archives

o Record Labels Argue for Summary Judgment Against Napster
o FullAudio Subscription Service Licenses Universal Music Publishing Group
o Digital Rights Management Firm SealedMedia Raises $16.5 Million
o Jupiter: Users of Napster Alternatives Up Almost 500%
o Game Publisher 3DO Raises $9.75 Million Through Private Placement
o Briefly Noted: Retraction - RIAA "secret meeting," RealArcade,
Amazon.com - book images, Memory Stick - car stereo, EMI Recorded Music -
DVD-Audio, Bam Entertainment - "Reign of Fire," Digital Media On Demand,
Osama bin Laden - Sesame Street's "Bert"
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> Job Postings: Dance Music Mktg/BizDev

> Events/Services: "CTAM Broadband Opportunity Conference,"
"Office Space - L.A.," "SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, OCTOBER
DATES," "Digital Media Revolution in the Americas"

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
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o Record Labels Argue for Summary Judgment Against Napster

San Francisco -- Napster went back to court on Wednesday, this time to
argue the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) request for
summary judgment against the file-sharing service. Judge Marilyn Hall
Patel did not issue a ruling Wednesday, according to Webnoize, and said
she may appoint a legal expert to deal with the issue of "song ownership."
There is also the possibility the judge may ask for further information
from both parties. If the judge finds in favor of the RIAA and issues a
summary judgment against Napster, the company will have been found guilty
of copyright infringement, and the case will not be brought to trial.
Instead, Judge Patel will instead begin assessing the amount of monetary
damages that Napster must pay the record labels for past copyright
infringements. Napster argued on Wednesday that there are more facts and
evidence pertinent to the case, and that it should be brought to a full
trial.
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=14399
http://www.riaa.com/pdf/PlaintiffsSJM.pdf
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o FullAudio Subscription Service Licenses Universal Music Publishing Group

Chicago -- FullAudio, a provider of digital music subscription services,
announced on Wednesday that it has signed a two-year agreement with
Universal Music Publishing Group to license songs from the publisher's
catalog for its service. Financial terms were not disclosed. FullAudio has
not yet reached an agreement with Universal Music Group, the other
necessary component for offering songs from the label group. The company
has secured licenses from other record labels including EMI Recorded Music
and EMI Music Publishing, as well as BMG Music Publishing. Chicago-based
FullAudio's service stores encrypted songs on a user's computer and allows
access as long as the user subscribes to the service. Yesterday, the
Recording Industry Association of America reached a similar agreement with
the National Music Publishers' Association to license songs for its member
labels' subscription services, MusicNet and Pressplay.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212832077&ticker=
http://www.fullaudio.com
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o Digital Rights Management Firm SealedMedia Raises $16.5 Million

San Francisco -- SealedMedia, a provider of digital rights management that
protects and manages the licensing of text, images, audio and video,
announced on Wednesday that it has raised $16.5 million in its latest
round of venture capital financing. Leading the investment round were Pond
Venture Partners, Crescendo Ventures and 3i. San Francisco-based
SealedMedia said the new funds will allow it to relocate its headquarters
to the East coast, where the publishing industry operates. The company
also expects the investment to sustain it until it becomes profitable.
http://www.sealedmedia.com
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o Jupiter: Users of Napster Alternatives Up Almost 500%

New York -- According to recent figures from Internet measurement firm
Jupiter Media Metrix, the number of unique users accessing file-sharing
services such as Morpheus, Kazaa and Aimster grew 492 percent between
March and April 2001. March was the month when Napster-alternatives first
began appearing on the company's ratings, when 1.2 million users accessed
such services. That number grew to 6.9 million in August, compared with
the 5.5 million users who accessed Napster during the month to play or
organize previously downloaded files. "Word-of-mouth is driving a new
round of exponential growth for next-generation file-sharing services,
despite fragmented audiences," said Mark Mooradian, Jupiter vice president
and senior analyst. "As the larger alternatives gain scale, the value of
their networks will increase in the form of greater breadth and bandwidth
of content."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011010/nyw048_1.html
http://www.jmm.com
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o Game Publisher 3DO Raises $9.75 Million Through Private Placement

Redwood City, Calif. -- 3DO, a publisher of video games, announced on
Wednesday that it has raised $9.75 million through a private placement of
its stock. The majority of the stock was purchased by company chairman and
CEO Trip Hawkins, with the rest going to individual investors. The company
recently revised its second quarter earnings forecast downward, as a
result of delays in the shipping of two of its games in development.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011009/sftu144_1.html
http://www.3do.com
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o Briefly Noted:

(London) A story from U.K.-based site TheRegister that was linked to in
Monday's edition of Digital Media Wire has since been retracted by the
publication. The story centered on a "secret meeting" in Washington
between the RIAA, technology and entertainment executives, and several
members of Congress. TheRegister's explanation for the retraction is
provided at a link below.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/31/22138.html

(Seattle) RealNetworks on Wednesday announced the official launch of its
RealArcade online video game service. The company has been beta testing
the service -- which offers both free and paid downloadable, streaming,
Web and massively multiplayer games -- for five months with two million
users. In addition to games, the service also provides integrated game
manuals, message boards, user ratings, chat rooms and multi-player
matching.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011010/sfw013_1.html
http://www.realarcade.com

(Seattle) Amazon.com announced on Wednesday that it has added digital
images from the inside pages of 25,000 books sold through its online
bookstore. Some examples include recipes found in cookbooks, illustrations
from children's books, full indices of medical textbooks, and the first
chapters from some mystery novels.
http://www.newstream.com/cgi-bin/display_story.cgi?4093
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/browse/-/598620/104-7180349-9300718

(Park Ridge, N.J.) Sony Mobile announced on Wednesday the release of its
in-car Memory Stick player, based on its removable storage media for
digital music. The $380 device can be mounted on a car's dashboard and
connects to Sony car stereos equipped with an UniLink adapter. Songs can
be downloaded from the Internet or from a portable music player onto a
Memory Stick and then loaded into the in-car device.
http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/1414
http://www.memorystick.org/

(Hollywood, Calif.) EMI Recorded Music announced on Wednesday that it will
release a number of new albums in the DVD-Audio format in the coming
months. The new format -- developed by Panasonic -- offers improved audio
fidelity, in addition to added capacity for music videos, text and other
elements viewable on a PC or DVD player. Among the label group's first
DVD-Audio releases are "Al Green: Greatest Hits" and "Leon Russell:
Retrospective."
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212830201&ticker=
http://www.emigroup.com/

(Bath, England) Game developer Bam Entertainment said on Wednesday that it
will publish a game based on the upcoming Spyglass Entertainment film
"Reign of Fire" for Sony PlayStation 2 in the fall of 2002. Kuju
Entertainment is currently developing the game. The film is directed by
"X-Files" movie director Rob Bowman.
http://www.bam4fun.com/
http://www.upcomingmovies.com/reign-of-fire.html

(Boston) Digital Media On Demand (DMOD), a provider of content encryption,
distribution and rights management technologies, announced on Wednesday
that it has appointed Mark Overington as its new president and CEO.
Formerly the company's vice president of sales and marketing, Overington
also was on the founding team of Avid Technology, a provider of digital
media editing hardware and software. Boston-based DMOD laid off 45 percent
of its staff in April.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212830391&ticker=
http://www.dmod.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Wednesday reported on the phenomenon of
Sesame Street's "Bert" Muppet character appearing next to terrorist attack
suspect Osama bin Laden on anti-American protest posters in Bangladesh.
Pictures of the protest posters appeared in several newspapers. Several
parody websites have doctored photos to insert an "evil" Bert -- who is
normally accompanied by roommate and fellow Muppet "Ernie" -- alongside
other figures such as Hitler and KKK members. It is suspected that the
designers of the protest posters in Bangladesh randomly pulled the images
off of the Internet.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47450,00.html
http://www.fractalcow.com/bert/bert.htm
http://www.tctubantia.nl/CDA/regioportal/1,2078,1654__772741_,00.html

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

> Dance Music Marketing/Business Development Pioneer

Needed: BizDev trailblazer with experience in the independent electronic
music industry, to spearhead a unique and rapidly developing music
subscription service. Must understand what's new and good in the dance
music world, niche brand marketing, and why people still crave 12 inch
records.
Please send a short bio (including last 5 CDs purchased) to
ajobforme@mindspring.com

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

> CTAM Broadband Opportunity Conference, Nov. 6-8 -- Tyson's Corner, VA

Get the FYI on HIS and iTV at CTAM's Broadband Opportunity Conference Nov
6-8, Seraton Premiere Tysons Corner. Keynote speakers: Maggie Bellville,
Incanta; Christopher P. Bogart, Time Warner Cable Ventures; Charles F.
Dolan, Cablevision Systems Corporation & Steve Wadsworth, The Walt Disney
Internet Group.
Call CTAM at 703.549.4200 For more information contact: tania@ctam.com
http://www.ctambroadband.com
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> Office Space For Rent - Los Angeles

Prime Sunset Boulevard location. Approx. 588 sq ft. Second floor, spacious
two + offices with private bathroom. Convenient parking. Recently
renovated. Quiet, nice work environment. Other tenants in building are
primarily entertainment and new media companies. DSL-ready. Rent is $1,175
per month.
For more information, please call 323-363-3620.
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> SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, OCTOBER DATES

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.

CHICAGO, IL: Columbia College - Oct. 10 - 7PM
BOSTON, MA: Boston University - Oct. 10 - 7PM
KYONGIU CITY, SOUTH KOREA: Film & Video Dept - Oct 10
BROOKLINE, MA: Coolidge Corner Theatre - Oct. 12-18
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Lucky Bar - Oct. 23 - 8PM
SALT LAKE CITY, UT: Univ. of Utah Union Theatre - Oct. 24 - 8PM

HOLLYWOOD, CA: The American Cinematheque - Oct. 17 - 7:30PM
SAN DIEGO, CA: San Diego Museum of Art - Oct. 18 - 7:30PM
BERKELEY, CA: Fine Arts Cinema - Oct. 23-24 - 9:30PM

For more info: http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan
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> Digital Media Revolution in the Americas, 11/29-12/01 -- Pasadena, CA

Presented by the Institute of the Americas and Annenberg School for
Communication, this 2 1/2 day forum will include Sr. Exec. Networking w/ a
special focus on Latin Americas & U.S. Hispanic markets, copyright, rights
mgmt., dist., infrastructure, digital film, iTV, streaming, device trends,
content financing. Early-bird 40% off till 9/30. Keynote Steven Bandel,
Pres. - The Cisneros Group. Sponsors: JP Morgan, Motorola, Global
Crossing, Walt Disney Company, Digital Media Wire, Cahners International
TV, iHollywood, Motion Picture Assoc., National Assoc. of TV Prog. Exec.,
National Assoc. of Theatre owners. For more information:
martin@iamericas.org
Register at: http://www.iamericas.org/events
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Copyright 2001 Digital Media Wire