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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- December 18, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Radio Broadcasters, Music Companies Reach Accord On Streaming Rates
o BMI Signs Long-Term License Agreements With MSN, Yahoo
o Report: Online PC Games Will Fare Better Than Online Console Games
o Game Developer Infogrames' Merger Approved
o Briefly Noted: Sonic Solutions - Dell Computer Corp., DivXNetworks - VOD
content partners, "Fast & Furious -- More Music" - copy-protection,
Washington debate - digital rights management, TownB.com, NetFlix
_____________________________________________

o Radio Broadcasters, Music Companies Reach Accord On Streaming Rates

Washington -- Broadcasters and music companies have reached an agreement on royalty rates that will be paid to artists and copyright holders when radio stations stream their signals online. Radio stations do not have to pay royalties to record
labels for broadcasting music, but the Copyright Office and a federal
court found that they must pay when their signals are streamed online
Terms of the agreement, which covers only online radio station simulcasts
and not Internet-only webcasters, were not disclosed. Those signing the
agreement included record labels, performing rights organizations and
broadcasters including Clear Channel and CBS Broadcasting. The parties
have asked that the Copyright Office remove the issue of simulcasting
royalties from the ongoing Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP)
hearings.
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/newsnet/index.html
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/carp/10-5agreement.pdf
_____________________________________________

o BMI Signs Long-Term License Agreements With MSN, Yahoo

New York -- Performing rights organization BMI on Tuesday announced that
it has signed long-term license agreements with online music providers MSN
and Yahoo, covering the public performances of songs on the companies'
websites. "We are happy that we have been able to arrive at equitable
agreements that help to build the Internet as a legitimate venue for the
performance of BMI music," said Richard Conlon, vice president, marketing
and business development, media licensing at BMI. Once payment and
performance data is received, fees collected from the public performances
of songs on the sites will be distributed as royalties to the songwriters,
composers and music publishers of the works BMI represents. The licenses
covers approximately 4.5 million works from over 350,000,000 songwriters,
composers and music publishers from around the world and in all genres of
music. Yesterday, Yahoo debuted a new music site featuring content culled
from its acquisition of Launch Media. "Yahoo is firmly committed to
ensuring that artists and songwriters are fairly compensated for the
public performance of their music," said David Goldberg, co-founder of
Launch Media and now general manager, music at Yahoo.
http://www.bmi.com/news/200112/20011218a.asp
http://launch.yahoo.com
http://music.windowsmedia.msn.com/
_____________________________________________

o Report: Online PC Games Will Fare Better Than Online Console Games

New York -- Subscription revenues from online PC games will total $1.5
billion by 2006, while subscription revenues from connected console gaming
will only reach $250 million in the same period, according to a recently
released report from Internet analyst and measurement firm Jupiter Media
Metrix. However, none of the new consoles offered by Microsoft, Sony or
Nintendo have yet launched their planned online gaming initiatives, which
take advantage of the devices' built-in Internet connections. "Stakes for
the connected console video games market are growing rapidly, but don't
signal a goldmine quite yet," said Jupiter analyst Billy Pidgeon. "While
revenues from software for offline consoles remain two to three times
higher than offline PC games revenues, subscriptions for online PC games
will continue to exceed subscriptions for online console games in the
immediate term." Jupiter predicts that 12.3 million of the 79 million
households expected to own game consoles will have them connected to the
Internet by 2006.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011217/hsm024_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011217/nym021_1.html
http://www.jmm.com
_____________________________________________

o Game Developer Infogrames' Merger Approved

Lyon, France -- Game developer and publisher Infogrames said that its
shareholders have approved its proposed merger with majority shareholder
Interactive Partners, Reuters reported. Lyon-based Infogrames will offer
$13.73 per share to acquire Interactive Partners' entire 19 percent stake
in the company. Reuters quoted some analysts as saying the move makes the
company a more attractive takeover target for firms including Microsoft
and Vivendi Universal.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8211046.html?tag=cdshrt
http://www.infogrames.com
_____________________________________________

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_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Novato, Calif.) Sonic Solutions, a provider of PC-based DVD creation
software, announced on Tuesday that its MyDVD software will be bundled
with PCs manufactured by Dell Computer Corp. Adobe Systems recently
licensed Novato-based Sonic's DVD authoring tools to implement into its
own product line of video editing software.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011218/180062_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011211/110101_1.html
http://www.sonic.com

(San Diego) DivXNetworks, a provider of video compression technology and a
video-on-demand (VOD) delivery system, announced on Tuesday three new
partners that will use its VOD service. Videomaker Magazine, Vista Street
Entertainment and Melano Filmworks have licensed San Diego-based
DivXNetworks technology to sell downloads of their films and music videos
online. DivXNetworks will launch its VOD service with 20 content partners
in the first quarter of 2002.
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/release_html_b1?release_id=36122
http://www.videomaker.com
http://www.trashvideo.com
http://www.godivx.tv

(San Jose, Calif.) The San Jose Mercury News is currently featuring an
article on today's release of the first copy-protected CD to enter the
U.S. market, Universal Music Group's second soundtrack release for the
film "The Fast and the Furious" -- "Fast & Furious -- More Music.'' The CD
will not play in Mac computers, nor on some DVD players and video game
consoles, and when inserted into a PC will not let users rip tracks into
MP3 format. "I'm very, very curious to see what happens," said Christa
Haussler, BMG Entertainment's vice president of new technology. "Because
it is not clear if it will become truly a usability issue, or if this is
more of a PR question."
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/cd121701.htm

(Washington, D.C.) Wired News reported on a debate in Washington on Monday
that featured speakers including Motion Picture Association of America CEO
Jack Valenti and Rhett Dawson, president of the Information Technology
Industry Council. The discussion, organized by the U.S. Commerce Dept.,
focused on the deployment of essential digital rights management
technologies that will enable movie studios to distribute their content
digitally. The speakers also discussed Sen. Fritz Hollings proposed
legislation that would mandate government-approved anti-piracy technology
in almost all consumer electronic devices.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49201,00.html
http://www.mpaa.org
http://www.itic.org

(Berlin) German magazine De:Bug recently profiled a website that offers
updated information on live DJ sets being webcast from around the world.
TownB.com created a network among a multitude of websites that offer live
webcasts of electronic music acts spinning records on net radio shows,
during live clubcasts, music festivals and other events.
http://www.de-bug.de/news/571.html
http://www.townb.com

(San Francisco) CNET on Tuesday featured an article about NetFlix, an
online DVD rental service that has managed to weather the attrition among
e-commerce-based companies. The company's basic subscription costs $19.95
for a limited number of DVDs ordered online, delivered and returned by
mail and kept by subscribers as long as they like -- without accruing late
fees. "It's quicker to deliver a DVD through the mail than it is to
download the equivalent over 14.4K modem," said Jay Hoag, general partner
at Technology Crossover Ventures, an investor in NetFlix. "At some point
that crossover happens when it becomes more efficient for consumers to get
a movie over the Internet or through the cable box. At that point NetFlix
will have to move over [into digital distribution]."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8212616.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.netflix.com
______________________

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