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=================================================== DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- November 5, 2001 =================================================== To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com o Liquid Audio Rejects Shareholder Buyout Offers o FastTrack on Track to Surpass Napster in Popularity This Month o Echo Networks Licenses Warner Music Songs for Subscription Service o International Online Music Company Vitaminic Licenses Songs to Napster o DirecTV to Offer On-Screen CD Sales Through Deal With Wink, Music Choice o Briefly Noted: Incanta - RioPort, IBiquity Digital - Kenwood, MovieFlix.com, 3DO - Palm Pictures, E.Digital, Broadband slowdown - subscription services, GameCube - DVD - U.S. _____________________________________________ > Job Postings: Online Ad Sales Mgr., Web Research Assistant, Web Designer > Events/Services: "CATO: 'Intellectual Property in the Digital Age'," "Shortspan Film & Video Festival," "Office Space - L.A.," "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 _____________________________________________ o Liquid Audio Rejects Shareholder Buyout Offers Redwood City, Calif. -- Liquid Audio, a provider of digital music distribution services, announced on Monday that it has rejected offers to purchase the company submitted by two separate groups of the company's investors. Steel Partners and BCG Strategic Investors each submitted bids of $3.00 per share to acquire the company. Redwood City-based Liquid Audio said that the bids are "substantially below the company's cash value per share," and that it has "no interest in pursuing either of these indications of interest at this time." The company also announced two new additions to its board of directors. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011105/sfm122_1.html http://www.liquidaudio.com _____________________________________________ o FastTrack on Track to Surpass Napster in Popularity This Month Cambridge, Mass. -- The average number of users logged on to the FastTrack file-sharing network -- which encompasses the Kazaa, MusicCity and Grokster applications -- in November will likely surpass the 1.57 million simultaneous users Napster enjoyed at its peak, according to recently released research by analyst firm Webnoize. The number of FastTrack users has risen by 480 percent over the last four months; in October, an average of 1.3 million users were simultaneously logged onto FastTrack, and downloaded a total of 1.81 billion digital media files. This figure represents a 20 percent increase over the 1.5 billion files downloaded by users in September. The motion picture and recording industries sued Netherlands-based FastTrack, as well as MusicCity and Grokster in October for copyright infringement -- a move Webnoize says will likely increase the network's popularity. "As higher awareness translates into higher usage, the FastTrack network may ultimately become many times larger than Napster ever was," said Webnoize analyst Matt Bailey. http://www.webnoize.com _____________________________________________ o Echo Networks Licenses Warner Music Songs for Subscription Service San Francisco -- Echo Networks, a developer of online music subscription services, announced on Monday that it has secured a licensing agreement with Warner Music Group. Under the terms, San Francisco-based Echo Networks will offer on-demand streams and downloads of songs by Warner artists both on its own service and those it creates for third parties. Echo Networks currently claims 750,000 registered members of its interactive streaming music service -- which does not allow for on-demand streaming or downloads -- but offers stations featuring music from Warner Music Group, in addition to songs from artists on Arista Records, Jive Records and Verve Records. Echo Networks plans to launch its first subscription service in the first quarter of 2002. http://www.echo.com http://www.wmg.com _____________________________________________ o International Online Music Company Vitaminic Licenses Songs to Napster Milan, Italy -- Vitaminic, a provider of music entertainment sites in the U.S. and nine European countries, announced on Monday a multi-year licensing deal with Napster. The deal will add 250,000 tracks for which Vitaminic holds the digital rights to Napster's planned membership-based service. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Napster will pay royalties to Italy-based Vitaminic, which in turn will pay each of its licensors for the tracks that are transferred via the Napster service. Vitaminic offers regional music sites featuring local artists in Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the U.S. Napster recently pushed back the launch of its membership-based service to early next year. http://www.vitaminic.com _____________________________________________ o DirecTV to Offer On-Screen CD Sales Through Deal With Wink, Music Choice El Segundo, Calif. -- Satellite TV operator DirecTV announced on Monday that it will offer viewers the ability to purchase CDs with their remote controls while listening to digital music channels available on DirecTV through Music Choice. The service will be available to users with set-top boxes containing Alameda-based Wink Communications' interactive TV software. In addition to buying CDs while listening to the digital music channels, viewers will also be able to access artist facts, music news, new releases, artist birthdays, music history, gossip, artists' birth names and album cover art. "The interactive enhancements to the Music Choice service will allow customers to make impulse purchases of the very music they are most passionate about while creating new revenue opportunities for DIRECTV and its partners, Music Choice and Wink." http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011105/phm009_1.html http://www.musicchoice.com http://www.wink.com http://www.directv.com _____________________________________________ o Briefly Noted: (Atlanta, Ga.) Incanta, a distributor of broadband content to Internet service providers, announced on Monday that it has partnered with digital music distributor RioPort to enable its ISP customers to offer song and album downloads to their subscribers. Atlanta-based Incanta's service already offers artist information and the ability to purchase CDs; the added RioPort service will let ISP subscribers make purchases from over 100,000 available downloads from all five major record labels. http://www.incanta.net http://www.rioport.com (Columbia, Md.) IBiquity Digital, a developer of digital AM and FM radio broadcast technology, announced on Monday that consumer electronics manufacturer Kenwood has licensed its technology for use in car and home receivers. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Maryland-based IBiquity's technology allows broadcasters to transmit digital quality audio alongside existing analog-based broadcasts. The signal can also carry wireless data such as traffic and weather information. Kenwood expects the receivers to be available commercially in 2003. http://www.ibiquity.com (Hollywood, Calif.) MovieFlix.com, a provider of broadband, full-length streaming movies and TV shows, announced on Monday that it has surpassed 500,000 registered members to its service. Hollywood-based MovieFlix.com offers 2,300 films, streamed to users with RealNetworks' technology. http://www.movieflix.com (Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer 3DO said on Monday that it has partnered with Palm Pictures to release a "game soundtrack" containing songs featured in its upcoming game "Jonny Moseley Mad Trix." The album will feature a number of artists on Palm Pictures' roster as well as Universal/Island Records gold-certified artist Saliva. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011105/sfm055_1.html http://www.3do.com/madtrix http://palmpictures.bluetape.com (San Diego) E.Digital, a developer of portable digital entertainment devices, announced on Monday the release of its MXP 100, an MP3 player that includes voice activation technology providing access to 32 hours of music. The $339 player features IBM's Microdrive for digital data storage. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011105/50246_1.html http://www.edig.com/MXP-100_sneak_peek.html (San Francisco) Wired News featured an article Monday that said a slowdown in the adoption of consumer broadband services, reported by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), could negatively impact the impending launch of subscription services by the recording and motion picture industries. According to recent FCC figures, 10 percent of U.S. households currently subscribe to high-speed Internet access -- which is essential for downloading songs and movies -- and growth is leveling off. http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,47968-2,00.html (Secaucus, N.J.) A version of Nintendo's soon-to-launch GameCube video game console with added DVD player functionality will not be released in the U.S., according to a Reuters report. A representative from Panasonic, which along with Nintendo is developing the $325 "Q" for release in Japan, told Reuters "It's simply a Japan device... Right now there are absolutely no plans for U.S. marketing." http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7764020.html?tag=cd_mh http://www.gamecube.com =================================================== Job Postings: =================================================== To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html > Internet Advertising Sales Manager, gantthead.com, Fairfax VA Are you passionate about the Internet as a B2B advertising medium? We have too many leads to pursue and need you if: you have 2+ yrs exp. selling Internet advertising (required); BA/S degree; B2B agency/account contacts; you can identify, pursue, and close deals. Creative, autonomous work environment. Generous package: salary, commission, benefits. Please send resume to: gina@gantthead.com. EOE, M/F/V/D. For more information, see http://www.gantthead.com/Gantthead/jobs ______________________ > Katrillion, Web Research Assistant - Fort Lee, New Jersey CityConnect, the first national city event guide for teens available on all web and wireless platforms, is looking for an events-locating super-sleuth to find content for posting on the web. The ideal candidate must be -- able to find current information that may not be readily available, a recent college grad, and possess a passion for pop culture and teen trends. Internet savvy plus strong writing skills are essential. Send resume and salary requirements to: ccstaff@katrillion.com http://www.katrillion.com/cityconnect.com ______________________ > Bookspan, Web Designer - Long Island, New York BOOKSPAN is seeking a Web Designer with preferably 1-2 years experience for a freelance position (possible temp-to-hire). Work with a Sr. Designer on the design of all-new web sites from top to bottom. PhotoShop, Illustrator, hand-code HTML, and aptitude to learn proprietary content-management software are an absolute must. Send resume in plain text with URLs of your work, and list the three best-looking content or e-commerce based sites you can find to: jgiannetti@booksonline.com http://www.booksonline.com =================================================== Events/Services Postings: =================================================== To Post Events/Services: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html > CATO CONFERENCE: Intellectual Property in the Information Age Join the Cato Institute and Forbes ASAP for a comprehensive look at the future of intellectual property in the digital economy. Speakers include John Perry Barlow, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.); and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Wednesday, November 14, 2001 at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information or to register, visit http://www.cato.org/events/futureip ______________________ > SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, FINAL 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. The remaining dates on the tour include: ATLANTA, GA: GSU Cinefest Theatre, Nov. 2-3, 10:00 PM AUSTIN, TX: The Alamo Draft House, Downtown, Nov. 7-8, 9:30 PM PITTSBURGH, PA: Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Nov. 16-18, Time TBA NEW YORK CITY, NY: The Anthology Film Archives, Dec. 7-8, 9:30 PM BIRMINGHAM, AL: WorkPlay, Dec. 20, 9:00 PM More info: http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan ______________________ > 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. ______________________ > 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright 2001 Digital Media Wire |