|
===================================================
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- October 19, 2000
===================================================
To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Citing Market Downturn, Idealab Withdraws IPO
o Inside.com: Online Entertainment Industry Shrank 20% Since April
o Digital Rights Technology Developer Lockstream Raises $15 Million
o Publishing Exchange Rightsworld.com Receives Investment From Jump.Net
o Audio Technology Developer Audible Magic Acquires Muscle Fish
o Entertainment Site Network EUniverse Sells Retailer CD Universe
o Briefly Noted: "Fall Internet World," Soundbuzz.com - EMI
Music Asia,
SegaNet, Blair Witch Webfest, Grand Slam Treasures - SoundSky.com,
PlayJ.com - Priority Records-Spitfire Records, DataPlay - Toshiba
_____________________________________________
o Citing Market Downturn, Idealab Withdraws IPO
Los Angeles -- Idealab, an Internet company incubator that has funded
entertainment-related sites including Z.com, FirstLook.com and
Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch, has withdrawn its initial public offering
(IPO). The company cited unfavorable market conditions for the withdrawal.
"Over the past several months, we have seen dramatic shifts in the
market," Idealab CEO Bill Gross wrote in an e-mail to employees on
Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported. "We have decided that it
is in
the best interest of the company, its employees and investors that we do
not proceed with the IPO during this volatile time." On Tuesday,
idealab-backed entertainment site Z.com laid off half of its staff and CEO
Joe DiNunzio announced that it had only enough funding to last "until
at
least the spring." Last week, FirstLook.com, another idealab company
that
provides previews of music, movies and television, laid off 34 of its 103
employees, and shifted its focus to syndication rather than developing
content.
http://www.latimes.com/wires/wbusiness/20001019/tCB00V0584.html
http://www.idealab.com
http://www.z.com
http://www.firstlook.com
_____________________________________________
o Inside.com: Online Entertainment Industry Shrank 20% Since April
New York -- Since the market tumble that began in mid-April, the online
entertainment industry has shrunk an estimated 20 percent, Inside.com
reported on Thursday. The article cites a number of indicators, most
notably that market capitalization among publicly-traded companies has
dwindled by an estimated 62 percent since April. Several companies have
closed down, including Pop.com, Digital Entertainment Network, Pseudo
Programs and Reel.com; in addition, a number of online entertainment sites
have withdrawn planned IPOs, including SightSound.com and ReplayTV. The
article estimated that roughly 20 percent of entertainment sites have
recently announced layoffs. All of these factors have created skepticism
among advertisers, who drive revenue for a large number of sites. Although
no accurate count for online advertising exists, the article quoted
several sources as saying that online ad spending for entertainment sites
is declining.
http://www.inside.com/story/Story_Cached/0,2770,11977_10_22_1,00.html
_____________________________________________
o Digital Rights Technology Developer Lockstream Raises $15 Million
New York -- Lockstream, a developer of digital rights management
technology, announced that it has raised $15 million in its third round of
venture financing. Encore Venture Partners and Audax Ventures led the
investment round; Time Warner's Digital Media Investment Fund, iArtisan
and ING Barings also contributed. New York-based Lockstream's technology
encrypts video, audio, text and other media when purchased by consumers,
preventing the copying of these files, and their distribution on
Napster-like networks.
http://www.lockstream.com
_____________________________________________
o Publishing Exchange Rightsworld.com Receives Investment From Jump.Net
Austin, TX -- Rightsworld.com, an online marketplace for publishing
rights, announced on Thursday that it has received an investment from
Jump.Net Ventures, for a minority stake in the company. Financial terms of
the deal were not disclosed. Jump.Net Ventures is the venture arm of
Austin-based Jump.Net, a broadband Internet access provider. Austin-based
Rightsworld.com said the funds will allow the company to expand its
technical facilities and product development capacities.
http://rightsworld.com/docs/about/press/press_pr101800.stm
_____________________________________________
o Audio Technology Developer Audible Magic Acquires Muscle Fish
Los Gatos, Calif. -- Audible Magic, a developer of software that
identifies digital audio content, announced on Thursday that it has
acquired Muscle Fish, a Berkeley-based audio technology developer. Terms
of the deal were not disclosed. Muscle Fish has developed software that
identifies a digital song file according to its "psycho-perceptual
characteristics." Instead of using the song's title, artist name and
name
of album, the software identifies other unique features of a song and
records them, so that it may be indexed. "The value of the Muscle
Fish
acquisition will be seen not only in audio content identification, but
with the digital media access, control and monetization opportunities it
enables," Vance Ikezoye, CEO and co-founder of Audible Magic. Many
record
companies are considering this "digital fingerprint" technology,
used to
identify music files, as a security measure in their digital music
distribution services. Some experts argue that songs indexed according to
how they sound, and not by using a filename, are less vulnerable to hacker
attacks.
http://www.audiblemagic.com
http://www.musclefish.com
_____________________________________________
o Entertainment Site Network EUniverse Sells Retailer CD Universe
Los Angeles -- EUniverse, which operates a number of entertainment sites,
has sold its struggling e-commerce operation, CD Universe, in an effort to
become more profitable. CD Universe was sold to Connecticut-based CLBL
Inc. for $1.5 million; CLBL said it will maintain CD Universe's
operations, and retain 20 of its 25 employees. LA-based eUniverse said it
will re-focus on its network of entertainment sites, which are currently
generating 15 million unique users and 300 million page views per month.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001018/ca_euniver.html
http://www.euniverse.com
http://www.cduniverse.com
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(New York) "Fall Internet World," an e-business and Internet
technology
trade show, will be held October 23-27 at the Javits Center in New York
City. The event expects to draw 50,000 professionals, including many
digital media companies.
http://www.pentonevents.com/fall2000
(Hong Kong) Soundbuzz.com, an Asian online music portal, announced on
Thursday that it has entered into a partnership with EMI Music Asia. Under
the deal, EMI will sell secure, downloadable versions of songs in its
catalog through Soundbuzz.com's network, which spans Southeast Asia,
India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. EMI expects its download trial,
which was launched in North America in July, to expand into Asia-Pacific
by the end of this year.
http://soundbuzz.com
http://www.emigroup.com
(San Francisco) Sega of America announced on Thursday that in its first
month, over 100,000 users have signed up for SegaNet, the company's
high-speed Internet network designed to be used with its Dreamcast gaming
console. SegaNet allows users in different locations to play each other in
video games over the Internet. The company also announced the availability
of Quake III Arena, a game that will allow Dreamcast players to play
against PC users on the SegaNet network.
http://www.sega.com
(Los Angeles) Artisan Entertainment said on Wednesday that the web site
for its upcoming sequel, "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2,"
received over
100,000 visitors in its first six hours of operation. Internet marketing
for the first Blair Witch film is largely credited as a key factor to its
box office success. The Artisan site is hosting a 64-hour webfest for the
movie that started Wednesday morning.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3233169.html
http://www.blairwitchwebfest.com
(Boise, Idaho) Grand Slam Treasures, an entertainment company with both
online and off-line assets, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Kim
Vision Tech, the operator of SoundSky.com, an Asian music portal. Terms of
the deal were not disclosed. The company said it plans to develop an
online independent record label for Kim Vision Tech.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001019/id_grand_s.html
http://www.alltreasure.com
http://www.soundsky.com
(New York) PlayJ.com, a provider of legal downloadable music, announced
that it has made deals with Priority Records and Spitfire Records, to
provide songs for digital downloads. Priority Records is home to rappers
Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg; Spitfire caters to hard rock artists such as
Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister.
http://www.playj.com/static/presspage_387.html
(Boulder, Colo.) DataPlay, a developer of recordable digital media discs,
announced on Thursday that it has partnered with electronics manufacturer
Toshiba to form DataPlay Japan. Boulder-based DataPlay said the new
company will sell and market DataPlay's technologies in Japan and the
Pacific Rim. DataPlay develops 500MB-sized, recordable optical digital
media discs, and matchbook-sized micro-optical engines.
http://www.dataplay.com
http://www.toshiba.co.jp
___________________
To subscribe, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com
Questions or comments? Send email to:
mark@digitalmediawire.com
News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@digitalmediawire.com
|
|
