RealNetworks

RealNetworks to Power Mobile Music for France's SFR

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 1:20pm.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) announced on Wednesday that it has signed a three-year deal to power the mobile music service for France-based mobile network operator SFR. Real said its mobile music services are now deployed with 15 providers in 14 countries, including 11 in Europe.

tags: Mobile | Music | RealNetworks | SFR |

RealNetworks Appeals Injunction Against Sales of RealDVD

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 11, 2009 - 11:20am.
San Francisco - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) has filed an appeal of a judge's injunction against the sale of the company's RealDVD software, which can make copies of DVDs, CNET News.com reported.

RealNetworks to Lay Off 4% of Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 10:52am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) will lay off 4% of its staff, or about 70 of its 1,700 employees, in a bid to cut costs amid the economic downturn, All Things D reports.

Google Debuts Music Search Feature with Lala, iLike

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 8:11am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on Wednesday the launch of a new music-focused search feature, "OneBox," which adds streaming songs via Lala and MySpace's (NYSE: NWS) iLike, along with links to an artist's website. Along with Lala and iLike, Google will also include links to digital music services Pandora, imeem and Rhapsody (NASD: RNWK). The feature will in many cases allow users to listen to the full song they are searching for right there from the search results page; licensing issues mean that some songs will only feature 30-second samples, and that subsequent searches after a song is streamed in full once will only provide a 30-second sample.

RealNetworks: Rhapsody iPhone App Hits 500,000 Downloads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 12:12pm.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) has seen more than 500,000 downloads of its Rhapsody streaming music application for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch, which requires that users pay a $14.95 per month subscription fee for unlimited streaming, All Things D reported. "Although we are pleased to see excitement and interest in the Rhapsody iPhone app, it is too early to tell how this will translate into subscriber numbers since we suspect many of the people who downloaded the app are current subscribers already or are trying Rhapsody for the first time with the seven-day free trial," spokesman Bill Hankes told All Things D.

Apple Approves Rhapsody Music Application for iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 10, 2009 - 12:03pm.
Seattle - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has approved a Rhapsody streaming music iPhone application submitted by RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) for distribution in the App Store. The free application is available only as a seven-day trial to users who are not also subscribed to Rhapsody's $15-per-month subscription plan for portable devices. The service provides access to Rhapsody's library of over 8 million songs, and offers links to purchase tracks from the iTunes Store. The company said it plans to release a Rhapsody application for Android yet this year, and is exploring opportunities on Windows Mobile and Palm Pre.

Rhapsody, MTV to Host Preview of New Jay-Z Album

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 10:40am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV announced on Monday that their Rhapsody music service joint venture will exclusively preview Jay-Z's new album, "The Blueprint 3," for two weeks prior to its official release on Sept. 11. The preview stream will also be available from MTV's The Leak. Rhapsody will also be the exclusive retailer of the album from Sept. 8-10, and will host two exclusive bonus tracks

Wenner Dumps RealNetworks; Will Re-launch RollingStone.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 8:11am.
New York - Wenner Media, the publisher of titles including Rolling Stone and Us Weekly, plans to take control of its flagship RollingStone.com website back from RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK), which has operated the site for the past ten years, according to Mediaweek.

RealNetworks Submits Rhapsody Music iPhone App to Apple

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 24, 2009 - 12:51pm.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) has submitted a mobile version of its Rhapsody digital music service as an application to Apple's (NASD: AAPL) App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, according to published reports. The service would be free for subscribers to the $15-per-month Rhapsody To Go service. The initial version of the application will also lack an offline play mode -- meaning that users must have a solid Wi-Fi or 3G connection to stream music. The company must also point links to purchase tracks heard through the application to Apple's iTunes Store, rather than Rhapsody's own online store.

RealNetworks SP Downloads Web Videos to Mobile Devices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 20, 2009 - 11:33am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) on Thursday announced the official release of the latest version of its media software, RealPlayer SP, which lets users easily transfer non-DRM Web videos to a range of portable devices. The company said that since its beta launch, users have downloaded over 22 million Web videos to devices like the BlackBerry, Palm Pre, and Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

Judge Declares RealNetworks' DVD-Copying Software Illegal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 12, 2009 - 11:48am.
San Francisco - A federal judge has ruled that RealNetworks' (NASD: RNWK) DVD-copying RealDVD software product violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and has banned its distribution. "This is a victory for the creators and producers of motion pictures and television shows and for the rule of law in our digital economy," said Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) CEO Dan Glickman.

Music Joint Venture Rhapsody Lays Off 9% of Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 6, 2009 - 9:54am.
Seattle - Rhapsody, the digital music service joint venture between RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, is laying off 9% of its employees, All Things D reported. Most of the cuts are coming in the service's editorial department, including writers, radio programmers and product managers.

MCS Music Files Copyright Suit Against Yahoo, Microsoft, Real

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 1, 2009 - 7:24am.
Nashville, Tenn. - MCS Music America, a company that provides administration and manages copyrights for some 45,000 music tracks, has filed copyright infringement claims against Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK), alleging the companies did not obtain all the proper permissions for using its tracks on their service, Techdirt reported. On its website, MCS Music America says it administers copyrights for artists including Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Metallica and Moby, among others.

RealPlayer SP Ports Web Video to Social Nets, Media Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 24, 2009 - 12:07pm.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) on Wednesday released RealPlayer SP, an application that lets users transfer video from many websites onto their social network profiles or various portable media players. After installation, RealPlayer will identify video on sites like YouTube and CNN.com that users can port to Facebook, Twitter, or email. For portable device transfers, a selects the cell phone model or type of device -- including iPhone and iPod, BlackBerry, Android, Palm Pre, Zune, PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Apple TV -- and RealPlayer SP then transcodes to the appropriate format.

Judge to Decide Fate of RealNetworks' DVD-Copying Software

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 22, 2009 - 8:49am.
San Francisco - Testimony wrapped up this week in a case that will determine whether a DVD-copying product from RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as alleged by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which filed the complaint. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel previously issued a preliminary injunction halting sales of RealDVD, and after hearing testimony this week will decide whether to make the injunction permanent.

RealNetworks Sues Studios for Collusion Over DVD Copying

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 14, 2009 - 10:41am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK), which is currently embroiled in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the major movie studios over its DVD-copying RealDVD software, has asked the judge in the case for permission to file an antitrust complaint against the studios.

RealNetworks Posts Net Loss; Music, Games Revenues Up

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 8, 2009 - 7:26am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) this week posted a net loss for the first quarter, hampered by fluctuating exchange rates and RealDVD litigation costs, amid results that saw a 16% jump in music sales and a 3% rise from its games business. The company saw a net loss of $12.1 million, or 10 cents a share, and revenue fell 5% from a year ago, to $140.8 million; analysts had projected a loss of 6 cents a share.

Rhapsody Inks Promotion Deal for New Green Day Album

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2009 - 10:39am.
Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) said on Thursday that its Rhapsody digital music service has partnered with rock band Green Day to promote its upcoming album, "21st Century Breakdown." The deal will see Rhapsody get a stream of the entire album a week before its May 15 release, in addition to exclusive tracks for Rhapsody subscribers, and a Green Day-themed Rhapsody TV ad campaign that will run across Rhapsody partner MTV Networks' (NYSE: VIA) channels.

RealNetworks CEO Testifies in RealDVD Disc-Copying Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2009 - 8:18am.
San Francisco - The CEO of RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) testified in federal court on Tuesday that his company's RealDVD disc-copying software does not facilitate piracy, and that consumers have a legal right to back-up their movie collections, according to published reports. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sued the company for copyright infringement and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, arguing that the $30 software circumvents the CSS encryption on DVD discs.

MPAA: RealNetworks Destroyed Evidence in RealDVD Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 6, 2009 - 11:46am.
Seattle - The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has accused RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) of destroying evidence that would help its case against the company over RealDVD, a software program that can copy the contents of a DVD, according to published reports. A court has already granted a preliminary injunction against the sale of RealDVD, which the MPAA argues violates a portion of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that prohibits circumvention of copy protections on a digital device.