to Number 43 Million in 2009

New York -- While overall cable TV subscriber growth will remain flat through 2009, digital cable subscribers will increase at an 11% compound annual growth rate, from 26 million households in 2004 to 43 million in 2009, according to a report from New York-based Jupitermedia. The firm says that cable firms must promote services like digital video recording and electronic program guides to boost migration from analog to digital cable. Overall, the cable industry is expected to see U.S. subscribers grow from 73 million households in 2004 to just 75 million in 2009. "The good news for operators is that 70% of consumers are interested in DVR features, and over 75% of those interested in DVRs want to record movies," said JupiterResearch analyst Todd Chanko.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040901/15073_1.html 
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o U.K.'s Monstermob Buys Mobile Content Firm 9 Squared for $2.9 Million

Denver, Colo. -- Mobile content provider 9 Squared said it has been acquired by British mobile entertainment provider Monstermob for $2.9 million in cash and 22 million deferred shares. Denver-based 9 Squared offers ringtones, images, mobile games and other content from its RingtoneJukebox.com site. It is also launching a ringtone subscription service with China Mobile and offers its products in Thailand and a number of Latin American countries. Monstermob claims 320,000 subscription customers and distributes its products through U.K. retailer Dixons. "With the addition of 9 Squared, Monstermob will respectively provide mobile entertainment applications directly to consumers and through mobile network operators throughout our operating territories in Europe, North and South America and Asia," said Monstermob CEO Martin Higginson.
http://www.monstermob.com 
http://www.9squared.com 
http://www.ringtonejukebox.com 
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o Report: U.K. Quickly Becoming Nation of Videogame Mavens

London -- According to a new report released by market analysis firm Screen Digest, the U.K. is fast becoming a videogame nation. Screen Digest's study, commissioned by local publisher group ELSPA, shows that the videogame market has grown by more than 100% over the last six years, accounting for more than 1.1 billion pounds ($2 billion) in 2003 alone. More than 25 million game consoles have been sold since 1995, one for every household in the country. Over that same period, more than 280 million games have also been sold -- approximately 11 titles per household. After the U.S. and Japan, the U.K. now boasts the third-largest videogame market in the world. "Our research suggests there is plenty more scope for strong sales within the current console cycle," said Screen Digest analyst Ben Keen. "However, innovation is the cornerstone of the games industry, and we expect the launch of exciting new handheld machines to give the market a huge boost ahead of the next generation of TV-based consoles."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H12862039 

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(Hollywood) The Blu-ray Disc Association, a group of technology firms developing standards for the new high-capacity DVD format, announced on Wednesday that it has added both the MPEG-4 AVC High-Profile video codec and Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 VC-1 codec to its specification for video playback equipment. The announcement is a coup for Microsoft, as manufacturers of DVD players that support the Blu-ray disc format will now have to support Microsoft's video standard. Microsoft has also won support for its video standard from companies backing HD DVD, a competing high-capacity DVD format.
http://www.blu-ray.com 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D22C31139

(New York) Jupitermedia, a business and technology market research firm, said that it has filed a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit against rival eMarketer in both France and the U.K. "eMarketer is free-riding on the efforts of companies like Jupitermedia," said CEO Alan Meckler. "Simply calling yourself an 'aggregator' does not permit one to steal another's proprietary research and trademarks and sell them as your own." Jupitermedia has already filed related complaints against eMarketer in the U.S., claiming the company is distributing Jupitermedia research without authorization.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040831/315396_1.html 
http://www.emarketer.com 
http://www.jupitermedia.com

(San Jose, Calif.) A digital music store called iHoopla Music announced on Wednesday that it will offer its independent artists' tracks for sale on eBay, as part of that company's six-month pilot program to offer digital music downloads via its online auction service. Morgan Hill, Calif.-based iHoopla is one of the first companies to offer digital downloads through eBay's pilot service; its roster of artists includes Kool and the Gang vocalist Skip Martin and Yarbrough & Peoples. In addition to offering tracks for sale, iHoopla's eBay site also links to streaming radio stations featuring songs by its various artists.
http://www.ihoopla.com 
http://stores.ebay.com/iHoopla

(Los Angeles) Carmaker Audi announced on Wednesday that it will offer satellite radio from both XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio as a factory-installed option on its 2005 model Audi A8 and TT vehicles. Both satellite services will also be offered as a dealer-installed feature on Audi's A4, S4, A6, RS, A8, and all-road Quattro models.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040901/dcw007_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040901/nyw026_1.html

(Burbank, Calif.) TVN Entertainment, a provider of video-on-demand and pay-per-view programming to cable TV operators, announced on Wednesday that it will use encryption developed by Seattle-based Widevine Technologies to secure the delivery of its video-on-demand programming. Burbank, Calif.-based TVN currently distributes over 1,500 hours of on-demand programming from 70 providers to cable firms including Adelphia, Cablevision, Charter and Comcast.
http://www.tvn.com 
http://www.widevine.com

(Wilmington, Del.) Zone4Play, a developer of interactive TV games, said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with U.K.-based The Gaming Channel, to launch its "Texas Hold'em Poker" multiplayer interactive TV game on The Gaming Channel's Avago gaming channel.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040901/ukw010_1.html 
http://www.zone4play.com 
http://www.avago.tv

(Los Angeles) Sony Pictures Digital Networks on Wednesday released updated versions of its consumer digital media creation software, which were developed by teams working for companies acquired recently by Sony. The release includes new versions of Vegas Movie Studio ($99), ACID Music Studio ($69) and Sound Forge Audio Studio ($69).
http://www.sony.com/mediasoftware

(Austin, Texas) Game developer Topheavy Studios and publishing partner Gathering, a unit of Take-Two Interactive, announced on Wednesday the release of their "The Guy Game" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Video included in the trivia game was shot on location on South Padre Island during "spring break" and features 60 coeds who will appear topless within the game.
http://www.topheavystudios.com 
http://www.theguygame.com

(London) U.K.-based video game developer Eidos on Wednesday announced that it will release an online version of its popular soccer team management simulation game, "Championship Manager." Sweden-based Jadestone Group developed "Championship Manager Online" in conjunction with Beautiful Game Studios, which created the PC version. The title is scheduled for release on a subscription basis in January 2005.
http://www.jadestone.net/ie.asp?url=news&newsItem=83&h=328
http://www.eidos.com 
http://www.cm-online.com

(San Rafael, Calif.) ESPN Videogames and publishing partner Global Star Software, a unit of Take-Two Interactive, on Wednesday shipped their "ESPN NHL 2K5" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to retailers. The game was developed at Sega's Visual Concepts studio.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040901/15285_1.html 
http://www.espnvideogames.com

(Minneapolis) Activision Publishing said on Wednesday that it has shipped its "Rapala Pro Fishing" title for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance and the PC to retailers. The title is endorsed by Rapala, a Finnish manufacturer of fishing rods and lures.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040901/15294_1.html 
http://www.rapala.com

(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Wednesday featured an interview with Napster CEO Chris Gorog, whose company recently sold off its original Roxio CD-burning software business in order to focus solely on Napster. "This move enables us to focus 100 percent on the online music space, which is the primary strategic focus for our company," Gorog told News.com. "Obviously, it's an area that has had explosive growth, and is expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry over the next handful of years. We have secured a very prominent position in the early development of the space, and we wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity to bring 100 percent of our focus to this."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O3EC25139 
 
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