===================================================
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- September 20, 2000
===================================================
To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/
o MP3.com Faces Class Action Suit
o Hollywood Stock Exchange To Merge With Predict It, Inc.
o Copyright.net Helps Enforce Law on Peer-to-Peer Networks
o 3D Animation Firm Brilliant Digital Raises $5 Million
o HardRoad.com Raises $450,000 Seed Funding, Launches Site
o Briefly Noted: Marvel New Media, Electronic Frontier Foundation,
Vinciv, Icebox.com, Vivamusic.com - Liquid Audio, MadonnaMusic.com,
iBiquity - Associated Press, Ira Magaziner - Reciprocal
_____________________________________________
o MP3.com Faces Class Action Suit
San Diego, Calif. -- Shareholders have filed a class action lawsuit
against MP3.com, which is also embroiled in a lawsuit with Universal
Music. The class action suit alleges that San Diego-based MP3.com made
false and misleading statements about its sales and its usage, which
artificially inflated its stock price. Its share price dropped by 85
percent during the time of the alleged misleading statements. The class
action lawsuit is just the latest legal battle facing online music
company; two weeks ago, a federal judge ruled that MP3.com "willfully"
infringed on the copyrights of Universal Music. The damages in the
Universal suit, which could potentially bankrupt the company, are expected
to be decided on in November.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000919/ca_milberg.html
http://www.mp3.com
_____________________________________________
o Hollywood Stock Exchange To Merge With Predict It, Inc.
Los Angeles -- Hollywood Stock Exchange, a web-based "stock exchange" that
allows trading of virtual stock in movies, stars and musical artists, has
announced that it will merge with publicly traded Predict It, a provider
of software for sports and finance. Upon the completion of the merger, the
new company, which will be called HSX, will receive a $10 million
investment from SBS Broadcasting, Citigroup Investments, the Dawntreader
Fund, Robert H. Lessin, Verus International, Keystone Venture Capital,
Commonwealth Associates, Genesys Angelbridge Fund, and Hollywood Stock
Exchange co-founders Michael Burns and Max Keiser. Reuters reported that
the financing effectively rescues HSX, noting that industry insiders said
the company was only weeks away from running out of cash and closing down.
LA-based Hollywood Stock Exchange also announced that CEO Andy Kaplan,
former executive VP of Sony's television operations, has stepped down.
http://www.hsx.com/about/press/000919.htm
http://www.predictit.com
_____________________________________________
o Copyright.net Helps Enforce Law on Peer-to-Peer Networks
Nashville -- Copyright.net, a provider of software that helps enforce
copyrights on the Internet, today announced a beta test of its software,
which is aimed at peer-to-peer networks such as Napster, Gnutella and
Freenet. Nashville-based Copyright.net said its CopyrightAgent technology
locates potentially illegal files on networks, identifies users who house
the files on their computers, and sends an email notification to those
users' ISPs. The company said the legal notices will empower ISPs to
terminate the copyright-infringing users' accounts. The patent-pending
software can also notify copyright owners, allowing them to directly
license the use of their works to infringing users, rather than seek legal
remedies. The company has displayed its technology for the RIAA, MPAA,
U.S. Copyright Office, and Senate Judiciary Committee. The company is
currently seeking copyright holders to participate in its beta test.
http://www.copyright.net
_____________________________________________
o HardRoad.com Raises $450,000 Seed Funding, Launches Site
Seattle -- HardRoad.com, a music entertainment site, today announced that
it has raised $450,000 in seed funding from individual investors. It also
officially launched its web site today. HardRoad.com said that it will
send its reporters around the country, searching for interesting musical
acts. The reporters will post on the company's web site reviews of what
they hear, along with MP3 files and streamed video of concert performances
from bands that they discover.
http://www.hardroad.com
_____________________________________________
o 3D Animation Firm Brilliant Digital Receives $5 Million Investment
Los Angeles -- Brilliant Digital Entertainment, a developer of animated 3D
content for the Internet, today announced that it has received a $5
million investment. The investment comes from Hong Kong-based e-New Media
Digital Entertainment, which has increased its stake in the company to 11
percent. Los Angeles-based Brilliant Digital, a publicly traded company,
said that e-New Media will receive distribution rights in Asia for some of
its content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000920/ca_brillia.html
http://www.brilliantdigital.com
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(New York) Comic book company Marvel Enterprises today named Steve Milo as
its new president of Marvel New Media. The company said that Milo will
focus on turning Marvel.com into a successful entertainment web site. Milo
previously worked at AnotherUniverse.com and Fandom.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000920/ny_marvel_.html
http://www.marvel.com
(San Francisco) The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit
organization that aims to preserve civil liberties online, has called for
a boycott of the "hacker challenge" proposed by the Secure Digital Music
Initiative (SDMI). The SDMI has sought the aid of the hacker community to
help it develop a secure technology for the digital distribution of music.
"We question the motives of SDMI, which has indicated an interest in
severely limiting your ability to listen to digital recordings in your
favorite format and in undermining all attempts at non-SDMI-compliant
music distribution models," the EFF said in a statement.
http://www.eff.org/Misc/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/HTML/effect13.08.html
http://www.hacksdmi.org
(Lanham, Md.) Maryland-based Vinciv, a developer of security systems for
digital content, has received $2.75 million in its first round of
financing. Robert Katz of New York-based Apollo Management said his firm
invested $2.5 million and a group of private investors contributed the
remaining $250,000. Vinciv, which is still developing a secure network for
digital content, was formerly called eInnovations.
http://www.vinciv.com
(Los Angeles) Icebox.com, an Internet animation site, today announced its
fall lineup of programming. The company said the controversial show "Mr.
Wong," which drew criticism for its portrayal of Asians, will return for
another "season" on the site.
http://www.icebox.com
(Singapore) Vivamusic.com, an Asian music site, today announced it has
partnered with Liquid Audio, a software developer for digital music. The
companies say that they will install kiosks in record stores in Asia that
will allow consumers to preview music and create custom CDs. The deal
follows Liquid Audio's similar alliance to install kiosks in Tower Records
stores in the U.S.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000920/liquid_aud.html
http://www.vivamusic.com
http://www.liquidaudio.com
(Burbank, Calif.) Warner Music, Maverick Records and Apple, Inc. announced
they have teamed to offer streams of every track from Madonna's new album,
"Music," on MadonnaMusic.com. Video remixes of the album's first single,
which will be streamed in Apple's QuickTime format, will also be available
on the site.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000919/ca_apple_w.html
http://www.madonnamusic.com
(Columbia, Md.) Maryland-based iBiquity Digital, a developer of digital
radio broadcast technology, announced that The Associated Press will test
the digital broadcast of its news content using iBiquity's service.
Columbia-based iBiquity Digital was formed by a merger of Lucent Digital
Radio and USA Digital Radio.
http://www.iBiquity.com
(New York) New York-based Reciprocal Inc., a digital rights management
company, announced today that Ira Magaziner, the former policy advisor to
President Bill Clinton, has joined its board of directors.
http://www.reciprocal.com/prm_rel09202000.asp
___________________
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
|
|