Dear Digital Media Colleagues,

As we close in on the end of 2009 (we will resume publishing after the Holidays on January 4, 2010), I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the past year and tell you why we are so optimistic about the opportunities for the digital media industry in the years to come.

Los Angeles - We are very fortunate to have over 300 of the most influential decision-makers in the music industry gathered in Los Angeles this week for our 2-day deal-makers forum Digital Music Forum West to network, do deals, and share ideas about the business. It kicked off yesterday with, among other things, a discussion on the intersection of Urban Music, technology and digital lifestyles with Garth Trinidad, Award-Winning DJ & Host for KCRW (pictured).

Date:   November 12, 2009
Location: Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA
Link:     http://live.newteevee.com/ 
The NewTeeVee Live 09 conference will explore the rapid industry transition by talking to the leaders behind the changes and bringing to the audience key insights as to where the industry opportunities lie.
Register now at: http://newteeveelive-site.eventbrite.com/

Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2009) - Digital Media Wire today announced the final speaker lineup for the highly-anticipated LA Games Conference (http://www.lagamesconference.com/) to be held at the Roosevelt Hotel, April 28-29, 2009. Keynote speakers include: Nolan Bushnell, Founder, Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, CEO, uWink and Chairman, NeoEdge
Known as one of the founding fathers of the video game industry and the man behind Atari, Bushnell will reveal his thoughts about new game consoles like Nintendo Wii and the new landscape of gaming.

New York - In this exclusive Interview from DMW's Digital Music Forum East, Ron Berry, Isle of Man's e-Commerce Advisor, details how the government of this little independent island is trying to be a pioneer in a field where many larger nations are struggling, namely finding a way to compensate musicians in a digital age. The basic idea is to charge Internet users a flat fee for access to music online through their Internet Service Provider and then pass that money on to the collection societies, record labels and other interest groups. Will it work? You'll be the judge. Safe to say that it's an interesting experiment.

Poll: Is An ISP Flat Fee A Good Way To Monetize Music In A Digital Age?

A brisk breeze ushered in the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, amidst the anticipation of a dazzling display of new handsets and gadgets galore as nearly 50,000 members of the global mobile industry descended upon the Gaudi guilded city. 

New York - For the past year, Jim Griffin has advised Warner Music Group on digital distribution and licensing models with the goal of bringing an end to the litigation that has put a wedge between the major labels and their customers and replacing it with a regular flow of income for right holders. The project known as Choruss, which is being incubated at Warner and is planned to be rolled out as a non-profit with Griffin at the helm, proposes to build a small music-royalty fee into university tuition payments received from students, and, if successful, could be expanded to make ISPs the collector of the fees. For those of you who were not able to attend DMW's Digital Music Forum East this past week, here is a complete transcript of his interesting keynote presentation:

The South By Southwest (SxSW) conferences and festival begin March 13 in Austin, Texas, and will go on until March 22. DMW is happy to once again bring you the hottest list of buzz bands, courtesy of music publicist Fiona Bloom (after the break). If you can't attend, make sure to check out some of these bands and other news from SxSW on the official SxSW YouTube channel. Enjoy!

New York - Fascinating keynote at the Digital Music Forum East this morning from Jim Griffin, an advisor to Warner Music Group and head of the Choruss initiative. I'm getting a text of his speech and will post. But suffice to say he delivered a smackdown to Rick Carnes and Chris Castle over their criticisms of Choruss which ran in op-ed that appeared in Content Agenda and other publications.

As Digital Media Wire readers ready themselves for the highly anticipated Digital Music Forum East, here’s an overview of the annual MIDEM music conference that just concluded in Cannes, France. The annual music industry happening, MIDEM, is a must attend event for global players in the music business.  This year’s MIDEM attendees were welcomed by moody skies over Cannes, which were symbolic of the state of the industry overall.  Along La Croisette, rain pelted delegates darting from the Palais de Festivals to the deal making hubs of the Majestic and Carlton hotel bars.