Archives

BPI and IFPI Launch International Lawsuits Against Music File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 10:07am.
London -- The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a U.K.-based music industry trade organization, announced that it plans to go to court to seek the disclosure of 33 people suspected of uploading hundreds of music tracks to peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The BPI has now taken legal action against 90 people suspected of pirating music. Although 31 cases are still pending, 23 people have so far been found guilty of illegal file-sharing and ordered to pay about $3,700 each. "We have warned people time and again that unauthorized file-sharing is against the law," said BPI General Counsel Geoff Taylor. "We will maintain our campaign until the message gets across." Meanwhile, the IFPI -- the BPI's international homologue -- also announced that it has filed 963 suits against alleged music pirates in 11 countries, including Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- which became the first Asian nation to take action against suspected music file-swappers.
tags: Law | IFPI | BPI | Launch | Music File-Swappers | International Lawsuits |

Report: 2005 Global Online Music Market Poised to Grow 134% to $1 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 10:05am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. -- The rise of legitimate services will help the global online music market to grow 134% this year and surpass $1 billion for the first time, according to a forecast from Arizona-based market research firm In-Stat. A key contributing factor in the rise will be increased competition between services like Apple's iTunes and Napster, as they build larger catalogs and work with labels to offer new features like live concerts and re-mixes. More than half of those surveyed by the firm said they had downloaded free music online; however, overall the average amount spent by respondents in the past year for online music was $25. The survey also found that 35% of respondents owned an MP3 player, with 70% reporting that it was their first such device.
tags: Reports | Grow | Global Online Music Market |

Sony Open to Discussions on Avoiding Next-Generation DVD Format War

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 10:03am.
Bordeaux, France -- Sony hinted on Wednesday that it is open to discussions with makers of a rival next-generation, high-capacity DVD technology, with an eye towards avoiding a format war like the one it lost over the competing VHS and Beta videocassette format, Reuters reported. Sony has developed the Blu-ray DVD format, while Toshiba and NEC developed the competing HD DVD format -- both of which use essentially the same blue laser technology to increase the capacity of DVDs from 4.5GB to between 20 and 40 gigabytes. "From the point of view to provide the best service to the consumer one format is better than two. We're open to discussions," Sony Video Group general manager Yukinori Kawauchi told Reuters. However, no specific proposal to create a single standard has yet been submitted or discussed by either party. Industry support for Sony's standard includes Apple, Philips and Panasonic, while those backing Toshiba's HD DVD include Dell and HP.
tags: Sony | Next-Generation DVD Format War | Discussions |

Record Labels, RealNetworks Sell MusicNet Joint Venture to Baker Capital

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 10:00am.
New York -- MusicNet, the digital music distribution joint venture launched in 2001 by RealNetworks and the major record labels, has been sold to New York-based investment group Baker Capital. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Baker Capital's investment portfolio is focused mainly on digital communications firms, and also includes Wine.com, Action Engine and Broadview Networks. MusicNet provides a library of 1.3 million tracks, and digital music services to distribution partners AOL, Virgin Digital, HMV and Trans World Entertainment. "In the early stages of building the business, we greatly benefited from our strategic alliances with key players in the music industry," said MusicNet CEO Alan McGlade. "Today marks a new chapter in the history of MusicNet, as our agreement with Baker Capital greatly enhances our ability to grow, both domestically and internationally." Baker Capital said the deal will provide MusicNet with the funds necessary to expand the scale of its operations and increase its music library.
tags: RealNetworks | Baker Capital | Record Labels | MusicNet Joint Venture |

Patent Holders Heed Complaints, Cut Fees for Mobile Anti-Piracy Technology

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 9:58am.
Bordeaux, France -- Responding to complaints from mobile phone makers and network operators, the companies that collectively hold patents on cell phone anti-piracy technologies on Wednesday said they will cut the license fees paid to use them. MPEG LA, the licensing body that represents firms including Sony, Philips and the Microsoft-Time Warner-Thomson-owned ContentGuard, will cut its proposed tariff by one-third, to 65 cents per each mobile phone handset that uses the security software. The GSM Association, a trade group of many mobile operators, balked at the earlier $1 per handset proposal, saying the fees could hamper the developing market for distributing music, video and games on cell phones. "Their input has enabled us to appreciate relevant market conditions and adjust the license to meet them," said MPEG LA CEO Baryn S. Futa. "The terms announced today strike a balance between users' interest in reasonable access to this opportunity-enabling technology and patent holders' interest in a reasonable return on their research and development investments." Under the new proposed terms, the per usage license fee for the technology will also be altered, from 1 cent per transaction to a flat 25 cents per year for each subscriber that accesses multimedia content protected by the anti-piracy software.
tags: Patent Holders | Mobile Anti-Piracy Technology | Heed Complaints |

U.K. Internet Ad Spending Outstrips Radio for First Time

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 9:56am.
London -- According to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), spending on Internet advertisements in the U.K. increased by 60% last year, outstripping spending on radio advertising for the first time ever. "The Internet is coming of age," said PwC's Paul Pilkington. "Advertisers understand how accountable it is as a medium and how they can much better target their advertising than they can, say, in outdoor advertising." On average, U.K. companies spent more than $1.24 billion on Internet advertising and approximately $1.21 billion on radio advertising in 2004. Online ad spending now accounts for 3.9% of the overall advertising market, up from 2.6% in 2003 and just above radio's actual market share of 3.8%. The study said online advertising is currently most popular among financial services, followed by recruitment and travel.
tags: Radio | U.K. Internet Ad | Outstrips | First Time |

Hotel VOD Firm KoolConnect Acquires General Dynamics Interactive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 9:54am.
Needham, Mass. -- KoolConnect, a New York-based provider of digital video-on-demand technology for the hospitality industry, has acquired the interactive media technology business of General Dynamics C4 Systems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. KoolConnect Technologies has purchased all of the assets of the interactive business including direct hotel contracts, such as their high-definition (HD) video deployments with the Mandarin Oriental Hotels in New York and Washington, D.C., the intellectual property and patents, additional content and operational agreements with major providers including Hollywood studios, and most of the organization's HD engineering and development staff. Following a short transitional period, KoolConnect will relocate their corporate offices from New York City to a new facility in the greater Boston area, the company said.
tags: Hotel VOD | Acquires | KoolConnect | General Dynamics Interactive |