archives

o RIAA Says Anti-Piracy Efforts Targeting Websites Increased 400% in 2000
o Disney to Offer Paid Online Games with Million-Dollar Prizes
o Digital Asset Management Firm Convera Lays Off 15% of Staff
o Youth-Oriented Entertainment Site Bolt.com Raises Fifth Round Funding
o Game Developer THQ Launches Wireless Division
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: E-Publishing - NYC
o Briefly Noted: Akoo - PenguinRadio, DivX - Vidius, Net4Music - BMG Music
Publishing, Activision - Nintendo GameCube, MP3.com, MSN "Music in High
Places," Live365.com, Linkin Park, Princeton Digital Books Plus,
TheForce.net
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> Job Postings: PR Account Director, Desktop Publisher, Strategic Alliance
Manager, Copy Writing Project Coordinator

> Events/Services: "SpyWorm's SEX* Awards," "Sensory Circus"

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 RIAA Says Anti-Piracy Efforts Targeting Websites Increased 400% in 2000

Washington, D.C. -- The Recording Industry Association of America has
released a report on its anti-piracy efforts during 2000, which claims
that it has increased its anti-piracy efforts against websites offering
unauthorized music by 400 percent. The organization sent over 7,400
notices to websites that offered unauthorized songs in 2000, up from 1,600
a year earlier. In addition, the RIAA sent over 2,500 notices to websites
that simply linked to unauthorized music content that is located on other
websites. Its litigation against MP3Board.com -- one of the major sites to
provide such links -- enters the trial phase on May 24. Actions taken
against illegal online auctions that sold unauthorized music rose 850
percent in 2000, and the RIAA said it aided in the seizure of over 1.6
million pirated CD-Rs.
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=414
http://www.riaa.com/pdf/2000_Yearend_Anti-Piracy.4.pdf
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o Disney to Offer Paid Online Games with Million-Dollar Prizes

Los Angeles -- Walt Disney Co. will launch a website that asks users to
pay to play skill-based games to win million-dollar prizes, The Los
Angeles Times reported on Thursday. Skillgames.com hopes to avoid the
current ban on Internet gambling by staying skill and knowledge-based.
Currently, Disney has gained approval in 47 states for the site. Users'
losses will be limited to $300 a month, and those under 18 will be
prohibited from playing games on Skillgames.com.
http://www.latimes.com/business/20010510/t000039257.html
http://www.skillgames.com/
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o Digital Asset Management Firm Convera Lays Off 15% of Staff

Vienna, Va. -- Convera, a provider of digital asset management services,
announced on Thursday that it will lay off 15 percent of its staff as part
of a restructuring. The company cited the current economy and redundant
jobs created when Excalibur Technologies combined with Intel's Interactive
Media Services to form Convera as reasons for the cuts. Virginia-based
Convera also said it closed fewer contacts than expected during the fourth
quarter of 2001. "The downturn in the economy has caused some prospective
customers to re-evaluate and defer their content management initiatives,"
said Convera CEO Patrick C. Condo. The company manages digital multimedia
content on behalf of customers such as ABC News, Microsoft, the National
Basketball Association and Reuters.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010510/2523.html
http://www.convera.com
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o Youth-Oriented Entertainment Site Bolt.com Raises Fifth Round Funding

New York -- Bolt.com, a community-focused entertainment site targeted at
15 to 24-year-olds, said on Thursday that it has raised an undisclosed
amount of capital in its fifth round of venture funding. Participating in
the round were previous investors Bechtel Enterprises, Highland Capital
Partners, Moore Capital, Oak Investment Partners and Sandler Capital
Management. New York-based Bolt will use the funds to develop its wireless
offerings, and expects the investments to take it to profitability by the
end of the year.
http://www.bolt.com
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o Game Developer THQ Launches Wireless Division

Calabasas Hills, Calif. -- THQ, a developer of games for the PC and
consoles manufactured by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, announced on
Thursday the formation of a new wireless division. THQ named Doug Dyer
general manager of THQ Wireless -- which will be headquartered in
Calabasas Hills -- but will conduct much of its operations in Europe. The
company said it intends to become a leading provider of wireless games,
and currently has several games in development for upcoming Java-based
mobile phones. THQ has partnered with Siemens Information Systems to
develop software that makes it easier to create Java-based wireless games.
The first THQ Wireless title is scheduled for release in the fall.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010510/0114.html
http://www.thq.com
http://www.siemens.com/mobile
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> Digital Media Wire Seminar: E-Publishing - NYC

"E-Publishing: The Promise Of A New Book"

New York City | Tuesday, May 29th at The Cornell Club

For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14290&Referrer_id=4074

MODERATOR:
- M.J. Rose, Journalist - Wired News,
Author of 'How to Publish and Promote Online' and 'In Fidelity'

PANELISTS:
- Wendy Silbert, Vice President of Media Development, LiveREADS
- Claire Zion, Editorial Director, iPublish.com - Time Warner Books
***Additional panelists TBA***
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Washington, D.C.) Digital music technology developers Akoo and
PenguinRadio announced on Thursday that they will collaborate on a system
to distribute Internet radio to car stereos using cell phones. D.C.-based
PenguinRadio has developed voice-activated phone technology that lets
users call in to pick from a range of streaming radio stations that are
then delivered to their cell phones. The service will be combined with
Akoo's technology that can send music from MP3 players and cell phones to
car stereos.
http://www.phoneradio.com
http://www.penguinradio.com
http://www.akoo.com

(San Francisco) The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday featured an
article on the increasing availability of bootleg movies on the Internet
in a format known as DivX. The file format functions much like MP3 in that
it can shrink the size of the original song or movie file to a size that
can be more easily transmitted online. North Hollywood-based Vidius, which
tracks the availability of movies on the Internet, said that it is seeing
an average of 450,000 to 580,000 movie downloads per day. The Motion
Picture Association of America has begun to target movie traders, asking
their ISPs to cancel Internet access accounts until they stop trading
unauthorized DivX movies.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/05/10
/BU35817.DTL&type=tech_article 
http://www.divxnetworks.com
http://www.vidius.com

(New York) Digital sheet music provider Net4Music announced on Thursday
that BMG Music Publishing has signed a non-exclusive but "long-term"
agreement to distribute sheet music through the company's website. New
York-based Net4Music secures the files using its own proprietary
technology, and also offers software that helps musicians to practice the
music they download. The company also distributes sheet music from EMI
Music Publishing, Zomba Music Publishing and Schott Music International.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010510/2444.html
http://www.net4music.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Game developer Activision announced on Thursday
that it is currently creating games two games for Nintendo's GameCube
console. They are an adaptation of its popular "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater"
game and "Spider-Man: The Movie," which is based on the plot and
characters in the upcoming Columbia Pictures film.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010510/lath043.html
http://www.activision.com

(San Diego) MP3.com announced on Thursday that it will begin selling
"NetCDs," or digital versions of albums from artists who offer their music
on MP3.com. The NetCD is automatically added to a user's My.MP3.com online
locker after being purchased. From there, users can download the songs to
a portable MP3 player or burn them onto their own CD. MP3.com artists set
the price for their own albums, which can range from $3.99 to $30.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010510/lath050.html
http://www.mp3.com/cdprogram/

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft's MSN website is offering live performances by
popular musical acts in exotic places. "Music in High Places" features
combinations like Shawn Colvin performing on the island of Bora Bora,
Alanis Morissette in the Navajo Nations lands of Northern Arizona and Boyz
II Men in Korea. A complementary show is being aired on MTV, but Microsoft
said that the TV version offers only one-tenth of the content featured on
MSN.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010510/nyfnsv03.html
http://www.musicinhighplaces.msn.com

(Foster City, Calif.) Web radio provider Live365.com on Thursday released
a beta version of software that allows users to stream its 34,000 radio
stations to their PocketPC handheld devices. Users with certain HP Jornada
and Compaq iPAQ PocketPCs will be able to access the streams, as long as
they also own wireless modems that provide adequate bandwidth. Foster
City-based Live365.com's streaming radio stations are offered at rates
ranging from 14kbps to T1/DSL/Cable modem speeds.
http://www.live365.com/mobile

(Glendale, Calif.) Warner Bros. Online on Thursday announced that a
webcast concert from L.A. rap-rock group Linkin Park is available on its
website as part of its Live Concert Series. The show was captured at the
Sixth Annual Boarding for Breast Cancer Extreme Sports and Music Festival
in Lake Tahoe, and is part of a series of webcasted concerts by Warner
artists like Radiohead, Ben Harper and Eric Clapton.
http://warnerbros.com/pages/music/home.jsp

(New York) The New York Times on Thursday reported on an e-book program
created by Princeton Digital Books Plus, a division of Princeton
University Press. Readers are invited to discuss issues raised by the
e-book title with the author in online forums at sites like Salon.com. A
second version of the e-book is subsequently released that contains the
most stimulating discussions to arise out of the forums. The next e-book
slated for release by the company is Richard Posner's "Breaking the
Deadlock: The Supreme Court and Election 2000."
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/10/technology/10CASS.html
http://pup.princeton.edu/releases/pdbp.html

(San Francisco) Business2.com featured an article on Thursday on Star Wars
producer George Lucas' relatively lax attitude towards fan sites that use
large amounts of Star Wars material. Others such as Warner Bros. have made
concerted efforts to have fan site content taken down, such as its recent
targeting of Harry Potter-related sites. One Star Wars site --
TheForce.Net -- is run by 52 volunteers and racks up over $10,000 in Web
hosting fees monthly. "TheForce.Net is an example of our core fan base
expressing itself. They're the foundation that has sustained this
franchise for 23 years," said Jim Ward, Mr. Lucas' vice president of
marketing.
http://www.business2.com/magazine/2001/05/not_forcing_issue.htm
http://www.theforce.net

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

> The Hoffman Agency, PR Account Director - New York City

Seeking senior-level PR professional w/ 8-12 yrs. high-tech PR exp.,
strong client management skills and proven media & analyst relationships.
Investor Relations experience a big "plus". Duties include: mentoring
account teams, communicating strategies to client & team, developing
'launch' strategies, product positioning, messaging & creative tactical
ideas.
Send resumes to resume@hoffman.com
http://www.hoffman.com
______________________

> Dow Jones & Company, Desktop Publisher - Washington, D.C.

Seeking Desktop Publisher to produce the Dow Jones Newswires family of
Newsletters. Responsible for producing at least one 8-12 page newsletter
per day, combining text, graphics & data graphs exported from
spreadsheets. Must have 3+ yrs. exp. in daily publishing environment.
Knowledge of PageMaker, Acrobat, PhotoShop or Illustrator required.
Send resume to mary.pergament@dowjones.com
http://www.dj.com/careers
______________________

> ClassMates.com, Strategic Alliance Manager - San Francisco

Seeking someone w/ 3+ yrs. strategic selling exp., specifically online
media products and sponsorships to join the Online Media Sales Team.
Proven ability to exceed quotas of $1M/yr. Strong sales, negotiation &
business presentation skills. Must have a 'Rolodex' of contacts. History
of building strategic relationships online & through traditional brick &
mortar channels.
Send resume to lnguyen@corp.classmates.com
http://www.classmates.com
______________________

> Globix, Copy Writing Project Coordinator - New York City

The Project Coordinator will be an accomplished copywriter with talent for
writing original promotional, advertising, informational and technical
copy. Other duties include coordinating projects, dealing with graphic
designers & printers, securing estimates, follow-ups, trade show support,
proofreading & editing. Minimum 2 years copy writing experience.
Send resumes to xyz@globix.com
http://www.globix.com/jobs

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

> SpyWorm's SEX* Awards, September 13 - Los Angeles

SpyWorm, a webcasting production house based in Venice, CA, is recruiting
thirty filmmakers to each create a 5-minute "reality based" short on SEX.
Each filmmaker will be provided with DV gear, $100 lunch money and three
(3) days of postproduction services. The top fifteen (15) pieces, as
determined by a panel of esteemed judges, will screen at SpyWorm's SEX*
Awards on September 13, 2001, and compete for cash prizes: 1st Prize
$5,000; 2nd Prize $2,500; 3rd Prize $1,000. All interested filmmakers are
encouraged to e-mail their resumes & best short pitch about SEX* by June
15 to
pitches@spyworm.tv
http://www.spyworm.tv
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> Sensory Circus, June 9 - Los Angeles

Art, fashion, music, technology and film come together for the debut of
Sensory Circus on June 9, 2001 at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel in West
Hollywood. This electric and sophisticated event will extend throughout
every ballroom, terrace and rooftop showcasing new bands and DJ's, the
latest fashions, and visual, technological and sculpture artists.
Sponsors include The Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, Digital Media Wire, SpyWorm,
DreamSpan, Lisa Kline, Otto Models and Green Galactic. Artists are invited
to submit works for consideration. To submit an artistic work, inquire
about sponsorship or register for the event, please visit
http://www.sensorycircus.com
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