archives

o SDMI Confirms Cracks Of Two Digital Music Security Measures
o CMGI May Withdraw Support For Entertainment Site ICast
o SurferNetwork.com To Acquire BroadcastAmerica
o Irish Streaming Company Servecast Raises $34 Million
o Film Site ALWAYSi Sells Films To Sundance Channel
> Tonight: Digital Media Wire Networking Event - Los Angeles
o Briefly Noted: MoodLogic - Listen.com, Atom Films - Schibsted, Rachis
Corporation - Scientific Atlanta, Hotline Communications - Studionext,
Enterbrain - GameLoft, WildTangent - HappyPuppy.com-Eruptor
Entertainment-Freeloader.com
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o SDMI Confirms Cracks Of Two Digital Music Security Measures

Washington, D.C. -- Confirming earlier reports by online magazine
Salon.com and others, the Secure Digital Music Initiative's (SDMI)
announced on Wednesday that several of its digital music security measures
were compromised, as the result of the public challenge it posed to the
hacker community. "Of the five proposed technologies that SDMI still has
under consideration, successful attacks were not identified on three
technologies, and were identified on two," said SDMI executive director
Leonardo Chiariglione, in a statement released on Wednesday. "Of those
apparently successful attacks, one of them was not reproduced on
additional music samples as part of our evaluation process." In an
interview, Chiariglione would not provide either the names of the
successful crackers, or name the companies whose security technologies had
been compromised. "We don't want to release the names of the companies
whose security measures were cracked," said Chiariglione. "It could be
harmful to their reputation and businesses." Companies whose security
measures were tested in the challenge included Blue Spike, CRL, EMI Group,
Phillips, Samsung/MarkAny and Verance. Chiariglione did say that the prize
money will be divided evenly among the winning participants, and that the
initiative will provide further information on Friday, as it continues to
analyze the results of the challenge. The recording and computer
industry-backed SDMI was charged with coming up with secure means for
distributing digital music. The initiative posed a challenge to the hacker
community, offering a $10,000 prize to any party that could successfully
crack any of the watermarking or encryption security measures being
considered by the SDMI.
http://www.sdmi.org
http://www.hacksdmi.org
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/11/08/sdmi_tests/index.html
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o CMGI May Withdraw Support For Entertainment Site ICast

San Francisco -- In an effort to save money, Internet incubator CMGI may
withdraw financial support and seek a buyout of its entertainment site,
iCast.com, according to a Wired News report. CMGI, which holds stakes in
17 Internet companies, has reportedly withdrawn millions of dollars that
would have been used in marketing efforts for iCast, the article said.
Massachusetts-based iCast went through a restructuring several months ago
that resulted in 30 layoffs at the company. Inside.com reported on
Wednesday that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is reportedly in talks with
CMGI to acquire iCast, although a spokesman for News Corp. denied that the
company was in any negotiations with CMGI. iCast's recent restructuring
proposed that the company cut down on its marketing costs, and attempt to
persuade content providers to pay to have their content put on its site.
"Before, we paid for content," said Fred Siegel, iCast's senior vice
president of marketing and corporate strategy, in an internal e-mail
obtained by Wired News. "This is because we had to. Now that we are no
longer in that position, we will not pay for music content any more -- we
want to be paid to carry it."
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,39989,00.html
http://www.inside.com/story/Story_Cached/0,2770,14199_9_16_1,00.html
http://www.icast.com
http://www.cmgi.com
_____________________________________________

o SurferNetwork.com To Acquire BroadcastAmerica

Portland, Maine -- BroadcastAmerica, a network of Internet radio stations,
announced on Wednesday that it has signed a letter of intent to be
acquired by SurferNetwork.com, a provider of Internet marketing for
streaming radio. The merger will allow the struggling BroadcastAmerica,
which yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, to continue
its operations. The combined company, which will be called
BroadcastAmerica, will insert targeted advertising developed by
SurferNetwork.com into streaming radio broadcasts. Gordon J. Bridge,
currently CEO of SurferNetwork.com, will become CEO of the new
BroadcastAmerica, while John Brier, currently president of
BroadcastAmerica, will remain President of the new company.
http://www.surfernetwork.com/pr-11-08-2000.html
http://www.broadcastamerica.com
_____________________________________________

o Irish Streaming Company Servecast Raises $34 Million

Dublin, Ireland -- Servecast, a provider of streaming media delivery and
hosting services, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $34 million in
its latest round of venture capital financing. Providence Equity led the
investment round; other investors included Carrier 1, Setanta Sport, and a
number of individual investors including Eddie Jordan, owner of the Jordan
Formula One Racing Team. The company also received vendor-financing
facilities from partners Compaq and Cisco. Dublin-based Servecast said it
will use the new funds to further develop its streaming audio and video
delivery network, which it has partnered with Compaq and Cisco to create.
http://www.servecast.com/1x7/funding.htm
_____________________________________________

o Film Site ALWAYSi Sells Films To Sundance Channel

San Francisco -- ALWAYSi, an entertainment site for independent and
student films, announced on Wednesday that it has sold six of its short
films to the Sundance Channel, a cable network that broadcasts independent
films. The company said the films will be broadcast on the cable channel
beginning in February 2001. Among the films which have been acquired by
the Sundance Channel are "Lola," a film about a "ghostly drifter in search
of lost souls and a hopeless junkie who is forced to relive a childhood
tragedy," "Comedy, A Tragedy in One Act" and "The Briss." San
Francisco-based ALWAYSi joins a growing number of entertainment sites,
including Icebox.com and MediaTrip.com, which have sold web content to
traditional media outlets. "The sale of these films illustrates ALWAYSi's
ability to discover independent filmmakers and market them to the
traditional offline media world," said Randy Greenberg, vice president of
sales and marketing for ALWAYSi.
http://www.alwaysi.com
http://www.sundancechannel.com
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> Tonight: Digital Media Wire Networking Event - Los Angeles

Digital Media Wire will host its first networking event this evening in
Los Angeles, for subscribers and those interested in the convergence of
entertainment, technology and the Internet. Please feel free to spread
the word to others who may be interested. Light hors d'oeuvres will be
served and there will be a cash bar. There is no charge for the event and
registration is not necessary.

Sponsors:
Netjammer
Red Road Foundation

Date: Wednesday, November 8
Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Sunset Trocadero Lounge
8280 Sunset Boulevard - West Hollywood, CA

For additional details: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/dmw_event1.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) MoodLogic, a provider of intuitive music search and
personalization software, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered
with San Francisco-based music search site Listen.com. Under the deal,
MoodLogic will provide its music search software to Listen.com's
syndication partners, which include include About.com, Excite@Home, Lycos,
NBCi.com, RealNetworks, shockwave.com and ZDNet. San Francisco-based
MoodLogic has developed software that allows users to find songs and
artists based on information they submit regarding their personal tastes
and mood.
http://www.moodlogic.com
http://www.listen.com

(Seattle) Entertainment site Atom Films announced on Wednesday that it has
signed a syndication deal for its short films with Schibsted, a
Scandinavian media company. Under the deal, short films and animations
from Atom Films will be accessible to users of web-enabled portable
digital devices, such as Pocket PCs and PalmPilots, over wireless
connections from Schibsted's web site. Seattle-based Atom Films launched a
similar program with Pocket PC to make short films available to wireless
device users in the U.S. in April.
http://www.inpoc.com
http://www.atomfilms.com
http://www.atomfilms.com/togo

(Maynard, Mass.) Rachis Corporation, a software developer for interactive
television, announced on Wednesday that it has been chosen by set-top box
developer Scientific Atlanta to integrate Microsoft's Microsoft TV with
its products. Massachusetts-based Rachis will develop software that allows
Microsoft TV to function on Scientific Atlanta's Explorer interactive
set-top box.
http://www.rachis.com
http://www.scientificatlanta.com

(Toronto) Hotline Communications, a developer of peer-to-peer and
community-building software, announced on Wednesday that it has formed a
partnership with New York-based Studionext, a digital media producer for
entertainment and advertising. Under the partnership, Studionext will
promote the streaming and downloading of their serialized shows, short
films, animation, music and interactive games on Hotline's peer-to-peer
network. Canada-based Hotline's peer-to-peer technology offers features
including the ability for users to create private networks without having
to understand HTML or JAVA.
http://www2.bigredh.com/hotline3/news/studio_next.html
http://www.studionext.com

(Tokyo) Enterbrain, a Japanese video game developer, announced on
Wednesday that it has partnered with French gaming portal GameLoft, to
develop five different language versions of Enterbrain's Japanese gaming
news publication, Fumitsu.com. The site, which will be managed by
GameLoft, will be tailored for web audiences in Europe and North America.
http://www.fumitsu.com
http://www.gameloft.com

(Redmond, Wash.) WildTangent, a producer of online entertainment content,
announced on Wednesday that it has licensed its content to an online game
publication and two entertainment sites. TheGlobe.com's HappyPuppy and
Eruptor Entertainment, as well as gaming site Freeloader.com will offer
Redmond-based WildTangent's interactive online games and 3D animations on
their web sites.
http://www.wildtangent.com
http://www.happypuppy.com
http://www.eruptor.com
http://www.freeloader.com
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