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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- Oct. 2, 2000
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Court Hears Napster Appeal; No Decision Yet
o Streaming Media, Inc. Acquired by Penton for $65 Million
o Teenage Web Site Kibu.com Will Shut Down
o WSJ: E-Books Will Not Impact Market For Many Years
o Artisan's "Blair Witch Webfest" To Promote Sequel Online
o NetRadio CEO Resigns
o Warner Music First Label To Issue DVD-Audio Releases
o Briefly Noted: Shira Perlmutter, Outkast, WordWave, Rotor -
Atlanta Thrashers, "Interactive Music Expo," Panja - MusicChoice,
"Last Minute Book Reports"
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o Court Hears Napster Appeal; No Decision Yet
San Francisco -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments
on Monday about Napster's appeal of the injunction that would have shut
down its music file trading service. Attorneys for Napster and the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) pleaded their cases
before the San Francisco-based three-judge panel for nearly 40 minutes
before the court adjourned without ruling. In a testament to the national
scope of the case, the hearing was broadcast live on CNN. The court has no
deadline to deliver its decision, but could rule this week. In a statement
following the hearing, RIAA president Hillary Rosen said, "Nobody
expected
a ruling from the bench today but we were pleased with the court's
understanding of the issues." Following the hearing, Napster CEO Hank
Barry criticized the recording industry for not working harder to settle
the case out of court. "Over a period of many months, Napster made
serious
proposals to each of the major record companies to compensate artists and
rightsholders -- over $500 million in the first year alone. Every one of
these proposals has been rejected, and the record companies have made no
counterproposals."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2895878.html
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,39107,00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,39108,00.html
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o Streaming Media, Inc. Acquired by Penton for $65 Million
Cleveland -- Penton Media, a business-focused newsletter and magazine
publisher, announced on Monday that it has acquired Streaming Media, Inc.
for $65 million. San Francisco-based Streaming Media, a leading Internet
media web site and event organizer, produces the Streaming Media East,
Streaming Media West and Streaming Media Europe trade shows, as well as
streamingmedia.com and Streaming Media Magazine. Cleveland-based Penton
said that it will keep Streaming Media's current operations and staff in
place.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001002/oh_penton_.html
_____________________________________________
o Teenage Site Kibu.com Will Shut Down
San Francisco -- As the hard times for content-focused web companies
continue, Kibu.com, an entertainment site for teenage girls, announced
late Friday that it would shut down and lay off most of its 65 employees,
CNET News reported. In February, the company announced a $22 million
investment by Jim Clark, the co-founder of Netscape, Tom Jermoluk,
chairman of Excite@Home, and venture firm
Kleiner Perkins. In an unusual
twist, San Francisco-based Kibu.com said that it will return unused cash
to its investors. "Unfortunately, Kibu's timing of the financial
markets
could not have been worse," the company said in a statement to CNET.
"With
public and private markets for consumer Internet companies showing no
signs of life, Kibu managers and directors concluded that Kibu's
significant financial assets and employee talent would find a better
return elsewhere."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2905994.html
http://www.kibu.com
_____________________________________________
o WSJ: E-Books Will Not Impact Market For Many Years
New York -- The impact that e-books will have on the publishing industry
will not be felt until prices for e-book reading devices come down
dramatically and reliable distribution channels are established, a Wall
Street Journal article said on Monday. "No one has figured out a good
way
to distribute e-books, or even what to charge," said John Feldcamp,
CEO of
Xlibris, an online publisher, in the article. "Do e-books eventually
win?
Yes, absolutely. Do they win this year or next year? No. This isn't even
slightly cooked yet." Few consumers actually own the expensive
handheld
e-book readers that would allow them to access digital books away from
their PCs. Gemstar, which recently announced that it would manufacture
e-book devices, said that only "tens of thousands" of its
devices were on
the market today. As evidence of the current lack of consumer acceptance
of the medium, 63 percent of book buyers said they are aware of the
existence of e-books, but 70 percent said they were "not at all
likely" to
buy one in the next six months, according to a study quoted in the
article.
http://www.xlibris.com
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o Artisan's "Blair Witch Webfest" To Promote Blair Witch Sequel
Online
Los Angeles -- Artisan Entertainment, which created enormous interest in
the "Blair Witch Project" through online marketing, announced on
Monday
its "Blair Witch Webfest," aimed at promoting the sequel of the
hit film.
The webfest will consist of a three day online convention geared to pique
interest in "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2." Yahoo Movies,
Amazon.com,
JumpCut, RealNetworks, DoubleClick, Worlds.com, DistantCorners.com,
StreamSearch and Hollywood Stock Exchange are partnering with Artisan to
promote the film through online programming and events. One of the
promotions includes a contest where the winner will receive a private
screening of the film with musician Marilyn Manson. Artisan said the
"Blair Witch Webfest" will begin on October 18, and feature over
64 hours
of original programming related to the Blair Witch sequel. The film will
be released in theatres on October 27.
http://www.blairwitchwebfest.com
_____________________________________________
o NetRadio CEO Resigns
Minneapolis -- NetRadio, an online music site, announced on Monday the
resignation of its CEO, Edward Tomechko. Minneapolis-based NetRadio said
Eric Paulson, the company's chairman, will act as president and CEO until
a replacement can be found. NetRadio provides streaming audio channels in
a range of musical genres to its users. The company did not comment on the
reason for the resignation.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001002/mn_netradi.html
http://www.netradio.com
_____________________________________________
o Warner Music First Label To Issue DVD-Audio Releases
New York -- Warner Music announced on Monday that it will begin shipping
albums in the new high-quality DVD-Audio format on Nov. 7, in time for the
heavy-selling holiday season. The new releases include Beethoven's fourth
and fifth symphonies, conducted by Daniel Barenboim with the Staatskapelle
Berlin, and "Brain Salad Surgery," by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Billed as
the most significant improvement in recorded audio since the CD, DVD-Audio
reportedly doubles the resolution capable with CDs, and more closely
approximates an album's original recording. Although special DVD-Audio
players created by Pioneer and Phillips are entering the market and will
be available in the coming months, Warner said that it expects the initial
releases to be played on DVD players connected to home theater systems
with surround sound.
http://www.wmg.com
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(New York) Time Warner announced on Monday that it has hired Shira
Perlmutter as its new vice president and associate general counsel for
intellectual property policy. Perlmutter will serve as the company's
senior intellectual property lawyer, a position that will likely prove to
be very influential in light of the proposed AOL - Time Warner merger. The
merger would create the world's largest content owner and copyright
holder. Previously, Perlmutter served as head of the office of Policy and
International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office.
http://cgi.timewarner.com/cgibin/corp/news/index.cgi?template=article&article_id=200448
(New York) Atlanta rapper Outkast, whose upcoming album "Stankonia"
is
scheduled to be released on October 31, issued a statement on Monday
regarding the availability of the album on the Internet before its
commercial release. The rapper and his group were critical of their album
being available online before its completion. "We feel that it is a
creative invasion to spread our unfinished album over the 'Net, without
our knowledge. We feel musically and personally offended."
http://www.arista.com
(Boston) WordWave, a developer of software that makes digital media files
searchable, announced on Monday the release of its newest
speech-recognition technology. Boston-based WordWave said that the
technology translates the spoken word contained in audio and video files
into text, which then allows users to search the full text of these files.
WordWave is backed by Highland Capital Partners and Berkshire Partners.
http://www.wordwave.com
(Atlanta) Rotor, a provider of interactive web supplements for television
programming, announced on Monday a partnership with Turner Entertainment
Group and the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. Hollywood-based Rotor said it
will produce "Cyber Ice," a real-time web supplement featuring
live
interaction with players, audience polls and trivia, for 12 hockey games
broadcast on the Turner South television network. The company joins New
York-based HyperTV in providing consumers with online content tied to
television programs. This market is likely to subside if consumers begin
adopting set-top boxes and digital television.
http://www.rotor.net/news/release/at_092800.html
(Los Angeles) "Interactive Music Expo," an online music
conference
catering to artists and musicians will be held on October 3 and 4 at the
Los Angeles Convention Center. In addition to musicians, many executives
from record labels, studios and technology companies are expected to
attend.
http://www.imusicxpo.com
(Dallas) Panja, a developer of technology for Internet appliances,
announced Monday that it has partnered with MusicChoice, an online music
provider, to deliver commercial-free music for Panja's appliances.
Dallas-based Panja develops home entertainment components and other
electronic devices in the home that come equipped with Internet
connections. They are aimed at providing consumers access to information
and entertainment on devices besides their computers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001002/tx_panja_m.html
http://www.panja.com
http://www.musicchoice.com
(North Hollywood, Calif.) Disney.com announced on Monday the launch of
"Last Minute Book Reports," a series of animated web-based
programs that
introduce children to literary classics. The company said the webisodes,
created by Disney subsidiary Jumbo Pictures, will convey the storyline of
works by authors including Homer, Tolstoy and Herman Melville, in the
format of a child's book report. The first installment of "Last
Minute
Book Reports" is Homer's "The Odyssey."
http://www.disney.com/lastminute
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