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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- October 11, 2002
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o IFPI: Recorded Music Sales Down 9.2% in First Half of 2002
o RIAA, MPAA, Education Groups Petition Colleges to Combat Online Piracy
o Napster Reportedly Seeking Emergency Loan
o Interactive TV Firm Gemstar Ousts Henry Yuen From CEO Role
o Activision Acquires Game Developer Luxoflux
o 5G Technology May Replace 3G Mobile Phones By 2010
o InfoLibria Hires Investment Bank to Explore Strategic Alternatives
> Digital Media Wire Event: "Interactive Marketing" | NYC | Oct. 15
> Digital Media Wire Event: "iTV Visions" | NYC | Nov. 14
> Featured Event: Digital Publishing Conference, USC M-Commerce Event
o Briefly Noted: U.S. Copyright Office - anticircumvention rulemaking,
Electronic Arts - J Records, On Command, Claxson - Hypnotic, Digital vs.
satellite radio, H.264 digital video compression, Lion's Gate - Kazaa
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o IFPI: Recorded Music Sales Down 9.2% in First Half of 2002
Brussels -- Recorded music sales were down 9.2 percent in the first half
of 2002, with CD sales down 7 percent, according to figures released by
the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an
international music industry trade group. The IFPI attributed the decline
to "weak economic conditions, the widespread availability of free music,
and competition from other leisure products such as DVD video, mobile
technologies and computer games," the group said in a statement. "The
figures are disappointing but not unexpected," said IFPI chairman Jay
Berman. "The industry is in transition, with widespread CD-R copying and
Internet downloading continuing to affect sales. Meanwhile, the recording
industry is taking positive steps to provide legitimate, consumer-friendly
online services." The figures also indicated that sales of the dwindling
cassette tape format were down 31 percent for the period.
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/press/20021010.html
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o RIAA, MPAA, Education Groups Petition Colleges to Combat Online Piracy
Washington -- Entertainment industry groups including the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA) sent a letter last week to the presidents of over 2,300
colleges and universities, asking them for help in stopping copyright
infringement on campuses. The letter urges schools to "inform students of
their moral and legal responsibilities to respect the rights of copyright
owners, specify what practices are, and are not, acceptable on the
institution's digital network, monitor compliance and impose effective
remedies against violators." A separate letter urging schools to consider
and establish additional technical measures to combat online piracy was
also sent by six higher education associations, including the Association
of American Universities and American Association of State Colleges and
Universities. Schools were also targeted at the beginning of the recording
industry's lawsuit against Napster, when artists including Dr. Dre and
Metallica filed suit against several large universities to get them to
block access to the service.
http://www.riaa.com/pdf/Universityletter.pdf
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961637.html?tag=fd_top_7
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o Napster Reportedly Seeking Emergency Loan
Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster, the defunct online music-sharing service,
is talking with prospective buyers about an emergency loan that would keep
the company afloat until it is sold, the Associated Press reported on
Friday. The company is reportedly in discussions with Napco Lending for a
proposed interim loan of $200,000 and final loan of $350,000. Napco
Lending was created by the perspective purchaser, who has not been
revealed, solely for this potential deal. On Sept. 3, the a bankruptcy
court prohibited the sale of Napster to Bertelsmann, a German media
conglomerate, after Napster failed to demonstrate the $92 million deal was
made in good faith.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4256632.htm
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o Interactive TV Firm Gemstar Ousts Henry Yuen From CEO Role
Pasadena, Calif. -- Gemstar-TV Guide International, a provider of
electronic program guides for TV and developer of e-book technology,
announced this week a reorganization plan that will result in the
resignation of company founder Henry Yuen as CEO. Yuen, who allegedly
approved shady accounting practices for the company, will receive $22
million to terminate his contract, remain in his role as chairman and lead
a new unit formed to pursue international business development
opportunities. He will also assign intellectual property rights for past
and future inventions to Gemstar. Pasadena, Calif.-based Gemstar appointed
former News Corp. executive Jeff Shell to succeed Yuen as CEO.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021008/80602_1.html
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4249063.htm
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o Activision Acquires Game Developer Luxoflux
Santa Monica -- Video game developer and publisher Activision announced on
Friday that it has acquired Santa Monica-based game and software developer
Luxoflux. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Activision said Luxoflux's management team and key employees have signed
long-term employment contracts with the company. Luxoflux is currently in
development on Activision's "True Crime: Streets of L.A" and a game based
on the sequel to DreamWorks Pictures' film "Shrek."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021011/laf017_1.html
http://www.activision.com
http://www.luxoflux.com
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o 5G Technology May Replace 3G Mobile Phones By 2010
Helsinki -- Finnish research firm VTT has predicted that fifth-generation
mobile technology will replace 3G mobile phones by 2010. A VTT report said
5G technology will be based on high-frequency mobile extensions of today's
fixed-line broadband and Internet networks. Pertti Raatikainen, who
directed the study, said: "Over the next five to ten years, GPRS (general
packet radio service), 3G and WLAN will all be accessible via
multi-network terminals and this type of roaming between networks will be
called '4G'. But beyond 2010 a new network labeled 5G will start to render
3G obsolete."
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12981
http://www.vtt.fi/
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o InfoLibria Hires Investment Bank to Explore Strategic Alternatives
Waltham, Mass. -- InfoLibria, a provider of content management software,
announced that it has hired RCW Mirus, an investment banking firm, to
explore strategic alternatives for the company. Massachusetts-based
InfoLibria, which raised $41 million in June 2001 and later got an
investment from Microsoft, provides software that allows businesses to
operate their own content delivery networks -- similar to services
provided by Akamai or Inktomi. The software can put high-bandwidth data
like streaming video closer to end users to speed delivery and save on
transmission costs. The company's customers include Microsoft, AT&T,
Mitsubishi, and NTT.
http://www.infolibria.com/news/2002/pressrel2002-1009.html
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EVENT -- DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE Presents...
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Interactive Marketing: Where Success Lies Now and in the Future
New York City | Tues. October 15 | 6:00-9:00 PM
Produced with the New York New Media Association, in association with the
Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Sponsors: KMZ Rosenman | NYNMA | IAB
This executive forum brings together leaders from companies such as MSN,
Google, About.com, GoldPocket Interactive and others that are succeeding
in online media. Hear firsthand the strategies, tactics and technologies
that are working today and get a glimpse what is in store for the future.
For more information and to register:
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iTV Visions: Technology Transforming Entertainment
New York City | Thurs. November 14 | 1:30-7:30 PM
In association with the Interactive Television Alliance
Sponsors: Etronica | ITA | Filter Media | AIM
This half-day executive forum will present views on the future of
entertainment based on next generation interactive television technologies
emerging today. Thought leaders from leading edge companies that are
driving these technologies into the marketplace will gather to show how
entertainment is on the verge of yet another radical transformation.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events/itv_visions_111902.htm
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==================
FEATURED SECTION
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An event featuring 2 keynotes followed by an industry leaders roundtable
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Briefly Noted:
(Washington) The U.S. Copyright Office announced that it is has launched a
rulemaking proceeding on exemptions from the prohibition on circumvention
of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, a
process it undertakes every three years. It is currently seeking public
comments on specific classes of works that should be exempted from
the "anticircumvention" clause of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that
makes it a crime to disable the copy-protection on copyrighted works.
Initial comments are due by Dec. 18 and can be submitted via the Copyright
Office website starting Nov. 18.
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/comment_forms
(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts has partnered with J
Records in a co-marketing agreement for the release of "NBA Live 2003." J
Records artist Busta Rhymes will act as a spokesperson for the game,
appear as a character within the game, and recorded an exclusive version
of the single "Here We Go" that will be included in the game and on the
game's soundtrack. Other J Records artists appearing on the CD include
Monica, Jermaine Dupri, and Lyric; the game and album will also feature
tracks from Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Angie Martinez, Brandy with Fat Joe and
Just Blaze.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021010/100367_1.html
http://www.nbalive.com
http://www.ea.com
(Denver) On Command, a provider of in-room interactive entertainment to
hoteliers, on Friday said it has launched beta testing of a new service
intended to deliver video-on-demand and other services to small hotels.
Denver-based On Command's main platform is currently used in 916,000 rooms
in approximately 3,440 hotel properties. The company said its new
"MiniMate" service will be able to offer video-on-demand to rooms at half
the cost of its main Roommate service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021011/laf012_1.html
http://www.oncommand.com
(Cannes, France) Claxson, an entertainment content distributor for Spanish
and Portuguese-speaking audiences, announced that it has partnered with
Hypnotic, an online and offline company funded by Universal Studios that
provides short film and animation content, to jointly produce and
distribute a twenty-six episode series of short films. "Hypnotic Shorts"
will be distributed by Los Angeles-based Hypnotic to viewers in countries
including Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and the United
States.
http://www.claxson.com/english/index.html
http://www.hypnotic.com
(San Francisco) Wired News on Friday reported on the effect that the FCC's
approval of digital radio broadcasting technology will have on satellite
radio firms XM and Sirius. "The only advantage of satellite radio was that
they could say they were digital, and now that argument goes by the
wayside," Dennis Wharton, senior vice president of communications for the
National Association of Broadcasters, told Wired News. "And we are free
and local. If you can get what you want and it's free, there really is no
argument for satellite radio." The satellite firms counter that although
regular radio stations will soon offer their signals digitally, satellite
radio still offers a much broader swath of music in various genres,
without commercials.
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,55706,00.html
(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Friday reported on a new digital video
compression format currently in development that promises to provide
DVD-quality broadcasts at a lower bitrate than MPEG-4, another emerging
standard for digital video. The new format, called H.264 or MPEG-4
Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is being developed by Joint Video Team, a
partnership between two standards groups: the ISO MPEG and International
Telecommunications Union.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961707.html
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/news/jvtpro.html
(Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that, in stark
contrast to the rest of the motion picture industry's condemnation of the
Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing service, independent film studio Lion's
Gate Entertainment is actually using the service to promote its
copyrighted content. Up to 10,000 people daily are currently downloading
the trailer for the studio's upcoming film "The Rules of Attraction"
through Altnet, a secure service that piggybacks on Kazaa. However, Lion's
Gate reportedly has had no contact with the file-sharing company, as the
"undisclosed tab [for using the Altnet service] is being picked up by
Microsoft, which provided the software Lions Gate used to digitize the
trailer."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kazaa11oct11,0,2625946.story?
coll=la%2Dhome%2Dtodays%2Dtimes
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