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Meet Richard Hofstetter, Partner, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz, PC at Future of Television Forum on November 21.
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October 17, 2003 -- About Us | Advertise | Events | Publications | Subscribe

Main Stories
o RIAA Sends Letters to 204 File-Sharers, Offering Settlement Before Lawsuit
o THQ Settles With Insurer Over Class Action Coverage; Will Get $4 Million
o Electronic Arts Acquires Liverpool-Based Developer Studio 33
o Report: Only 49% of Digital Media Streams Perform Adequately


 > DMW Announcements:
 --Future of Television Forum, NYC - Confirmed Speakers
 --DMW Publications

 > Featured Advertisement:
 --The Micropayments Conference | NYC | Nov. 3
 --Executive Seminars | Multimedia & Broadband Services in the Home
 --New Report Urges Recording Industry to Give Music Away for Free
 

o Briefly Noted: Savoy Label Group - Apple iTunes Music Store, Activision - "True Crime: Streets of L.A." - KOCH Entertainment, Electronic Arts - "NBA Live 2004," Vivendi Universal Games - "Ground Control II: Operation Exodus," Atari - "Deer Hunter 2004," NHL - Mobiico - Mobileway, Topps - Garbage Pail Kids, PrimusLive.com

 
> Job/Event/Marketplace Classifieds:
 --Apple Seminars, Training and Events
 --
Tech Transfer 2003 - October 29, Ritz-Carlton, McLean, VA
 --
HireStrategy - Accounting Supervisor
 --
BrainMedia, LLC, Product Manager - Northern Virginia
 --
Technical Writer
 --
New Low-Cost Sales & Lead Generation Program for Software Companies
 

o RIAA Sends Letters to 204 File-Sharers, Offering Settlement Before Lawsuit

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sent letters to 204 individuals it believes infringed copyrights on music file-sharing systems, encouraging them to contact the RIAA and settle the matter or else face a lawsuit. The decision to notify potential defendants before actually filing suit comes after negative publicity over at least one case of mistaken identity from the RIAA's last round of lawsuits, as well as feedback from several lawmakers who believe the RIAA's methods to be overly harsh. "We take the concerns expressed by policy makers and others very seriously," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "In light of the comments we have heard, we want to go the extra mile and offer illegal file sharers an additional chance to work this out short of legal action. A portion of a sample letter provided to CNET News.com by the RIAA reads: "We have gathered substantial evidence that you have been using a peer-to-peer network such as Kazaa or Gnutella to download and upload music owned by our clients… We are writing in advance of filing suit against you in the event that you have an interest in resolving these claims through settlement." The letter also warns recipients not to destroy any pertinent evidence -- such as wiping their hard drives of downloaded MP3s -- and lets them know the RIAA will sue them if they do not respond within 10 days.
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5093078.html
http://www.eff.org/news/breaking/archives/2003_10.php#000997
_____________________________________________

o THQ Settles With Insurer Over Class Action Coverage; Will Receive $4 Million

Calabasas Hills, Calif. -- THQ, a developer and publisher of video games for consoles, the PC and wireless devices, announced that it has settled an arbitration dispute with National Union, the company's directors' and officers' insurance carrier. Under the terms, Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based THQ will receive a $4 million payment from National Union, as well as other considerations. The dispute began over the amount of liability coverage due the company, resulting from a class action lawsuit filed against THQ in February 2000. National Union paid out $5 million but had disputed paying the balance of $5 million under THQ's coverage.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031015/155946_1.html 
http://www.thq.com
_____________________________________________

o Electronic Arts Acquires Liverpool-Based Developer Studio 33

Redwood City, Calif. -- Game developer Electronic Arts announced that it has acquired Liverpool, England-based Studio 33, a developer of racing video games. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Studio 33's roughly 30 employees will join Electronic Arts' EA Northwest studio in Warrington, England. Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts said EAUK general manager David Byrne will oversee the new studio. Studio 33 is responsible for racing titles including "Formula One," "Newman-Haas Racing" and "Destruction Derby Arenas," although none were included in the transaction as they were developed for rival publishers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/031016/058715.html 
http://www.ea.com 
http://www.studio33.co.uk
_____________________________________________

o Report: Only 49% of Digital Media Streams Perform Adequately

Troy, Ohio -- After analyzing 3,721,724 digital media streams originating from a range of sources and locations worldwide during the second quarter of 2003, a recent study found that the performance of 51% of the streams would upset advertisers and frustrate viewers. The study used Ohio-based StreamGuard's PC monitoring software to examine 2,400 live and on-demand streams from 300 websites operated by broadcast, entertainment, religious, financial and educational groups, delivered both to dial-up and broadband connections in both Windows Media and RealNetworks formats. Only 49% of the streams monitored appeared quickly, within five seconds of being accessed. More than one in six of streams (16.7%) reported an immediate and fatal error to the viewer, while one in twenty view attempts found the stream to be apparently 'down' after 25 seconds. Another 4.3% of streams could be termed "very frustrating," as content took between 10 and 25 seconds to load and/or buffer before playing.
http://www.streamguard.net

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 > DMW Events:

Future of Television Forum
November 21, 2003 - New York City
www.televisionconference.com

Digital Media Wire & NYU's Stern School of Business
are proud to present one of the premier television industry
events of the year, featuring following confirmed speakers:

Keynote Speakers
Joshua Sapan - President & CEO, Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.
Mark Cuban - Chairman, HDNet, Owner, Dallas Mavericks
David Zaslav - President, NBC Cable

Panelists
Jeff Bader - EVP, Program Planning, Scheduling & Synergy, ABC
Dan Harrison - VP, Strategic Programming, Bravo Entertainment, NBC
David Poltrack - EVP, Research & Planning, CBS
Jeff Branman
- President, Interactive Technology Partners (QVC & Comcast)
Greg DePrez - VP, Subscription Video-on-Demand, Starz Encore Group
John Roberts - SVP, Interactive Online, Game Show Network
Jack Myers - Media Economist & Commentator, Jack Myers Report
Richard Hofstetter
- Partner, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz, PC
Al Lieberman - Exec. Dir., EMT Program, NYU Stern School of Business
Ned Sherman - Co-Founder & CEO, Digital Media Wire
Bruce Leichtman - Pres. & Principal Analyst, Leichtman Research Group
Paul Sherman - Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Potomac Tech Wire
Scott Fedewa - COO & Executive Producer, BillOReilly.com
Lydia Loizides - Senior Analyst, Jupiter Research
Debby Mullin
- VP, New Media/Advertising Sales, Cox Communications
Kevin Carton
- Global Leader, Entertainment & Media Practice, PWC
Rich Battista
- EVP, Bus. Dev., Fox Broadcasting & Fox Cable (tentative)

Register Now!

 > DMW Publications:

Digital Media Law Report - Monthly - Subscriptions - Order
Game Industry Quarterly
- Subscriptions - Order
Available Now - Q3 Game Industry Quartertly - 105 pages - Order

Past Events | Sponsorship Materials | Partners & Clients
 

 

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> Featured Advertisement:

 > The Micropayments Conference - Harvard Club of NYC, November 3

Join senior executives from entertainment, media and publishing companies, financial institutions, payment companies and technology providers to explore how consumers consume, sellers sell, and what the future holds for business models in the on-line world.

The Conference, which is hosted by Peppercoin and produced by Digital Media Wire, and is a full-day event at the Harvard Club of NYC and includes breakfast buffet, 3 keynotes, 5 panels, banquet-style lunch and post-event cocktail reception.

To register online: www.micropaymentsconference.com 


> Executive Seminars: Multimedia and Broadband Services in the Home

Register Now! Parks Associates' Fall Focus: Banking on Broadband Services (Oct. 29 & 30) & Home Multimedia Experience (Nov 5 & 6) feature Parks' consumer research; "Visionary" Keynotes - EarthLink, HP, Intel Corp., Intel Capital, Personica Intelligence, Philips Semiconductors, Scientific-Atlanta, and Yahoo; & "Reality" Panel discussions among industry leaders. Download Parks' latest white paper, "The Home Network Market" to learn more! http://www.fallfocus.com

Questions: contact candi@parksassociates.com or call 972-490-1113
 


> New Report Urges Recording Industry to Give Music Away for Free

 

In response to the growing legal campaign against music piracy, Parks Associates today issued a free white paper calling on the recording industry to change tactics.  The paper, Thinking Outside the Disc, recommends fighting digital piracy by exploring new business models such as a free music-on-demand service that relies on advertising revenue. To download it free, click the link below or visit www.parksassociates.com
              http://www.parksassociates.com/inthePress/resources/resources_form_digital.htm

Questions: contact info@parksassociates.com or call 972-490-1113

 

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o Briefly Noted:

(Santa Monica, Calif.) The Savoy Label Group, a unit of Columbia Music Entertainment, announced on Friday that it has licensed 3,000 tracks from its catalog to Apple for inclusion in the company's iTunes Music Store. Savoy's catalog includes classic jazz albums from Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, as well as new releases from artists including Joan Armatrading.
http://www.denonrecordsus.com/sites/denonus/news/main/slg.asp

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Game developer Activision announced on Friday that its "True Crime: Streets of L.A." title for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube will begin selling on Nov. 4. In addition to voice talent provided by actors including Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman, the game's soundtrack features new material from West Coast hip-hop artists including Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Warren G. A 20-track soundtrack album, featuring songs from the game and organized by Vybe Squad, will be released by KOCH Entertainment.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031017/laf025_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031016/nyth151_1.html 
http://www.kochentertainment.com
http://www.luxoflux.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts this week released its "NBA Live 2004" title for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and the PC. Developed by the company's Canadian studio, the game features Toronto Raptor Vince Carter as cover athlete and commentary from NBA announcers Marv Albert and Mike Fratello. Electronic Arts said the franchise, now in its tenth edition, has sold over 18 million copies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031014/145418_1.html 
http://www.nbalive2004.com

(Los Angeles) Vivendi Universal Games announced on Friday that it will release "Ground Control II: Operation Exodus," a sequel to its real-time strategy PC game, in the second quarter of 2004. The title is being developed by Sweden-based Massive Entertainment, which Vivendi acquired in 2002.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031017/laf004_1.html 
http://www.massive.se 
http://www.groundcontrol2.com

(Beverly, Mass.) Video game publisher Atari on Friday shipped its "Deer Hunter 2004" PC game to retailers. Atari is offering a free downloadable demo of the game, which was developed by Brazil-based Southlogic Studios, on its website.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031017/175225_1.html 
http://www.southlogic.com
http://www.us.atari.com/games/deer_hunter_2004_pc_simulation

(Los Angeles) Wireless entertainment providers Mobiico and Mobileway said on Friday that they have partnered with the National Hockey League to launch NHL HockeyNation, a mobile entertainment service. The service will offer MVP voting, trivia, chat and alerts about last minute ticket availability.
http://www.mobileway.com/pages/newsevents/pressreleases.asp?id=775
http://www.mobiico.com

(New York) The Topps Company, a manufacturer of trading cards and confectionery products, announced on Friday its "Build-Your-Own Garbage Pail Kid Contest," encouraging users to go online and use design tools to create their own character based on the original Garbage Pail Kids franchise, released in 1985. The winning entrant's design will be featured in an upcoming series of the stickers.
http://www.topps.com 
http://www.garbagepailkidsworld.com

(Los Angeles) Rock band Primus announced that it will offer downloadable soundboard recordings of its current "Tour de Fromage" from its new website, PrimusLive.com. Tracks will be offered in both MP3 and CD-quality FLAC audio formats. Beginning in November, recordings will become available for purchase 48 hours after the show and will include original downloadable CD jewel case cover art. Bands including Phish and Pearl Jam have experimented with similar services, and concert promotion giant Clear Channel has also launched a service that offers instant CDs of concerts following the performance.
http://www.primussucks.com 
http://www.primuslive.com

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> Classifieds:


___________________

> Tech Transfer 2003 - October 29, Ritz-Carlton, McLean, VA

Hear about the cutting edge technology being researched and developed at
leading Mid-Atlantic research institutions including DARPA, NASA, MITRE,
Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins and the University of MD at
this one-day event. Keynote address by US Dept. of Homeland Security Under Secy. for Science and Tech., Dr. Charles E. McQueary and a luncheon
address by Dr. John Holaday, Founder of EntreMed, Inc. Participating
investment orgs. include Carlyle Venture Partners, Valhalla Partners,
In-Q-Tel, Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Walker Ventures. Register at
http://www.acteva.com/go/tt2003 Visit: http://www.LaunchFuel.com/TT2003
Send inquiries to eoconnor@launchfuel.com
____________________

> HireStrategy - Accounting Supervisor

The position's primary functions are to manage certain aspects of the general ledger and month end process. These duties include the preparation of monthly journal entries for adjusting entries, G/L analysis and reconciliation, and preparation of related supporting documentation. The other primary function of this position is to manage the corporate accounts payable function. The position requires 3-5 years of accounting related experience, previous supervisory experience and B.S. in Accounting. CPA experience and previous accounting software experience are preferred but not required. If interested please email resume to mmolinas@hirestrategy.com  or visit http://www.hirestrategy.com/quicklinks/hire139.asp
___________________

> BrainMedia, LLC, Product Manager - Northern Virginia

Take ownership of a comprehensive audio compression system and associated products. Develop Product Requirements and Descriptions and work closely with Project Management and development team. Create Product Plan and establish life cycles and version control for all products. Influence the engineering development organization to achieve on time, within budget delivery of new products. Implement Product launch planning. Support Sales and Market Management. Send resumes to jim-herbert@msn.com  Visit http://www.brainmediaco.com
___________________

> Technical Writer

Work closely with both Product Management and Technology Development to create professional documentation for Product Requirements, Product Descriptions design specifications and development specifications. Follow industry standard documentation protocols conforming to ISO 9000 and Malcom Baldridge guidelines. Send resumes to jim-herbert@msn.com  Visit http://www.brainmediaco.com
____________________

> New Low-Cost Sales & Lead Generation Program for Software Companies

 Impact Sales and Telepath Consulting have partnered to offer a new outsourced sales program called "SalesExpress". Program combines software sales execs with intensive lead generation campaigns to focus on rapidly closing business based on ROI methodology. It is customized to fit the product and can be used to build or complement a sales force. Send inquiries to dougw@impactsalesinc.com Visit http://www.impactsalesinc.com

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About Us
Digital Media Wire, Inc. is a news organization, publisher and events company serving the digital media industry since May 2000. Our daily newsletter delivers original briefings on business, legal and financial developments shaping digital media and read by over 30,000 executives and professionals. To subscribe for free, please click here.

Digital Media Wire, Inc. is part of the Tech Wire Media Group, an international network of publications that includes Digital Media Law Report, Potomac Tech Wire, New England Tech Wire, Southeast Tech Wire, Bay Area Tech Wire, Tri-state Tech Wire and European Tech Wire. The network reaches more than 70,000 individuals from over 70 countries each business day.

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