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Mel Karmazin Resigns as President of Viacom; Moonves, Freston to Step In

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2004 - 3:50pm.
New York -- Media conglomerate Viacom, whose holdings include CBS, Paramount Pictures and MTV Networks, announced on Tuesday that company president Mel Karmazin has resigned. Viacom named MTV Networks chairman and CEO Tom Freston, and CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves as co-presidents and co-chief operating officers of the company, reporting to Viacom chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone. As part of the succession plan, Redstone also announced he will step down as CEO within three years. "We very much regret Mel's decision to resign and we wish him well," said Redstone. "He has been instrumental in Viacom's operating success since our merger with CBS and he leaves with an extraordinary track record of accomplishment." Redstone said in a conference call that Karmazin was frustrated with Viacom's struggling radio operations, as well as with the company's share price, the Associated Press reported.
tags: Resigns | Mel Karmazin | President of Viacom | Moonves | Freston | Step In |

Online Spending in U.K. Doubles in 2004, Report Says

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2004 - 3:48pm.
London -- A new survey published by credit card provider Visa shows that the British are spending more than twice what they did this time last year when shopping on the Internet -- especially when buying groceries or paying monthly bills. In the first quarter of this year, British credit card holders spent more than $4.4 billion online -- an amazing 123% increase compared to the same quarter last year, Visa said. The survey found that book and music sales surged by about 116%, and that food and drink sales grew more than tripled as U.K. consumers grow more and more comfortable with doing their grocery shopping on the Internet. Online travel and tourism transactions also reported a massive surge in the first quarter, up 159% compared to the same quarter the year previous.
tags: Reports | U.K | Online Spending | Doubles |

Independent Label KOCH Records to Use SunnComm CD Copy-Protection

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2004 - 3:46pm.
Phoenix, Ariz. -- SunnComm Technologies, a provider of CD copy-protection technology, announced on Tuesday that independent record company KOCH Records will use its MediaMax system to copy-protect commercially released KOCH CD albums. New York-based KOCH says it has released the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents for each of the last three years. Phoenix-based SunnComm's technology aims to prevent users from uploading CD tracks to the Internet, while providing alternate versions that may be played on computers and portable devices.
tags: Independent Label KOCH | SunnComm CD Copy-Protection |

Sony Music to Aid Audible Magic P2P Anti-Piracy System

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 1, 2004 - 3:44pm.
Los Gatos, Calif. -- Audible Magic, a developer of audio fingerprinting technology that the company says can filter copyrighted content on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, has announced an agreement with major record label Sony Music. Under the terms, Sony will provide Los Gatos, Calif.-based Audible Magic with data on its song library so that its tracks are filtered out for users of Audible Magic's system; Sony also licensed Audible Magic's filtering technology for its own internal use. The two companies also said they will collaborate on an anti-piracy system targeted at universities.
tags: Sony Music | Audible Magic P2P | Anti-Piracy System |