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European Music Download Firm OD2 Launches Seven New Services

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 8:17am.
London -- European digital music download distributor OD2, recently acquired by Seattle-based Loudeye, announced on Thursday that it has launched seven new music download services in Europe with various retail partners. OD2 will provide download fulfillment for new interactive music services from Ninemsn (Australia), Oxfam, GWR, Tonlist (Iceland), Ilse Media (Holland), Packard Bell and Eircom (Ireland). The company also said that in June, Microsoft's MSN launched additional OD2-powered download services in Germany, Belgium and Spain. OD2 also reported a surge in activity across its retail partners in the second quarter, coinciding with the launch of its 1-pence song streaming service, SonicSelector, and heightened interest in online music due to the launch of Napster and iTunes in Europe.
tags: Downloads | Europe | Musics | New Services | OD2 |

Quarterly Profits Triple for Apple on Blockbuster iPod Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:27am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Buoyed by strong demand for its iPod digital music players, Apple on Wednesday reported a three-fold jump in quarterly net income. The company shipped 860,000 iPods during the quarter -- up 183% from the same period a year ago -- as well as 876,000 Macintosh computers, a 14% increase. Apple posted a net profit of $61 million for the quarter, up from $19 million, on revenue of $2.01 billion, up 30%. "It was an outstanding quarter-our highest third quarter revenue in eight years," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
tags: iPod | Apple | Quarterly | Blockbuster | Profits |

AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo to Integrate Instant Messaging Systems

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:27am.
Dulles, Va. -- In a landmark move aimed at increasing the use of instant messaging at work, America Online on Thursday said that it is partnering with rivals Yahoo and Microsoft to link up their instant messaging systems, allowing users to communicate freely between the three. Under the plan, companies will have to pay licensing fees to use software made by Microsoft that allows them to connect to the different IM systems. Microsoft reportedly then will pay a portion of the proceeds to AOL and Yahoo. The new service will include several corporate-friendly features, such as the ability to save and record IMs. At-home IM users are currently not part of the plan. The move underscores the immense popularity of instant messaging. AOL said that more than 2 billion IM's are sent over its network daily, compared with 400 million e-mails. "This lays the groundwork for instant messaging to become as widespread and useful as e-mail is today," Taylor Collyer, the senior director of real-time collaboration marketing at Microsoft, told The Washington Post.
tags: Microsoft | Yahoo | AOL | Integrate | Messaging Systems |

Report: Three Billion DVDs Shipped Since Format Launch

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:25am.
Las Vegas -- Since the format came to market in 1997, over three billion DVDs have been shipped in North America alone, with over 34,000 titles currently in release, according to data from Kaplan, Swicker and Simha compiled on behalf of industry trade organization The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG). The data also show that 659 million DVDs have shipped in the first half of 2004, a 52% increase over the same period last year. The DEG also cited Consumer Electronics Association data which indicates that nearly 13 million DVD players were sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2004, a 25% increase over 2003, and that 103 million DVD players total have been sold since the device's retail launch. "It is encouraging to see the continued excitement that consumers have for DVD, whether it be the early adopter who continues to be an avid collector or families who more recently began to embrace the format," said DEG president Bob Chapek. "The variety of top-selling titles demonstrates this insatiable enthusiasm across a number of genres, with the average consumer buy rate still at about 16 per household each year."
tags: Reports | DVD | Format Launch |

EBay Launches Six-Month Test of Digital Music Download Auctions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:25am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Online auction giant eBay has quietly launched a six-month test that will allow some of its users to sell digital music downloads on its service. The "preapproved" users must show they have all applicable rights to sell their tracks, and buyers will not be allowed to resell purchased tracks on eBay. "We don't want to blow this out of proportion -- this is a pilot program to see if there's even any demand," eBay spokesman Hani Durzy told the Associated Press. "Much of what happens on eBay happens because the community takes us there, and this is essentially giving the community a way to see if we should create this new venue."
tags: eBay | Download | Digital Music |

Microsoft: Xbox Live Online Game Service Tops 1 Million Members

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2004 - 5:22am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has surpassed one million members for its Xbox Live online video game service, which launched in November 2002. The service, which allows owners of its Xbox video game console with a broadband connection to challenge one another in online gaming over the Internet, also provides features like video chat and new game content downloads. Xbox Live is now available in 24 countries, and Microsoft said that the top cities with the most Xbox Live members are Tokyo, London, Chicago, Toronto, San Diego and New York. Currently, more than 100 game titles support online play through Xbox Live; Microsoft expects to draw new members with the impending release of the first Electronic Arts sports titles to support the service, including "Madden Football 2005" and "FIFA Soccer 2005."
tags: Games | Internet | Xbox | Microsoft | Members |