archives

o Music Publishers Petition Copyright Office To Set Digital Royalty Rates
o Time Warner Wins Case Against Harry Potter Cybersquatters
o Online Magazine Salon.com Lays Off 20% Of Staff
o MP3.com, Warner Music Sign Video Licensing And Promotional Agreements
o Interactive Radio Site iJockey Raises $1.2 Million
o Multimedia Software Developer Sonic Foundry Lays Off 40% Of Staff
o Briefly Noted: Infonautics - EW.com, Adam Levine - Pho list, Tickets.com
- Raley's, Indiqu - France Telecom Mobile
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Software Developer, Technology Manager, SW & FPGA Engineers, Sales Rep., PR Professionals

> Events: Master the Technology, Potomac Tech Wire Seminar Series, iHollywood Forum

Full Job/Event 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: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o Music Publishers Petition Copyright Office To Set Digital Royalty Rates

New York -- The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) announced on
Thursday that it has filed a petition with the U.S. Copyright Office to
establish statutory royalty rates for music downloaded and streamed on the
Internet. Currently, sites such as MP3.com and EMusic.com pay a one-time
fee to include each song in their databases, and one-quarter cent each
time a user streams a song from the digital locker services. The petition
asks the copyright office to set statutory rates for all digital music
transferred on the Internet. The organization called the petition
"regrettable but necessary," after failing to reach a negotiated agreement
with the recording industry before the year-end deadline. "This is a very
disappointing turn of events," said NMPA CEO Edward P. Murphy, "especially
after two decades of harmonious dealings with the recording industry." The
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed its own petition in
November, asking the Copyright Office to consider opening arbitration
hearings on the matter. In a statement, the RIAA said that their
motivation in filing its petition was to get music subscription services
online as soon as possible.
http://www.nmpa.org/pr/internetroyalty.html
http://www.riaa.org/PR_Story.cfm?id=357
_____________________________________________

o Time Warner Wins Case Against Harry Potter Cybersquatters

Geneva, Switzerland -- The United Nations' World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) ruled on Thursday that 107 Internet domain names
associated with the Harry Potter character be handed over to Time Warner
-- which owns the marketing rights for the character -- the Associated
Press reported. Most of the domain names in question were registered
within days of Time Warner's announcement that it would create a movie
based on the J.K. Rowling books. This fact led the WIPO to believe they
were registered by a "cybersquatter" -- or, someone who tries to
capitalize on the intellectual property of people or companies by
registering similar-sounding domains. Disputed names in the case included
www.harrypottersmovie.com and www.harrypotterfilm.org. The Wall Street
Journal reported on Thursday that Time Warner also sought to regain domain
names from teenage fans of the books, sending letters to children who set
up websites as Harry Potter fan pages, with URLs like harrypotter.co.uk.
Pop singer Madonna recently won a similar ruling from the WIPO that turned
over possession of Madonna.com to her from an adult site owner.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,40785,00.html
http://www.harrypotter.com
_____________________________________________

o Online Magazine Salon.com Lays Off 20% Of Staff

San Francisco -- Salon.com, an online magazine featuring articles by noted
writers including Garrison Keillor, Camille Paglia and Stanley Crouch,
announced that it will lay off 20 percent of its staff, or about 25
employees. The layoffs will affect all sectors of the company, and will
include several editorial positions. San Francisco-based Salon.com said
the layoffs are a result of current market conditions, and are part of an
overall expense reduction that it says will result in a 40 percent
reduction in operating expenses. The company also announced that Salon
co-founder and executive vice president Andrew Ross will resign his
position to spend more time with family and pursue writing again. "The
market is demanding profitability and we're committed to get there as
quickly as possible in 2001," said Michael O'Donnell, CEO of Salon.com.
"This was a difficult decision because it involves talented people who
have worked very hard to make Salon a success."
http://www.salon.com/press/releases/index.html
_____________________________________________

o MP3.com, Warner Music Sign Video Licensing And Promotional Agreements

San Diego -- MP3.com announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement
with Warner Music Group to license the label's music videos and select
recordings for use on its website. In addition, MP3.com has agreed to
provide the label with featured artist pages and promotional email
distribution for select Warner Music artists. San Diego-based MP3.com
recently signed an agreement to license Warner's catalog for its
My.MP3.com digital locker streaming service, which allows users to listen
online to music they've already purchased. The company's other services
feature mainly user-submitted music for streaming on-demand and download,
and compensates artists based on how many times users stream or download
their songs. "We're pleased to be working with MP3.com," said Paul Vidich,
executive vice president, strategic planning and business development for
Warner Music Group. "And we look forward to offering our artists and
labels MP3.com's unique distribution capability and technological
infrastructure."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001221/ca_ny_mp3_.html
http://www.mp3.com
http://www.wmg.com
_____________________________________________

o Interactive Radio Site iJockey Raises $1.2 Million

New York -- iJockey, an interactive streaming music site, announced that
it has raised $1.2 million in seed funding from private investors. The
company said it is now seeking a $2 million bridge round of funding from
institutional investors for completion of development, Interactive license
fees and marketing. New York-based iJockey provides software through its
website that will allow users to listen to "fully interactive" streaming
music on-demand. "While other companies take existing radio and music
models and bring them to the Internet, iJockey leverages the power of the
Internet and uses it to fully enhance the music experience," said James H.
Haddad Esq., iJockey's CFO. Haddad says the company is currently in talks
with all five major record labels regarding licensing their music for the
iJockey site, and is close to securing its first agreement. "The agreement
will be a huge deal, because we're the first fully interactive streaming
on-demand site to be granted a license," said Haddad. iJockey is scheduled
to launch in the spring of 2001.
http://www.ijockey.com
_____________________________________________

o Multimedia Software Developer Sonic Foundry Lays Off 40% Of Staff

Madison, Wisc. -- Sonic Foundry, a developer of audio and video creation
and editing software, announced on Thursday that it will lay off 40
percent of its staff, or about 98 employees. The company said in a
statement that the layoffs are a result of "significant holiday retail
weakness and an overall softening in the PC industry, causing potential
discounting, sales promotions and possible returns in [our] PC software
business unit." The layoffs will reduce the company's operating expenses
by $20 million annually. New York-based Sonic Foundry develops software
for recording and film professionals, webmasters and consumers that allows
them to create, edit and play digital media files on PCs. The company
recently announced its intent to sell its syndication business unit to
Carsey-Werner Distribution. "It's obvious that after further industry
warnings and a continued softening of the economy, additional cost cutting
measures are necessary," said Sonic Foundry CEO Rimas Buinevicius. "We
will continue to adjust our business plan to these rapidly changing market
conditions and will take further actions, if necessary, to position the
company to be able to take advantage of business opportunities as they
reemerge."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001220/wi_sonic_f.html
http://www.sonicfoundry.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(King of Prussia, Pa.) Infonautics, a provider of personalization features
for websites, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with
Entertainment Weekly's EW.com to develop a site based on Infonautics'
EntertainmentSleuth.com. The site will allow users to customize a
web-scraper to find articles on one of 6000 celebrities. Users are then
updated by email with news, multimedia, reviews, downloads, photos, gossip
and interviews from the web. Pennsylvania-based Infonautics provides
similar services for sports figures, corporations, and job titles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001221/pa_infonau.html
http://www.entertainmentsleuth.com
http://www.ew.com

(New York) Digital Music Weekly is currently running a feature on Adam
Levine, a producer in the midst of filming a documentary about the digital
music discussions that occur daily on the "Pho" listserv. Artists,
lawyers, new media executives, journalists, students and others interested
in the development of digital music receive each email posted to the list
by another member every day. Levine has interviewed over 50 members of the
list in cities across the U.S. for the film, which he says could be
anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes in length.
http://www.digitalmusicweekly.com/issues/default.html#Headline419

(Costa Mesa, Calif.) Online ticket-seller Tickets.com announced that it
has partnered with Raley's chain of 149 supermarkets in Northern
California and Nevada. Under the agreement, Raley's stores will sell
Tickets.com tickets through a combination of customer service desks and
automated tellers. Costa Mesa-based Tickets.com said Raley's will also
serve as an "outlet will call" -- an additional location where users can
claim tickets they buy online.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001220/ca_tickets.html
http://www.tickets.com
http://www.raleys.com/

(Paris) Indiqu, a developer of entertainment content for wireless
providers, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with France Telecom
Mobile to provide location-based snow-sport information to users' cell
phones. San Diego-based Indiqu provides similar services as well as games
to wireless providers in Spain, Holland, Ireland, the U.S. and Canada.
http://www.indiqu.com/re_francetelecom.html
http://www.francetelecom.com/vanglais/home/homev4.html

===================================================
Job Postings:
===================================================
To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> MultiVideo Channel One, Inc. (MVC1), Software Developer - Washington DC

Software Developer needed to design video compression software that
delivers digital video files via the Internet. MVC1 offers a national
television broadcast and a new Internet media platform for distributing
traditional and new interactive content.
Send resumes to kwhite@mvc1.com
http://www.mvc1.com
______________________

> Washingtonpost.com, Technology Manager

Washingtonpost.com, the region's most popular destination for everything
Washington, is seeking a Technology Manager. Join our hot team of
professionals and enjoy advanced classes in the latest technologies,
networking at industry events, working for a solid world-class
organization with a future, and making your mark on our award-winning
website. Send resumes to jobstech@wpni.com or visit
http://www.washingtonpost.com and click on Join Us.
______________________

> Convergent Companies, Inc., SW & FPGA Engineers - Greenbelt, MD

We are developing break-through video compression technologies for the
Internet and are looking for FPGA and Software engineers with 1-8 yrs
experience. BSEE/CS familiarity with C++, image processing, object
programming. FPGA position, exp FPGA programming, DSP architectures esp
w/Xilinx. Check out Employment section of our website for details.
Send resumes to jobs@convergentcompanies.com
http://www.convergentcompanies.com
______________________

> Intervise, Sales Representative - DC Metro

Responsible for selling IT Consulting Services to Fortune 1000 companies
and Internet startups. Sales Professional must have 3+ years experience in
selling IT Professional Services. Package includes base salary and
commissions, 401K and Health and Dental insurance.
Send resumes to cgriesbach@intervise.com
http://www.intervise.com
______________________

> KG Communications, Public Relations Professionals - McLean, VA

KG Communications specializes in launching start-ups in the telecom field.
Opportunities exist for candidates with strong writing and communications
skills, knowledge of high-tech trade & business media, analysts and
events. A minimum 3 years' experience in high-tech PR-telecom a plus.
Highly competitive compensation, benefits and perks.
Send resumes to kay.handrahan@kgcom.com

===================================================
Event Postings:
===================================================
To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Master the Technology that is Changing the World - GW Virginia Campus

The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science
will hold an informational session at the Virginia Campus in Ashburn from
6-8 p.m. on January 11th . This is a great opportunity to find out about
cutting edge graduate engineering degree programs including: Computer
Security and Information Assurance; Multimedia, Animation, Graphics and
User Interfaces; Software Engineering and Systems; Computer Architecture,
Networks, Parallel and Distributed Computing; Wireless and Mobile
Networks; Telecommunications and Computers. Contact: scason@va.gwu.edu
http://www.seasva.gwu.edu
______________________

> Potomac Tech Wire Seminar Series: Doing Business with Israel

Sponsor: Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. On Thursday, Jan. 11, Potomac Tech
Wire and Jones Day will host a panel discussion on DC technology firms
doing business with Israel. Panelists include: Daniel Epstein, Executive
Director of US-Israeli Business Exchange; Emanuel Friedman, Chairman and
Co-CEO of Friedman, Billings & Ramsey; Philip Garfunkle, Former President
of Yazam; Stephan Mallenbaum, Partner, Jones Day (Moderator); Additional
Panelists To Be Determined. When: 7:30-8:00 a.m. - Registration and
Breakfast; 8:00-9:30 a.m. - Panel Discussion and Q&A; Where: McLean
Hilton.
To Register for this Event: http://www.potomactechwire.com/Israel.htm
______________________

> iHollywood Forum: How Adult Entertainment Profits From the Internet

Whatever one's attitude toward adult entertainment, one fact is
undeniable: it's the only segment of the entertainment industry that
consistently makes money on the Internet. Panelists include: Larry Flynt,
Publisher of Hustler Magazine; Gail Harris, CEO and President of Falcon
Foto; David Schlesinger, Vice President of Internet Marketing at Vivid
Video; Fred Lane, Author of "Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of
Pornography in the Cyber Age" (Routledge 2000); Mike Rick, Co-founder of
Cybersynergism (Webmaster Superstore for Online Adult Entertainment) and
kSEXRadio.com. When: Wednesday January 17, 6:00 pm-10pm; Where: Santa
Monica Doubletree.
To Register: http://www.ihollywoodforum.com/new/events/jan17_2001.htm
______________________

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