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Yahoo Launches Platinum Audio and Video Subscription Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:08am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo on Monday announced the launch of a new broadband audio and video subscription service, Yahoo Platinum, offering content from CBS, Fox, ABC, The Weather Channel and others for $9.95 per month. The service will compete directly with RealNetworks' RealOne SuperPass, which currently claims 900,000 subscribers. Included in Yahoo Platinum are CBS "Survivor"-related content, Fox "American Idol"-related content, NASCAR content and access to the first-ever Web broadcasts of NCAA basketball tournament games through CBS SportsLine.com. For $16.95, subscribers can gain access to live video of all 56 games from the first and second rounds of the tournament, beginning on Thursday. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo said it soon plans to add programming from CNBC Dow Jones Business Video, National Geographic and Warren Miller Entertainment to the service, which will offer content in both RealNetworks and Microsoft delivery formats. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030317/170104_1.html
tags: Video | Audio | Yahoo | Subscription | Platinum |

Morpheus File-Sharing Network CEO Steve Griffin Resigns

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:08am.
Nashville, Tenn. -- The CEO of StreamCast Networks, operator of the Morpheus peer-to-peer file-sharing network currently being sued by entertainment companies for copyright infringement, announced his resignation from the company late Friday. The company said CEO Steve Griffin left "to pursue other opportunities." Tennessee-based StreamCast, which along with fellow file-sharing providers Grokster and Kazaa was sued by most of the major movie studios and record labels, said it is currently seeking a replacement for Griffin and that its management team will run the company's operations in the meantime.
tags: File-Sharing | Morpheus | CEO | Resigns | Steve Griffin |

WSJ: Clear Channel Unit to Offer Data on Songs Traded on P2P Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:06am.
New York -- Premiere Radio Networks, a unit of radio giant Clear Channel Communications, will begin offering data on the popularity of songs on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to its radio station subscribers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Los Angeles-based Big Champagne will provide the P2P market research, which will let stations focus on users whose music collections overlap substantially with their playlists, as well as develop in-depth profiles based on users' searches, download patterns and available music. Premiere president Kraig T. Kitchin told The Journal the data is "valuable to the music industry and the radio industry," while saying the company doesn't "condone" copyright infringement.
tags: P2P | Clear Channel | WSJ | Musics |

3-D Chipmake Matrix Semiconductor Raises $52 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:06am.
Santa Clara, Calif. -- Matrix Semiconductor, a manufacturer of 3-D chips used in video game consoles and other products, announced on Monday that it has raised $52 million in its latest round of financing. New investors TeleSoft Partners, Benchmark Capital Europe, Integral Capital Partners, and Seagate Technology participated in the investment round; existing investors Benchmark Capital, Skymoon Ventures and Western Technology Investment also participated. The round follows Matrix's announcement of a $15 million investment from Nintendo, which it supplies with chips for its GameCube video game console. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Matrix said it will use the funds to ramp into high volume production of its products, the first of which will ship this year. The company called its Matrix 3-D Memory "a high-density, low cost non-volatile memory ideally suited for the very large, highly price sensitive electronics markets."
tags: VC | Semiconductor | Matrix | 3-D Chipmake |

Loudeye Technologies Lays Off 35% of Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:02am.
Seattle -- Loudeye Technologies, a provider of webcasting and streaming audio song sample services, announced on Monday that it will lay off 35 percent of its staff, or 43 employees, as its recently-announced new management team focuses on the company's profitable sectors. Last week, the company announced the resignation of its chairman and CEO, themselves having been on the job only five weeks as the company explored strategic alternatives. "In this market we need to drive profitability and aggressively manage costs. Our management team is committed to driving profitable services to generate cash flow," said new Loudeye president and CEO Jeff Cavins. Seattle-based Loudeye identified its streaming song sampling service, which provides samples to a network of music retail sites, as a key revenue source but said it will continue support for its key webcasting and Web conferencing customers.
tags: Loudeye | Staff | Lays Off |

Streamwaves, Excite Network Launch Co-Branded Digital Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2003 - 5:01am.
Dallas -- Streamwaves, a provider of branded digital music subscription services, announced on Monday that it will provide a co-branded version of its service to The Excite Network, which operates the Excite and iWon portals. The current service offered by Dallas-based Streamwaves gives users unlimited access to streaming versions of songs, allowing them to create custom playlists or browse pre-programmed channels, as well as limited ability to burn songs to CD. Streamwaves has licensed tracks from every major label except Sony for the service, which costs $14.99 per month.
tags: Digital Music | Co-branded | Excite | Streamwaves |