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ArchivesAnalysis: Online Video – Everyone Is Doing It, But Still Very Few Innovative Business ModelsAuthored by Jay Baage on September 19, 2006 - 11:25pm.
 We have seen extremely bullish statements from the heads of some of the major US media companies regarding new media platforms in the last few weeks. The market is clearly buying into the digital entertainment "revolution", with major media stocks having bounced back this year with over 20 percent gains. But although things are looking up and we are finally starting to see some revenue from online video, we can't lose sight that new and innovative business models to monetize this content are far and few between.Morning Links: September 20, 2006Authored by robert on September 19, 2006 - 11:06pm.
NYT: Ad Sales Fall Short at Yahoo
NYT: Al Gore’s Current TV Partners with Yahoo Video NYT: Motorola Buys Symbol Technologies to Widen Reach AP: Gonzales Wants Internet Records Saved CNET: Sirius Denies Stern is Returning to Mainstream AP: Cingular to Sponsor YouTube Battle of Bands Microsoft Showcases 110 HD Xbox 360 Games at the Tokyo Game Show Motorola and PCCW Launch Mobile TV Technical Trial in Hong Kong FT: News Corp plans MySpace in China NYT: Met to Broadcast Over Satellite Radio WSJ: Sony Tries to Lure DVR Ad-Skippers CNET: Download Startup Takes Aim at DVDs CNET: Disc in the Works to Play Both New DVD Formats HR: Feds Look at Online Movie & Music Sales to Kids eM: College Students Online More than Watch TV Wired: Web 2.0 Winners and Losers Napster Hires USB to Explore Strategic Alternatives, Possible Sale of CompanyAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:44pm.
Los Angeles - Napster announced on Tuesday that it has retained UBS Investment Back to help evaluate strategic alternatives -- including a possible sale of the company -- in response to recent third party interest. Napster claims 512,000 subscribers, annual revenues exceeding $100 million and a cash position of $97 million. "Napster is in a strong position to continue aggressively building our business as an independent company and we are pleased to also have the opportunity to thoughtfully examine potential combinations that may further enhance Napster's unique strategic and brand position in the center of digital media," said Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog. "Our goal is to enhance shareholder value which could potentially lead to a new strategic partnership or the sale of the company but in any event our primary focus will remain on growing Napster."
Online Gambling Executives Arrested in FranceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:42pm.
London - Following the lead of their U.S. counterparts, French authorities have detained two executives at an Internet gambling firm, on allegations they violated French gambling laws. The arrests of co-CEOs Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger of Austria-based BWin International Entertainment -- the parent company of gambling site Betbull -- were condemned by the company, which maintains that it accepts no business from France. "The arrest of Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger is an attempt to intimidate an entire industry," said Betbull CEO Gunter Schmid. "To the national courts, the European Courts, and the European Commission it will send the signal that it is not the general public that requires protection from abstract and unfounded threats of privately operated gaming but it is the operators that require protection from the real violation of their basic human rights from overpowering executive bodies across Europe." The illicit gambling charges against BWin executives follow the revocation of the company's betting license in Germany, and the arrest of two executives of online gambling firms by U.S. authorities.
Report: European iPod Owners Not Buying Songs OnlineAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:41pm.
London - Only 17% of Europeans with iPods regularly buy digital music, with an average of just 20 tracks on their players purchased from stores like iTunes, according to a report from market research firm Jupiter Research. The 83% majority reported that ripping songs from their CD collections was the most popular means of filling their digital music players, followed by tracks downloaded from free file-sharing sites. Thirty percent of European iPod owners said they used file-sharing networks. Jupiter projects that Europeans spending on digital music will double in 2006, to $487 million, with the majority of purchases made at Apple's iTunes Store. "The model isn't broken, there's just lots of room for improvement," said Jupiter analyst Mark Mulligan. "Digital music is really underperforming its potential."
Microsoft Enters Video-Sharing Market with Launch of SoapboxAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:39pm.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft on Tuesday announced its entry into the popular video-sharing space dominated by YouTube with the U.S. beta launch of Soapbox on MSN Video. The Soapbox service lets users upload and share up to 100MB of personal videos, and will be deeply integrated with Microsoft online services including Windows Live Spaces -- the company's new social networking platform -- and Windows Live Messenger. "By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video," said Rob Bennett, general manager of entertainment and video services for MSN. Microsoft's MSN attracts 465 million visitors a month, including 11 million visitors to MSN Video, while YouTube claimed 34 million visitors last month.
Sweden's Pirate Party Fails to Sway Voters in National ElectionsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:38pm.
San Francisco - Sweden's Pirate Party failed to garner the 4% of votes in the country's national elections over the weekend that were necessary for a seat in Sweden's Parliament, Wired News reported. The political party was founded on a single issue -- copyright reform -- and gained much notoriety on the Internet following the Swedish government's attempts to shut down a popular Swedish file-sharing site called The Pirate Bay. While final vote counts aren't due until tomorrow, the Pirate Party currently claims 0.62% of the vote -- or 33,000 votes -- also shy of the 1% of votes necessary to obtain state assistance for future elections. Despite the disappointing results, the group plans to continue on. "Morale in the group is good and we are learning from this experience, as we are taking new aims for the European Union election in 2009 and the next Swedish election in 2010," Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge told Wired News.
Sony Ericsson "M-Buzz" Mobile Service to Promote Emerging ArtistsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:36pm.
London - Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between the Japanese and Swedish electronics firms that makes mobile phones, on Tuesday announced the launch of a mobile music promotional service for developing artists. The M-Buzz service will initially feature a limited selection of Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists -- such as Kish Mauve, Embassy, Iggy and The Head Set -- and will offer full-track downloads, music videos, bios and tour information accessible on mobile phones. "M-Buzz is all about breaking new artists; it's about giving tomorrow's stars, the artists that have not yet been picked up by major record companies, the exposure they deserve and the possibility for them to reach a wider audience," said Martin Blomkvist, head of content acquisition and partner management at Sony Ericsson. The M-Buzz service will go live on Oct. 2 in markets already offering the Sony Ericsson PlayNow mobile music service, and will be compatible with new Sony Ericsson Walkman phones slated to ship in European, Asian and Latin American markets during the second half of 2006.
Report: 45% of "Heavy" Gamers Are Between Ages 6 and 17Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:35pm.
Port Washington, N.Y. - A new report from market research firm NPD Group finds that, contrary to popular belief that "hardcore" gamers are in the 18-34 demographic, in actuality 45% of heavy gamers are between the ages of six and 17. In addition, 21% of heavy gamers are female, contrary to most marketing that caters to a predominantly male audience. The report also noted that so-called "heavy" gamers represent just 3% of the total game playing population. "Heavy gamers can be critical to a title or retailer's success since they are the market leaders, but focusing on this segment entirely is ignoring a much broader consumer base and larger revenue potential," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
Office of National Drug Control Policy Posts Videos on YouTubeAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:34pm.
San Mateo, Calif. - Hoping to reach more of America's tech-savvy youth, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on Tuesday became the first federal cabinet agency to post videos on popular video sharing site YouTube. The ONDCP has begun posting videos on the site of anti-drug advertising, national drug policy announcements and other exclusive content. John Walters, the director of ONDCP and President Bush's "Drug Czar," said that the move is an effort by his office to "remain effective communicators in this new information age." Taking advantage of "new media" technology is nothing new for ONDCP. In early 2005, the office launched the first official blog for a cabinet-level agency, and it also posts podcasts of speeches, commentary from public health officials and audio of anti-drug events.
Amazon's CustomFlix Launches CD on Demand Service for Indie MusiciansAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:32pm.
Santa Cruz, Calif. - CustomFlix, a unit of Amazon.com that provides on-demand distribution of CDs and DVDs, announced on Tuesday the launch of a new CD on Demand service for independent musicians and record labels. CustomFlix will manufacture and ship CDs as customers place orders from either CustomFlix or Amazon.com. Santa Cruz, Calif.-based CustomFlix recently launched a similar DVD on Demand service for independent filmmakers.
Disney Introduces Mix Max Portable Video PlayerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:31pm.
Burbank, Calif. - Disney on Tuesday introduced a new portable media player that plays full-length movies from Buena Vista Home Entertainment on plug-and-play memory cards. Designed for the pre-teen market, the Disney Mix Max will be offered in several colors and sell for less than $100 when it ships in October. The device features a 2.2-inch color LCD display and 512MB of internal flash memory, and supports Windows Media digital rights management -- meaning it can download music from services like Yahoo Music. Initial movie titles available Disney Max Clip memory cards for $19.99 will include "High School Musical," "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Lizzie McGuire," The Disney Mix Max is the company's second foray into portable digital media players. Launched in the fall of 2005, the Disney Mix Stick plays music albums from Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records on plug-and-play memory cards.
Report: Users Migrating to Free AOL More Quickly Than ExpectedAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:29pm.
New York - A Time Warner executive said on Tuesday that the media giant's strategy to offer AOL's content for free has attracted new users at a faster rate than expected, Reuters reported. Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner's COO, told investors that 40% of the service's new users were not previously paying subscribers, adding that AOL's advertising sales have been "very robust." Bewkes also said that former subscribers were adopting AOL's free services more quickly than originally predicted, Reuters reported. The company announced its radical change in strategy in early August, all-but abandoning its dial-up Internet model in an attempt to increase its ad revenue by attracting larger numbers of users.
Global Event Information Provider Eventful Raises $7.5 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:27pm.
San Diego - Eventful, a global events information website, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $7.5 in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Bay Partners. Previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Omidyar Network and Esther Dyson also participated in the round. Founded in 2004, Eventful.com allows users to discover events in their area, promote events of all types and create online communities focused on specific events. San Diego-based Eventful will use the funds to add additional staff in marketing, business development and engineering.
Disney: 125,000 Movies Sold on iTunes in Under a WeekAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:22pm.
Los Angeles - Disney CEO Bob Iger said on Tuesday that the company has generated $1 million through sales of 125,000 movies on Apple's iTunes Store, since their launch on the service less than a week ago, the Associated Press reported. The company projects that it will see $50 million in revenue from iTunes movie sales in the first year of the offering.
Sonific Debuts Free Indie Music Service for Blogs, WebsitesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:20pm.
San Francisco - Sonific announced on Tuesday the public beta launch of its SongSpots service, which provides free, licensed independent music for posting on blogs, social networks and personal websites. Users can create embedded SongSpots flash players and post them on MySpace, Xanga, MSN, Blogger, Typepad, Live365 and other sites. San Francisco-based Sonific's library of licensed songs comes from providers including Cooking Vinyl/Uploadermusic, CD Baby, Cherry Red Records, Rotator Records, Blue Flame Records and Big Fish Media. The company said it expects to add major label artists later this year.
tags: Internet | Online Publishing | Blogs | Social Networking | Music | Indie | Sonific | SongSpots |
Call for Entries: 11th Annual Webby AwardsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:18pm.
New York - The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences on Tuesday announced a call for entries for the 11th Annual Webby Awards. This year will see the debut of new awards for interactive advertising and online film and video. Nominations are due by Oct. 27. Nominees will be announced in April, and winners will be unveiled in June 2007.
AOL RED to Sell Exclusive Download of Feature-Length Horror Film "Incubus"Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:17pm.
Dulles, Va. - AOL RED, the company's teen destination, announced on Tuesday that it will debut a full-length horror film starring Tara Reid from producer Adam Shapiro on its website on Oct. 31. The "direct-to-download" film "Incubus" will be available for download for 30 days, and can be purchased for $7.99 or rented for a 5-day period for $3.49. DVDs for the film are slated to go on sale after the AOL RED exclusive download offering.
WPNI Debuts Mobile Sites for Washington Post, Newsweek, SlateAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:13pm.
Arlington, Va. - Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), the online publishing unit of The Washington Post, said on Tuesday that it has launched free mobile Internet sites for washingtonpost.com, Newsweek.com and Slate. WPNI said that it plans to add additional functionality in the coming weeks, including more alert options, email and additional photo content.
TouchTunes Adds Billboard Charts to Digital JukeboxesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:07pm.
Lake Zurich, Ill. - TouchTunes, a maker of digital jukeboxes for bars and restaurants, announced on Tuesday that it has signed an 18-month agreement with music industry publication Billboard, to add current Billboard music charts to its digital jukeboxes. Using an interactive touch screen, patrons will be able to select and play songs directly from the charts.
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