archives

o Listen.com Licenses Songs from BMG, EMI for Subscription Service
o RealNetworks Gets Support from Electronics Firms for Media Player
o Roxio, Gracenote End Patent Dispute; Roxio Licenses Gracenote Database
o Napster Licenses IUMA Songs for New Subscription Service
o Thomson Multimedia Debuts Video Copy-Protection, Other Products
o Digital Jukebox Firm Ecast Licenses All Five Major Record Labels
o Yahoo Brasil Acquires Search Engine Provider Cade
o IM Networks Forms Joint Venture with Softbank Broadmedia
o Briefly Noted: Loudeye Technologies - Audible Magic, Sprint - THQ - 3G,
TDK - 2GB CD-RW, DirecTV - Wink - NBC Virtual Channel, Kenwood Music Keg, Bam Entertainment - "Samurai Jack," IBiquity Digital - Visteon, Alpine
Electronics, Speakeasy - free graphics card
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o Listen.com Licenses Songs from BMG, EMI for Subscription Service

San Francisco -- Listen.com, provider of the Rhapsody digital music
subscription service, announced on Tuesday that it has obtained licenses
from major record labels BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music to
include songs on its service. Financial terms of the agreements were not
disclosed. Under its agreement with BMG, Listen.com subscribers will have
access to current and back catalog BMG recordings through Rhapsody. Its
agreement with EMI allows only North American subscribers access to EMI
repertoire. San Francisco-based Listen.com's November agreement with the
National Music Publishers Association's licensing arm, the Harry Fox
Agency, enables it to immediately begin offering music under its new
agreements. The Rhapsody service combines on-demand streaming of songs
with free Internet radio stations for less than $10 per month.
http://rhapsody.listen.com/press/bmg_agreement_010702.html
http://rhapsody.listen.com/press/emi_agreement_010702.html
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o RealNetworks Gets Support from Electronics Firms for Media Player

Las Vegas -- Media delivery technology firm RealNetworks announced on
Tuesday a number of additional consumer electronics firms that will add
support for the company's media player technology to their products. TiVo,
Moxi Digital, Hitachi, NEC, Philips Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics
will join companies including Hewlett Packard, Liberate, Nokia, Sony
Computer Entertainment, Symbian and Texas Instruments in adding support
for Seattle-based RealNetworks' products. TiVo and Moxi Digital will add
the RealOne Player to their digital set-top boxes, allowing users to
subscribe to RealOne Music through the devices. The other processor firms
will optimize their platforms for the playback of RealNetworks' RealAudio
and RealVideo in devices including DVD players, set-top boxes, mobile
phones and portable media devices.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020108/sfm182_1.html
http://www.realnetworks.com
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o Roxio, Gracenote End Patent Dispute; Roxio Licenses Gracenote Database

Milpitas, Calif. -- CD burning software developer Roxio said on Tuesday
that it has settled its patent dispute with Gracenote, a provider of music
recognition software. Gracenote sued Roxio in May for breach of contract
and patent infringement of its online database, which can identify a CD
when a user inserts it into the CD-ROM drive of a computer that is online.
Roxio in turn countersued Gracenote, claiming their patent was obtained
fraudulently. As a result, Milpitas-based Roxio has signed a multi-year
license that will make Berkeley-based Gracenote's CDDB the exclusive CD
recognition software for current and future versions of Roxio's Easy CD
Creator, Toast and SoundStream products. "We look forward to a long and
mutually successful relationship between our companies through this new
license for intellectual property and current and advanced music
recognition services," said Gracenote CEO David Hyman.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020107/sfm059_1.html
http://www.roxio.com
http://www.gracenote.com
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o Napster Licenses IUMA Songs for New Subscription Service

Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster has licensed songs from artists that have
posted their songs to IUMA, the Internet Underground Music Archive, for
its upcoming paid subscription service, according to an email sent to IUMA
artists. One of the early online music communities, IUMA launched in 1993
and was later merged with EMusic.com in 1999. That relationship ended when
EMusic, which is now a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal, was no longer able
to support payment to IUMA artists. Vitaminic, an international network of
music sites, then purchased IUMA in March 2001 for $900,000 in cash and
stock. Under the terms of its deal with Napster, IUMA artists will receive
50 percent of all royalties generated when users download their songs
through Napster. The tracks will be secured in Napster's proprietary NAP
format, which purports to prohibit their being shared on other
file-sharing services. All IUMA artists are free to withdraw their tracks
at any time from the Napster service, which is scheduled to launch "early
this year."
http://www.iuma.com/ArtistsOnly/Napster/pageNapster-Opt_Out.html
http://napster.com/preview/
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o Thomson Multimedia Debuts Video Copy-Protection, Other Products

Las Vegas -- Consumer electronics developer Thomson Multimedia announced
on Tuesday a new video copy protection technology developed in conjunction
with semiconductor firm Micronas. The SmartRight system is designed for
home networks and meets commercial requirements for TVs, set-top boxes,
DVD players, digital video recorders and PCs. The system is based on the
use of removable security modules, such as smart cards, and will be
implemented on Micronas's digital TV chip. Thomson also announced that its
Technicolor unit is developing Technicolor Digital Memory Cards -- a new
line of more affordable, write-once flash memory cards that will be
compatible with existing and future digital cameras, MP3 players and other
portable devices. Another of Thomson's product announcements from the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week is a new series of analog
RCA televisions designed with a higher quality connection for Microsoft's
Xbox video game console. This new connection takes advantage of the Xbox
system's ability to output component video signal levels, and feeds the
signal through a single connection cable to the TV's special port. Thomson
said that the connection will deliver "dramatically improved picture
detail for Xbox functions."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020108/sftu079_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/82135_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020107/72639_1.html
http://www.thomson-multimedia.com
http://www.micronas.com
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o Digital Jukebox Firm Ecast Licenses All Five Major Record Labels

San Francisco, Calif. -- Ecast, a provider of Internet-connected digital
jukeboxes, announced on Tuesday that it has obtained licenses from BMG,
EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and
Warner Music Group to offer their music in its jukeboxes. Financial terms
of the agreements were not disclosed. Located in public venues like bars
and restaurants, San Francisco-based Ecast's jukeboxes will now give
consumers access to songs from 10,000 albums recorded by both major label
and independent artists. The music is delivered using Microsoft's Windows
Media technology, and is secured by Ecast's proprietary watermarking and
encryption technologies. Ecast raised $12.4 million in a September 2001
financing round led by St. Paul Venture Capital.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.010802/220082297
http://www.ecastinc.com
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o Yahoo Brasil Acquires Search Engine Provider Cade

Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Yahoo Brasil announced on Tuesday that it has
acquired Cade, the leading Brazilian search engine, from StarMedia Network
for an undisclosed amount. Brazil has the largest Internet market in Latin
America, containing an estimated 45 percent of the region's 22 million
users, according to IDC Latin America, 2001. "This acquisition
demonstrates our commitment to constantly improve on the user experience
and our determination to be a long-term player in the Brazilian market,"
said Roberto Alonso, vice president and managing director for Yahoo Latin
America. The two sites will be combined to form a new site over the next
several months. The new portal figures to be Brazil's third-largest,
according to audience measurements from Nielsen NetRatings.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/82207_1.html
http://cade.com.br
http://br.yahoo.com
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o IM Networks Forms Joint Venture with Softbank Broadmedia

Mountain View, Calif. -- IM Networks, a developer of Internet radio
consumer electronics devices, announced on Tuesday a joint venture with
Softbank Broadmedia Corporation to form IM Networks Japan K.K. IM
Networks' device is a standalone radio that connects to the Internet and
can tune into various Web radio stations. IM Networks Japan will provide
localized Japanese content profiles and the IM Tuning service to the
Japanese market. In addition, IM Networks Japan will become the exclusive
licensee of IM Networks' PC-based radio software. Mountain View-based IM
Networks and Tokyo-based Softbank Broadmedia will jointly own IM Networks
Japan.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=255904&detail=story
http://www.imnetworks.com
http://www.broadmedia.co.jp
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o Briefly Noted:

(Washington, D.C.) Streaming services provider Loudeye Technologies and
Audible Magic, a provider of music content-based identification
technology, said on Tuesday that they have combined their technologies to
offer the music industry a digital music tracking and management solution.
The system will use Los Gatos, Calif.-based Audible Magic's music ID
technology to create a database generated from Seattle-based Loudeye's
library of streaming song samples and corresponding metadata from all five
major labels and a number of independent labels.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020107/lam082a_1.html
http://www.audiblemagic.com
http://www.loudeye.com

(Las Vegas) Telecommunications firm Sprint said on Tuesday that game
developer THQ will create and publish Java-based games for Sprint's PCS
Wireless Web as well as its forthcoming 3G wireless network, slated to
launch in mid-2002. The 3G games will include "WWF Mobile Madness" and
several classic Intellivision titles. "We look forward to marrying some of
our biggest brands and proven handheld development expertise with Sprint's
3G1X services to deliver engaging interactive entertainment to Sprint
customers across the nation," said Doug Dyer, general manager, THQ
Wireless.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/80144_1.html
http://www.thq.com
http://www.sprintpcs.com

(Garden City, N.Y.) Storage media developer and manufacturer TDK announced
on Tuesday a new line of CD-RW drives capable of recording up to 2GB of
media files or other data. The new TDK drive incorporates a MultiLevel
read/write chip that when combined with TDK's new ML-R and ML-RW discs
offer the 2GB capacity, three times that of normal recordable CDs. TDK
will sell its new drive for $199, and write-once and rewritable ML discs
for $1.99 and $2.99, respectively.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/82639_1.html
http://www.tdk.com

(Las Vegas) Satellite TV operator DirecTV announced on Tuesday the launch
of NBC Virtual Channel on DirecTV, an interactive channel featuring
breaking news, business news and interactive commerce from MSNBC, CNBC and ShopNBC. Customers with a Wink-enabled cable set-top box will be able to
make purchases on ShopNBC with their television's remote control by
entering a 4-digit PIN number that charges a registered credit card.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020108/mntu004_1.html
http://www.wink.com

(Las Vegas) Consumer audio electronics firm Kenwood on Tuesday announced
the release of its Music Keg, a 10GB removable hard drive and receiver set
for the car. Users install proprietary playlist management software
provided by Los Angeles-based PhatNoise onto their PC to rip CDs onto the
Music Keg hard drive via a USB connection. The $900 Music Keg supports
bitrates of up to 320kbps in formats including MP3, WMA, VBR and Ogg
Vorbis. The hard drive is then loaded into a trunk or in-car cradle, and
selections can be made from the receiver, which supplies MP3 file names
and ID3 tags on its display.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=255636&detail=story
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=162&productLineId=1&productId=2373

(San Jose, Calif.) Bam Entertainment, a developer and publisher of video
games for PC, wireless and console systems, said on Tuesday that it has
expanded its license agreement with the Cartoon Network and Warner Bros.
Consumer Products to include the Cartoon Network animated series "Samurai
Jack." The company has already developed games based on Cartoon Network's
"Powerpuff Girls" and "Dexter's Laboratory" for Nintendo's Game Boy
Advance, Nintendo 64 and Sony's PlayStation. San Jose-based Bam said the
first game based on Samurai Jack will be released later this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020108/sftu052_1.html
http://www.bam4fun.com
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/jack/

(Las Vegas) IBiquity Digital, a developer of digital AM and FM radio,
announced on Tuesday that car stereo manufacturer Visteon Corporation has
licensed its technology. Maryland-based IBiquity Digital has developed
technology that allows a digital radio signal as well as wireless data to
be transmitted by broadcasters alongside existing analog AM and FM
signals. Michigan-based Visteon -- which also developed car stereo
receivers for XM Satellite Radio -- will integrate IBiquity's digital AM
and FM technology into receivers that will become available in the 2004
car model year.
http://www.ibiquity.com
http://www.visteon.com

(Las Vegas) Car stereo manufacturer Alpine Electronics of America on
Tuesday debuted new products that support satellite radio and the MP3
format. Torrance, Calif.-based Alpine will release seven receivers for XM
Satellite Radio's service; the company will also support playback of MP3
CDs in five of the CD and DVD receivers it plans to release in 2002.
http://www.alpine1.com/html/press/2002_1i.htm

(Seattle)National broadband service provider Speakeasy announced on
Tuesday a promotion with PNY Technologies, where new subscribers to
Speakeasy's DSL service will receive a free Verto graphics card.
Seattle-based Speakeasy offers high-speed Internet access specifically
tailored for hardcore gamers and advanced Internet users. "Hardcore gamers
will receive the extreme graphics performance that they crave with the
combination of PNY Verto graphics cards, based on Nvidia GPUs, and
Speakeasy's rock solid connectivity and service," said Edward Bender,
director of online gaming for Speakeasy.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220080170&ticker=
http://www.speakeasy.net/dsl/nvidia
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