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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- September 22, 2000
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Launch Project Greenlight
o Five Major Radio Companies Create Internet Radio Venture
o Top Universities Will Not Ban Napster On Campus
o Loudeye Technologies Streams Universal Music Content
o Web Sites Developed For Piracy of E-Books
o Gemstar To Compete With Microsoft For E-Book Device Market
o Briefly Noted: Lenny Kravitz, Konami - Microsoft Xbox,
Creative Planet, Live365, Fandom.com
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o Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Launch Project Greenlight
New York -- Actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon today announced the details
of their much-talked-about Internet venture called Project Greenlight,
which will produce a movie based on a script from an amateur writer. The
Project Greenlight site will allow writers to submit their scripts, which
will then be judged in part by an online community. The winning script
will be made into an actual movie. Affleck, Damon, and Chris Moore will
executive produce the movie, and Miramax Films will finance a $1 million
production and release. In addition, HBO will run a 13-episode documentary
series about the making of the movie. "We know how tough it is to get
your
foot in the door," said Affleck, who co-wrote "Good Will
Hunting." "We
want to be able to help an unknown writer out there make their movie --
and at the same time, create an online community for everyone who loves
films and filmmaking." Project Greenlight is part of LivePlanet, a
company
also creating a project called "Runner," according to its site.
http://www.projectgreenlight.com
http://www.liveplanet.com
_____________________________________________
o Five Major Radio Companies Create Internet Radio Venture
San Francisco -- Five major radio companies announced that they will
create a network of Internet radio stations, aimed at tapping the growing
market for digital music. Emmis Communications, Entercom Communications,
Jefferson-Pilot, Corus Entertainment and Bonneville International said
they will partner to create the Local Media Internet Venture (LMIV). The
companies said that any radio station in the U.S. or Canada may join the
venture, which hopes to attract 100 million online listeners by 2002. The
new company will serve as a portal for finding a radio station's simulcast
on the web. The financial terms of the venture have not been released.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20000922/news/current/radio_net.htx
_____________________________________________
o Top Universities Will Not Ban Napster On Campus
San Francisco -- CNET reported today that Duke, Stanford, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology have rejected a request to ban the
controversial music-sharing service Napster. Howard King, an attorney who
represents heavy metal band Metallica and rapper Dr. Dre, made the request
for the ban. He sent letters to a number of prominent universities asking
administrators to restrict access to Napster, which has its largest
following on college campuses. "We are not aware of any legal
authority
that would require the university to ban access to Napster," said
Duke
University lawyers in the article. There has been widespread speculation
that the recording industry may attempt to sue universities that do not
block their students from breaking copyright laws when using university
computers. A number of schools -- including New York University and Kent
State -- have banned Napster after receiving letters from King.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2841125.html
_____________________________________________
o Loudeye Technologies Streams Universal Music Content
Seattle -- Loudeye Technologies, a developer of digital encoding
technology, today announced that it has been given a license by Universal
Music Group to stream samples of the label's entire audio and music video
catalog. Universal also said Seattle-based Loudeye has been asked to
digitally encode its 14,000 audio titles and 30,000 music videos. The
resulting files could then be sold to companies for download or streaming
to consumers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Loudeye has made
similar deals to convert music to digital form for other top labels,
including Sony and EMI.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2837789.html
http://www.loudeye.com
_____________________________________________
o Web Sites Developed For Piracy of E-Books
San Francisco -- In a potential blow to the growing commercial e-books
market, a Wired News article today reported that a number of web sites
have been formed to facilitate the piracy of electronic books. The article
said that copies of e-books by Frank McCourt, Steven King, and Tom Clancy
were successfully downloaded from links provided in chat rooms at a site
called "#Bookwarez." A report this week by Forrester Research
said the
print publishing industry will lose $1.5 billion to online publishers
within five years.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38945,00.html
http://www.extrema.net/books/
_____________________________________________
o Gemstar To Compete With Microsoft For E-Book Device Market
Pasadena, Calif. -- TheStandard.com reported today that Gemstar, a
consumer entertainment technology company, has announced that it will
release two electronic reading devices. The company said the devices will
include Gemstar's own reading software, which will compete directly with
Microsoft Reader, the leading software for e-books. Gemstar said it plans
to focus on bestsellers for its devices, which will sell for $300 and
$700.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18768,00.html
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(Los Angeles) Musician Lenny Kravitz's latest music video
"Again" will be
the first video available for download on MTV.com and VH1.com, according
to Virgin Records, Kravitz's label. MTV.com has offered streaming videos
on its site before, but has been reluctant to offer less-secure downloads,
which allow users save the files on their hard drives. Virgin Records said
the Kravitz video will "time-out" 30 days after download, at
which point
it will no longer be viewable.
http://www.mtv.com/nav/intro_news.html
(Tokyo) Konami, a leading Japanese video game manufacturer, announced that
it has begun development on several games for Microsoft's Xbox game
system, which is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2001. Game
manufacturers are racing to develop titles for new gaming consoles with
higher graphics quality, including Xbox, Sega's Dreamcast, and Sony's
PlayStation2, which will be released later this year. Konami said initial
titles for the Xbox will include "Crash Bandicoot X,"
"Jurassic Park X,"
and "Metal Gear Solid X."
http://www.konami.com
http://www.xbox.com
(Los Angeles) Creative Planet, an online entertainment industry site,
today announced the launch of two news services called Web Animation Guide
and Film Financing Forum. The company said that Web Animation Guide, which
will be updated weekly, will offer industry news in the web animation
arena. Film Financing Forum will offer funding advice to independent and
student filmmakers from production companies. Creative Planet recently
laid off most of its editorial staff as it shifted its strategy to the
business-to-business sector.
http://www.creativeplanet.com/about/pr_awn_ottawa/
http://www.creativeplanet.com/about/pr_fff/
(Foster City, Calif.) Live365, an Internet radio company, announced today
the release of a wireless streaming MP3 player for the Windows CE
platform, which runs on web-enabled PDAs and cell phones. Forester City,
Calif.-based Live365 provides tools for both companies and consumers to
create their own web radio stations.
http://www.live365.com
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Santa Monica-based Fandom.com, a sci-fi and fantasy
site, today announced the appointment of Ted Howells as chief financial
officer. Howells was previously vice president and chief financial officer
of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
http://www.fandom.com
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