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DMW Daily, March 5, 2009

Top Stories
o Universal, YouTube in Talks on Standalone Music Videos Site
o "The Beatles: Rock Band" Video Game Set for Sept. 9 Release
o Vivek Kundra Named Federal Chief Information Officer
o Amazon Debuts Trade-in Program for Used Video Games
o Barnes & Noble Buys E-book Retailer Fictionwise for $15.7M
o YouTube Surpasses 100 Million Visitors in January
o Report: Digital Production Studio ManiaTV Shut Down
o Mobile Entertainment Firm SendMe Secures $12 Million
o Simulmedia Gets $4 Million for Targeted TV Show Marketing
Briefly Noted
o Digital TV Coupon Waiting List to Clear Within 3 Weeks
o Google Adds Expandable Ads on AdSense Sites
o "Tap Tap Revenge 2" is Top iPhone Application
o Following Leak, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Hasten Digital Album Release
 Top Stories
o Universal, YouTube in Talks on Standalone Music Videos Site 
Los Angeles - Major record label Universal Music Group is close to negotiating a deal to create an online repository for major label music videos, and is working with YouTube on the project, codenamed "Vevo," CNET News.com reported, citing sources close to the matter. [more..]
o "The Beatles: Rock Band" Video Game Set for Sept. 9 Release 
New York - Viacom's MTV Games and Harmonix game studio announced on Thursday that the forthcoming Beatles-themed version of its popular "Rock Band" music video game will ship worldwide on Sept. 9, 2009. [more..]
o Vivek Kundra Named Federal Chief Information Officer 
Washington - Vivek Kundra, who has served in the role of CTO for the city of Washington, DC since mid-2007, on Thursday was named the nation's federal chief information officer (CIO) by President Barack Obama. [more..]
o Amazon Debuts Trade-in Program for Used Video Games 
Seattle - Online retailer Amazon.com on Thursday announced the launch of a beta testi of a used video game marketplace, which lets users send in their used titles and receive a gift card for an amount determined and published by Amazon. [more..]
o Barnes & Noble Buys E-book Retailer Fictionwise for $15.7M 
New York - Bookseller Barnes & Noble announced on Thursday that it has acquired Fictionwise, an online retailer of e-books, for $15.7 million in cash. [more..]
o YouTube Surpasses 100 Million Visitors in January 
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's YouTube video site surpassed 100 million viewers for the first time ever in January, according to new figures released by Internet audience measurement firm comScore.
[more..]
o Report: Digital Production Studio ManiaTV Shut Down 
Los Angeles - Digital production studio ManiaTV has shut down operations, following several rounds of layoffs and attempts to sell the company, Mediaweek reported, citing sources close to the company. [more..]
o Mobile Entertainment Firm SendMe Secures $12 Million 
San Francisco - Mobile entertainment distributor SendMe announced on Thursday that it has secured $12 million in its fourth round of financing, led by new investor Triangle Peak Partners. [more..]
o Simulmedia Gets $4 Million for Targeted TV Show Marketing 
New York - Simulmedia, a marketing services company focused on targeted TV show promotions, has raised $4 million in first round funding from Avalon Ventures and Union Square Ventures. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
o Digital TV Coupon Waiting List to Clear Within 3 Weeks 
Washington - The list of consumers waiting to receive coupons to put towards the purchase of digital TV converters is beginning to shrink, as the agency tasked with doling them out announced receipt of additional funds from Congress. [more..]
o Google Adds Expandable Ads on AdSense Sites 
Mountain View, Calif. - Google will now allow advertisers using its AdSense program to post "expandable" ads, which enlarge when a user clicks on them. [more..]
o "Tap Tap Revenge 2" is Top iPhone Application 
Los Angeles - Tapulous, which recently released the second official version of its "Tap Tap Revenge" game for the iPhone and iPod touch, said on Thursday that "Tap Tap Revenge 2" is the top free application on Apple's App Store, and has already been downloaded over 500,000 times since Monday. [more..]
o Following Leak, Yeah Yeah Yeahs Hasten Digital Album Release 
Los Angeles - Indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have decided to push up the digital release date for its forthcoming album, after "It's Blitz!" appeared on file-sharing networks, Distorted-Loop reports. [more..]