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November 19, 2003 -- About Us | Advertise | Events | Publications | Subscribe

Main Stories
o Reports: Saban, Bronfman Jr. to Make Warner Music Offer
o EMI Weathers 10.4% Decline in Recorded Music Industry
o America Online Acquires Singingfish Streaming Media Search Engine
o Sirius Satellite Radio to Raise $150 Million in Stock Offering
o Microsoft Signs Multiyear Pact to Use GameSpy Online Gaming Services
o Games, DVD Firm Zoo Digital Seeks $9.8 Million in Share Placement


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o Briefly Noted: MPEG LA - H.264 royalty rates, mmO2 - O2 Music service, Coding Technologies - mmO2 - Beijing E-World Technology, JamSession, PhatNoise, Rockstar Games - "Manhunt," Eidos - "Whiplash," Aspyr Media - "Star Trek Elite Force II," Peppercoin - Big Frank Records, Garageband.com

 
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o Reports: Saban, Bronfman Jr. to Make Warner Music Offer

Paris -- News media reported this week that consortium led by media moguls Haim Saban and Edgar Bronfman Jr. is expected to make a $2.5-billion offer for Warner Music, Time Warner's music division. Quoting anonymous industry sources, various new media said that Time Warner, currently the No. 1 media company in the world, is planning to choose between the consortium bid and a proposal made by EMI Group, which has offered $1 billion for a majority stake in Warner Music. Vivendi Universal board member Bronfman has been trying to get back into the music business since he failed to regain Universal's movie and music businesses, which were merged with NBC in October.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L20113596
http://makeashorterlink.com/?W31113596
_____________________________________________

o EMI Weathers 10.4% Decline in Recorded Music Industry

London -- EMI Group on Wednesday reported that its first-half revenues held firm at 960.3 million pounds ($1.63 billion), outperforming recorded music industry sales, which declined by 10.4% worldwide. Operating profit (EBITA) rose 0.9% to 79.7 million pounds ($135.4). EMI Chairman Eric Nicoli said that the group had made "good progress" during the first half, adding: "It is most encouraging that, in these extremely challenging industry conditions, both of our businesses -- recorded music and music publishing -- maintained sales, operating profit and margin at last year's level and outperformed the rest of the industry."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A6E421596
http://www.emigroup.com
_____________________________________________

o America Online Acquires Singingfish Streaming Media Search Engine

Dulles, Va. -- America Online on Wednesday announced that it has acquired Seattle-based Singingfish, provider of a search engine for streaming audio and video files. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. AOL has incorporated Singingfish's search index into its AOL Search service, allowing users to search "Audio" and "Video." The company also debuted new search features that allow members to perform localized entertainment searches that return results found in their local geographic area. AOL also said it recently introduced a News Search feature, which culls stories from "a variety of trusted news sources," to compete with similar services offered by Google and more recently Microsoft's MSN Newsbot.
http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_num=55253602
http://www.singingfish.com
____________________________________________

o Sirius Satellite Radio to Raise $150 Million in Stock Offering

New York -- Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced on Wednesday that it will sell 73.2 million additional shares of stock in the company, in a transaction that will raise around $150 million in new funds. The offering, which is being underwritten by UBS Securities, is expected to close on Monday. New York-based Sirius said it will use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including investments in programming and retail and automotive distribution.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031119/nyw087_1.html 
http://www.siriusradio.com ____________________________________________

oMicrosoft Signs Multiyear Pact to Use GameSpy Online Gaming Services

Irvine, Calif. -- GameSpy, a provider of video game news and online gaming support services, announced on Wednesday that Microsoft Game Studios has signed a multiyear agreement to use GameSpy's services for its PC-based online games. The agreement includes 24 Microsoft Game Studios titles, including the recently released PC version of its popular Xbox title, "Halo." Under the terms of the agreement, Irvine, Calif.-based GameSpy will also supply Microsoft Game Studios with software development kits that enable online matchmaking, community, administrative and networking functionalities for its online titles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031119/195637_1.html
http://www.microsoft.com/games 
http://www.gamespy.com
____________________________________________

oGames, DVD Firm Zoo Digital Seeks $9.8 Million in Share Placement

London -- Zoo Digital, a U.K.-based video game publisher and provider of DVD authoring software, on Wednesday announced that will seek to raise $9.8 million in a share placement with new and existing institutional investors. The company said that the funds will be used to accelerate the development of its DVD-Extra technology; invest in sales and support in Europe, the U.S. and Asia; further invest in patent protection and filing of additional patents, and provide additional working capital to continue the development of the business and to repay the company's long-term debt.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?B2F421596

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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)
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
Sean Badding
- President & Senior Analyst, The Carmel Group
Robert Van Orden
- VP, Product Strategy, Scientific-Atlanta
Paul Sherman - Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Potomac Tech Wire
Scott Fedewa - COO & Executive Producer, BillOReilly.com
Lydia Loizides - Senior Analyst, Jupiter Research
Brad Heureux - Director, Interactive Sales, Comcast
Barbara Bacci Mirque - SVP, Association of National Advertisers
Christina Tancredi - SVP, Mktg, Advertising & Sponsorship, MusicChoice
Kevin Carton
- Global Leader, Entertainment & Media Practice, PWC
Reggie Bradford - President, N2 Broadband
Reese Schonfeld - Author / Co-Founder & Former Chairman, CNN
Max Robins - Senior Editor & Columnist, TV Guide
Tom Tyrer
- SVP, Corporate Communications, Fox Cable Networks Group
Rick Mandler -
VP & General Manger, ABC Enhanced Television
Todd Leavitt
- President & COO,
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

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o Briefly Noted:

(Denver, Colo.) MPEG LA, the licensing body for patent holders of technology related to digital video, announced that it has set royalty rates for the use of its H.264 video codec. Also called MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC (Advanced Video Coding), the codec provides quality and performance superior to the current MPEG-2 standard. Those who must pay royalties include manufacturers of DVD players and cable television equipment, who will use the codec to compress video that passes through their devices. Internet broadcasters are exempt from paying any royalties until 2010, as the market for the new codec develops.
http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_03-11-17_avc.html 
http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5108651.html

(London) U.K.-based wireless carrier mmO2 has launched its O2 Music service, which lets users preview and download songs via their cell phones "over the air" onto a branded O2 Digital Music Player designed by Siemens. Tracks will be provided by BMG, Universal, AIM and Warner Music International, and will cost around $2.55 per track. The Siemens player, which can hold 64MB of music on a removable storage card, is being offered for $170 during a current promotion. The company said its O2 Music service is now available in the U.K. and will roll-out in Germany and Ireland during 2004.
http://www.mmo2.com/docs/media/pr_031118.html 
http://www.o2.co.uk

(Stockholm) Coding Technologies, a developer of audio compression technologies, has announced that U.K.-based mobile phone carrier mmO2 has selected the company's MPEG-4 aacPlus codec for its O2 Music service. The service allows users to select music via their mobile handset and download it to a specially designed O2 Digital Music Player manufactured by Siemens. Stockholm-based Coding Technologies also said that it has formed a joint venture with Beijing E-World Technology, creator of the new Chinese Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD) format, to create and license a new audio codec. The EAC 2.0 codec will be used in EVD players -- a Chinese alternative to DVD -- as well as in other devices.
http://www.codingtechnologies.com/news/assets/20031118_mmO2_eng.htm
http://www.codingtechnologies.com/news/assets/20031118_beijing_eng.htm

(Princeton, N.J.) JamSession, a New Jersey-based start-up developing wireless network technology for multiplayer gaming, has announced its launch and is currently raising its first round of venture capital, VentureWire reported. The company's CTO, Aleta Ricciardi, started the distributed systems research department at Bell Laboratories.
http://www.jamsession.com

(Los Angeles) PhatNoise, a developer of digital audio consumer electronics, on Wednesday introduced two new products, the PhatNoise Home Digital Media Player and the PocketBox Portable Digital Media Player. The $349 Home Player connects to a home stereo and can play tracks stored on a PhatNoise DMS Cartridge, also compatible with the company's hard drive-based car audio player. The $139 PocketBox is a portable player with 128MB of memory that plays MP3 and WMA files, and also features a voice recorder.
http://www.phatnoise.com

(New York) Rockstar Games, a video game publishing unit of Take-Two Interactive, announced on Wednesday the release of its "Manhunt" title for PlayStation 2. The game was developed by Rockstar North, the studio also responsible for creating the company's popular "Grand Theft Auto" game franchise.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031119/195179_1.html
http://www.rockstargames.com/manhunt

(San Francisco) U.K.-based game developer Eidos said that it has shipped its "Whiplash" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to North American retailers. The game was developed by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Crystal Dynamics.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031118/sftu117_1.html 
http://www.eidos.com 
http://www.crystald.com 
http://www.whiplashgame.com

(Austin) Aspyr Media, a developer of video games for Mac, announced on Wednesday that it has released its "Star Trek Elite Force II." The game was developed by Dallas-based Ritual Entertainment and converted for the Mac by Austin-based Westlake Interactive.
http://www.ritual.com 
http://www.westlakeinteractive.com 
http://www.aspyr.com

(Boston) Peppercoin, a provider of micropayments technology, announced on Wednesday that Boston-based record label Big Frank Records' artist Catapult will use its technology to sell tracks from their new album online. Consumers can visit the band's website to register for a Peppercoin account, at which point they may purchase tracks from the album for $0.50 each.
http://www.peppercoin.com 
http://www.catapulttheband.com

(San Francisco) Garageband.com, a provider of online resources for unsigned bands, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with a network of college radio stations and webcasters that will play top songs from its 75,000 member artists. The company also announced a new service where "industry professionals" will provide a thorough review of their music for $49.95 per song; the company's first such expert is with Warner A&R. San Francisco-based Garageband.com said that since 1999, 13 of its bands have signed with major record labels.
http://www.garageband.com

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> Director or Senior Associate

Qorvis Communications, the largest independently owned public relations firm in the Greater Washington area is looking for a senior level technology-focused PR professional. Require: Min 3 yrs PR success securing media coverage in national and media outlets, must be driven, possess superior written and verbal communications skills. Please send resumes to opportunities@qorvis.com  or mail to HR Department, 8484 Westpark Drive, #800, McLean, VA 22102. Qorvis is an equal opportunity employer.
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> Controller

Oversee all aspects of accounting, financial reporting, audit and taxation for extremely fast growing software company. Mixture of public and private experience desired. CPA preferred. 5 to 12 years experience considered. Send resumes to jyoung@ilumin.com  Visit http://www.ilumin.com
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> Sales Account Manager  - CA

EmergeCore Networks designer and developer of the Award Winning "IT in a BOX" solution for small business, actively seeking Sales Account Manager, based in the DC area, covering the Southeast/Atlantic Coast area. Require: Strong understanding of network technology solutions, account mgmt. and sales exp. in Channel Sales, exp selling into VAR Channel, ability to generate product sales in new accounts and markets, strong presentation skills, ability to work independently while achieving sales objectives, existing customer and industry contacts. Please send cover letter and resume to: salesmgr@emergecore.com  EmergeCore is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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> Tallan, Account Executive - New York City

The AE position will be responsible for generating and sustaining profitable revenue streams from the sale of software development projects. The AE establishes relationships with strategic buying influences at client organizations in order to monitor and maintain customer satisfaction levels and to uncover new opportunities. Send resumes to lisa.albis@tallan.com  Visit http://www.tallan.com
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> Public Relations Manager - Woburn, MA

Lois Paul & Partners, a nationally known public relations agency is currently seeking a proven PR Manager. Manages client accounts providing daily PR and editorial support. Directs media relations, writing or editing news releases, articles, speeches and presentations. Manages tours, product launches, editorial calendars and interviews. Manages team members directly or indirectly. Participates in new business prospecting including the development of pitches, presentations and proposals. Require project mgmt skills, media relations, analytical and PC skills. College degree reqd. Previous mgmt and PR exp. in high-tech reqd. Send resume with salary requirements to careers@lpp.com
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