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Adobe Launches Its Own Online Store for E-Books

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2003 - 4:45am.
San Jose, Calif. -- In a surprise boost for the struggling e-book industry, Adobe Systems, a developer of desktop and Web publishing, has launched its own online store for e-books. The company partnered with Cleveland-based e-library creator OverDrive to develop the Adobe Digital Media Store, which will sell e-books as well as digital magazines and newspapers, maps and other documents in Adobe's proprietary PDF format. The store will also be accessible through direct purchase links embedded in Adobe's Reader and Acrobat 6.0 applications. Available titles will come from existing OverDrive partners including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Time Warner, John Wiley and McGraw-Hill, as well as many independent authors and small publishers. The decision by Adobe to become an e-book retailer comes three months after Barnes & Noble decided to stop selling titles in e-book format due to sluggish sales.
tags: Internet | Adobe | E-Books |

Netflix Ups 2003 Subscriber Projections; Shares Jump 13%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2003 - 4:44am.
Los Gatos, Calif. -- Online DVD rental service Netflix on Wednesday raised its guidance for the number of subscribers it expects to count by the end of the year from between 1,425,000 to 1,475,000, to between 1,470,000 and 1,495,000. The company now also expects revenue of $80 million to $82 million, up from its earlier projection of from $77 million to $81 million. Shares of Los Gatos, Calif.-based Neflix leapt nearly 13% Wednesday on the news.
tags: Netflix | Subscriber | Shares |

Unsigned Pearl Jam to Release New Single on Amazon.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2003 - 4:43am.
Seattle -- Rock band Pearl Jam announced that it will release its new single, "Man of the Hour," through online retailer Amazon.com's Advantage for Music service, which provides worldwide distribution and order fulfillment to independent musicians and labels. "Pearl Jam is exploring a number of different ways to get music directly to its fans, following the recent fulfillment of its contract with Epic Records, with whom the band has not yet decided to resign," said Kelly Curtis, Pearl Jam's manager. "We have the opportunity right now to test the waters with a variety of progressive companies that are working to expand options for music fans and artists alike." Amazon said that since launching in 1995, tens of thousands of independent artists have enrolled in its Advantage for Music service. Pearl Jam's CD single for "Man of the Hour," written for Tim Burton's film "Big Fish," will sell for $5 on Amazon.com.
tags: Pearl Jam | Website | Amazon.com | Releases |

Warner Sues DVD Copying Firm 321 Under New Euro Copyright Directive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2003 - 4:42am.
London -- The movie industry last week redoubled its legal campaign against 321 Studios, a distributor of software that lets users make exact backup copies of DVDs, when Warner Home Video U.K. sued the company for copyright infringement under the recently-enacted European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD), U.K. news site TheRegister reported. Unlike the previous suit Warner filed against 321 under a different statute, this action falls under a new law similar to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it a crime to circumvent the copyright security on devices like DVD players. St. Louis-based 321 Studios also faces a multi-party lawsuit in the U.S. filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and its member studios. For its part, 321 countersued the U.S. studios, asking a court to declare its software a "fair use" of copyrighted materials.
tags: DVD | Warner | Copyright Directive |

Video Game and Media Distributor Navarre Corp. Raises $12.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2003 - 4:41am.
Minneapolis, Minn. -- Navarre Corporation, a distributor and publisher of media products including video games, PC software, CDs and DVDs, announced that it has raised $12.5 million through a private placement of its stock with institutional investors. Minnesota-based Navarre's Encore game publishing unit has released titles including "Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror" for PlayStation 2; the company's other interests include niche DVD and video distributor BCI Eclipse, and an entertainment media division that distributes on behalf of record labels including Equity Music Group. Net proceeds from the transaction will be used for discharging the company's debt to Hilco Capital, and for general working capital needs.
tags: VC | Video Games | Navarre Corp |