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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- November 16, 2000
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o MP3.com Served Class Action Lawsuit By Additional Record Labels
o Conde Nast To Launch Web Sites For 16 Magazine Titles
o BMG To Syndicate Streamed Music Videos
o Streaming Media Delivery Firm Aerocast Raises $15 Million
o Audiohighway.com Lays Off 70% Of Employees
o Broadband Sports Acquires Action Sports Network
o Briefly Noted: Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, "Fan Films," Thaon
Communications, "Name That Tune"
_____________________________________________

o MP3.com Served Class Action Lawsuit By Additional Record Labels

San Diego -- MP3.com, which this week settled the last remaining lawsuit
brought against it by a major record label, confirmed on Thursday that a
class action lawsuit for copyright infringement has been filed against the
company. The suit was filed on behalf of Unity Entertainment Corporation,
which owns a group of labels that includes Countdown Records. "On behalf
of both consumers and artists, we are disappointed to receive this
complaint, particularly in light of the strides we have made in securing
licensing agreements from now all five of the major record labels," said
Michael Robertson, CEO of MP3.com. The company also faces pending
litigation from other smaller labels, including TVT Records. However, in
ending its lawsuit with Universal Music Group -- the last of the five
major labels that had sued the company -- MP3.com's My.MP3.com service can
now include over 90 percent of music produced worldwide.
http://www.mp3.com
_____________________________________________

o Conde Nast To Launch Web Sites For 16 Magazine Titles

New York -- Advance Publications announced that it will launch individual
websites for all 16 Conde Nast magazine titles, The Wall Street Journal
reported on Thursday. Magazines including GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue and the
New Yorker will have their own websites by the end of 2001. The company
said that a website for the New Yorker will the first to be implemented,
and is expected to launch in January. New York-based Advance will also
shut down two websites, Swoon.com and Phys.com, saying they do not have a
long-term future. Swoon.com is a "relationships" site that adapts content
from Mademoiselle, GQ and Glamour, and Phys.com provides health
information adapted from Self magazine.
http://www.condenet.com
_____________________________________________

o BMG To Syndicate Streamed Music Videos

New York -- Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) announced on Thursday that it
will begin streaming music videos of its artists to a network of
syndication partners. The company said that the program will launch with
1,000 videos by the end of December. San Mateo-based Virage will provide
encoding and secure distribution of the videos, which will be sent out to
users through Massachusetts-based Akamai's content delivery network. BMG
said that it will expand the video syndication program to include rare,
catalog footage from its library. BMG announced last week that it has
partnered with Napster to develop a secure, membership-based service for
digital music file-sharing. The company is also reportedly in talks to
acquire Redwood City-based Liquid Audio, a distributor of digital music.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001116/ca_virage_.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001116/ma_akamai_2.html
http://www.bmgentertainment.com
_____________________________________________

o Streaming Media Delivery Firm Aerocast Raises $15 Million

San Diego -- Aerocast, a developer of streaming media content delivery
technology, announced on Thursday that it has raised $15 million in its
first round of financing from Motorola and Liberty Satellite. San
Diego-based Aerocast is developing technology that speeds streaming media
content to homes and businesses with high-speed Internet access. The
company plans to launch its service in December.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001116/ca_aerocas.html
http://www.aerocast.com
_____________________________________________

o Audiohighway.com Lays Off 70% Of Employees

Cupertino, Calif. -- Audiohighway.com, a web radio site with news, music
and comedy, announced on Thursday that it has laid off 21 of its 30
employees. The layoffs aim to cut expenses while the company seeks
strategic partners and additional funding. Cupertino-based
Audiohighway.com provides free streaming audio content such as music,
audio books and comedy, and also operates an online store that sells
videos, games and home electronics. Warner Music Group owns a stake in the
company, which has been in business for over four years.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001116/ca_audiohi.html
http://www.audiohighway.com
_____________________________________________

o Broadband Sports Acquires Action Sports Network

Los Angeles -- Broadband Sports, an online sports media provider,
announced on Thursday that it has acquired Action Sports Network, an
extreme sports site. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The
company will combine its FreeStyleDirect division -- which produces the
official sites for several popular extreme sports figures -- with Action
Sports Network's sites surflink.com, snowboardlink.com and
skateboardlink.com. Los Angeles-based Broadband Sports will also become a
primary content provider for AOL's extreme sports section, a result of
Action Sports' previous relationship with the Internet service provider.
http://www.broadbandsports.com
http://www.freestyledirect.com
http://www.actionsportsnetwork.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Independent Film Festival will change its
name to the Los Angeles Film Festival, and increase its scope to include
digital films, digital seminars and gala screenings, Indie Wire reported
on Thursday. The festival will also expand to nine days in length, as part
of an overall effort to attract a broader audience. "We want to be more
inclusive to the regular citizens of Los Angeles, said festival director
Rich Raddon. "[But at the same time] we don't want it to be perceived in
the indie community that we are snubbing independent films."
http://www.indiewire.com/film/biz/biz_001116_briefs.html
http://www.laiff.com

(San Francisco) Salon.com ran a feature story on Thursday about "Fan
Films," or, amateur digital films based on established movie storylines
such as those of "Star Wars" and "The Highlander." Many of the films are
produced with the same equipment and budgets that are common to other
independent filmmakers. Almost all "fan" films are unauthorized uses of
many elements of the original film; however, Atom Films and Lucasfilm
recently announced they would launch an official site for "Star Wars" fan
films. A link to "Troops," a hybrid of the TV show "Cops" and "Star Wars,"
is provided below.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/11/16/fan_films/print.html
http://theforce.net/troops/

(Los Angeles) CastPro.com, a provider of live webcasting services,
announced on Thursday that it will change its name to Thaon
Communications, Inc. The company will focus on providing full-service
production and broadcasting of web content to its clients. "We intend to
be the first fully-operational studio streaming infomercial content to the
web," said James Ocon, vice president of communications for Thaon.
http://www.castpro.com

(New York) Uproar, an interactive game site, announced on Thursday that it
has secured the online rights to the TV game show "Name That Tune," and is
developing an online version of the game with music company All Access
Entertainment. New York-based Uproar has also developed online games for
TV game shows including Family Feud, To Tell the Truth and Match Game.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001116/ny_uproar_.html
http://www.uproar.com
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