Mark Hefflinger

Report: Video Game Software Sales Down 6% in Q3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:18am.
New York - Video game software sales across the U.S., Europe and Japan fell 6% during the third quarter of 2009, according to a report combining sales data from NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain. While Japan actually saw video game software unit sales increase by 15% in the third quarter -- compared with the 20% decline seen in the same period last year -- year-to-date sales in the country are down 9%, according to Enterbrain.

Skype Litigation Settled; Sale by eBay to Investors to Proceed

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 8:35am.
San Jose, Calif. - Skype parent company eBay (NASD: EBAY) announced on Friday that litigation between an investor group looking to acquire Skype and the creators of the Internet telephone service has been settled, and that its sale of a majority stake in Skype will now proceed. As a result of the settlement, the acquisition deal has been restructured, and Skype creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will now join the investor group, led by Silver Lake, and make a "significant capital investment" in exchange for a 14% stake in Skype.

E.U. to Allow "3-Strikes" Laws in New Telecoms Regulation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 12:35pm.
Brussels - The European Union has dropped language from proposed telecoms regulation that would have established Internet access as a "fundamental right," providing new leeway for countries like France and Great Britain that have enacted or are considering "three-strikes" laws that suspend repeat copyright infringers' Internet connections, according to published reports. The issue had been a sticking point holding up the telecoms regulation, and the new version represents a compromise between copyright and consumer interests.

No Doubt Sues Activision Over Avatars in "Band Hero"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 11:13am.
Los Angeles - The rock band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against "Band Hero" video game publisher Activision (NASD: ATVI), alleging the company overstepped the permission granted by the band to include their likenesses within the game, Reuters reported. According to the lawsuit, the band did authorize its likenesses to be used to create avatars to perform its own songs within the game, but did not authorize the No Doubt avatars to perform songs by other bands.

Beatles to Release Re-mastered Catalog on $279 USB Drive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 10:38am.
London - The Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, and EMI Music have announced plans to release a limited edition apple-shaped USB drive, containing the entire Beatles re-mastered catalog in FLAC and MP3 format. The 30,000 USB apples will become available on Dec. 7 in the U.K. and Dec. 8 in North America, with a price tag of $279.

Report: Skype Creators, eBay, Investors Near Settlement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 9:29am.
San Francisco - Litigation between the inventors and former owners of Internet phone service Skype, current owner eBay (NASD: EBAY), and an investor group looking to acquire Skype from eBay, could be nearing a settlement, The New York Times reported, citing several people who have been briefed on the situation. Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis -- the inventors of Skype and the peer-to-peer technology behind file-sharing service Kazaa and video portal Joost -- sued the investor group in a bid to block their acquisition of Skype from eBay.

Report: Doug Morris to Step Down as Universal Music CEO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 8:02am.
New York - Universal Music Group chairman and chief executive Doug Morris intends to step down from his CEO role next summer, BusinessWeek reports. The company is reportedly grooming international CEO Lucian Grainge to replace Morris, 71, who is expected to remain chairman of the world's largest record label.

China's Baidu Qualifies Partnership with Music Service Qtrax

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:41am.
Los Angeles - Chinese search giant Baidu (NASD: BIDU) has issued a statement indicating that it will not in fact be directing users searching for music on the site to ad-supported downloads available from U.S.-based Qtrax -- as that company announced earlier this week, IDG News Service reported. "The partnership with Qtrax regards text-based information, such as singer backgrounds; it has nothing to do with the music itself," a Baidu spokesperson told IDG. Qtrax said in its announcement that Baidu would direct users to Qtrax "wherever Qtrax has the queried...song in its catalogue."

tags: Music | China | Search | Qtrax | Baidu |

Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target in Pre-Order DVD Price War

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:38am.
New York - After retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) cut the price of pre-order DVDs on its website to $10 on Thursday, rivals Amazon (NASD: AMZN) and Target (NYSE: TGT) followed suit by lowering their own pre-order DVD prices to $9.99, the Associated Press reported. On Friday morning, Wal-Mart responded by further discounting pre-order DVDs to $9.98. The price-cutting wars followed a similar battle over book prices amongst the three retailers -- which in recent weeks pushed prices as low as $8.98.

AOL Names Susan Lyne to New Board of Directors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:36am.
New York - Nearly two weeks after unveiling its new board of directors, AOL on Friday announced one new member. The company, which expects to complete its spin out from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) by the end of this year, named Susan Lyne, the CEO of online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe, as the board's tenth member. Lyne also has served as the president and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and previously served in various positions at Walt Disney Company, rising to president of ABC Entertainment. Chaired by CEO Tim Armstrong, the board also will include Michael Powell, Fredric Reynolds, James Wiatt, Richard Dalzell, Karen Dykstra, William Hambrecht, Patricia Mitchell and James Stengel.

Norwegian Court: ISP Telenor Need Not Block The Pirate Bay

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:57am.
Oslo, Norway - International record label trade group IFPI has lost its court case that sought to compel Norwegian ISP Telenor to block its subscribers' access to file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay, TorrentFreak reported.

Korean Social Network Cyworld to Shutter U.S. Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:42am.
Los Angeles - Cyworld, a Korea-based online social network owned by SK Telecom, has decided to shutter its U.S. service three years after launch, having failed to attract a large audience.

Judge Orders Site Selling Beatles Tracks to Cease

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:04am.
Los Angeles - A federal judge has ordered BlueBeat, a company selling unauthorized Beatles recordings online, to immediately cease the practice.

U.S. E-Commerce Spending Falls for Second Straight Quarter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 8:46am.
Reston, Va. - For the first time on record, U.S. e-commerce spending has now seen negative growth for two straight quarters, according to new figures from comScore.

Walmart.com Prices Top 10 Pre-Order DVDs at $10

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:28pm.
Brisbane, Calif. - Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT) is now offering a $10 price tag and free home delivery on its top ten pre-order DVD and Blu-ray movie titles. Titles available through the offer include "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Star Trek" and "Julie and Julia." The DVD promotion comes as Walmart.com is engaged in a price-cutting war with Amazon and Target.

Streaming Service Deezer Adds Premium Subscription Plans

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:27pm.
Paris - Deezer, a France-based, ad-supported streaming music service with 11 million members, on Thursday announced the launch of a new subscription-based offering. Deezer Premium, which will first be available in France before expanding to the rest of Europe, will provide ad-free streaming, mobile access, and the ability to download tracks and playlists. A $7.42 per month tier will provide higher-quality, ad-free streams, while a $14.85 per month tier will provide downloads and mobile access. Deezer recently raised $9.6 million in new financing.

tags: Advertising | Music | Deezer |

Nokia Inks Promotional Deal With Universal Music, Rihanna

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:26pm.
Los Angeles - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Thursday announced a promotional partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Music Group International, which will exclusively premiere tracks from Rihanna's forthcoming album with Nokia. The deal includes an exclusive, live streamed concert on Nokia websites. Additionally, Comes With Music customers will receive a version of the album with a bonus track and other additional content, while the Ovi Store will offer a Rihanna application with exclusive content.

Blockbuster to Market iMemories Home Movie Transfer, Storage

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:24pm.
Scottsdale, Ariz. - iMemories, a website that provides digitization, storage and sharing service for home movie films and videos, on Thursday announced a partnership with Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), which will market its services on Blockbuster.com and in select Blockbuster retail stores. The service lets users create custom DVDs of their home movies, as well as share them on password-protected websites.

Consumer Electronics Assn. Names New Executive Board

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:22pm.
Arlington, Va. - The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on Thursday announced its 2010 executive board, which will continue to be chaired by Gary Yacoubian, the vice president of strategic development for Monster Cable Products. Other members include Brian Dunn, the CEO of Best Buy; Denise Gibson, the chairman, of Brightstar U.S.; Stan Glasgow, the president and COO of Sony Electronics; Ian Hendler, the director of business development at Leviton Manufacturing; and Mark Luden, the president and CEO of The Guitammer Co.

tags: Moves | CEA |

Drop in MySpace Traffic to Cut $100M Off Google Ad Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:00pm.
New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace may lose out on at least $100 million of the $900 million it was contracted to receive from a search advertising agreement with Google (NASD: GOOG), due to lackluster traffic to the website, the Financial Times reported.