Citigroup Takes Over Control of EMI, Slashes Debt

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

London – Major record label EMI announced on Tuesday that it
has been acquired by Citigroup, which in turn announced a recapitalization of
the company that will reduce its debt by 65%, and provide over $484 million in
financing. "[The deal] has given us one of the most robust balance sheets
in the industry with a modest level of debt and substantial liquidity. With
that solid footing, we are confident in our ability to drive our business
forward," said EMI chief executive Roger Faxon.

Citigroup helped finance
private equity firm Terra Firma’s $4.7 billion acquisition of EMI in 2007.

Since then, Terra Firma has had to seek additional financing numerous times in
order to meet loan repayments on that deal, but has now defaulted and
Citigroup has taken over.

Citigroup did not announce any intention to sell off
all or parts of EMI, as many have speculated it would, should events unfold as
they have.

A Citigroup insider told Music Week the bank "has already been
in talks with all the relevant majors about selling off the various parts of
the company."

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4wjf2xw

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1044079

http://tinyurl.com/4rf4tk5
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.emi.com

IAC's The Daily Beast Completes Merger With Newsweek

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – IAC’s (NASD: IACI) The Daily Beast online news site announced
on Tuesday that it has completed its merger with Newsweek, creating The
Newsweek/Daily Beast Company.

Daily Beast founding partner and editor-in-chief
Tina Brown will serve as editor-in-chief of the combined entity, while Daily
Beast president Stephen Colvin will serve as CEO.

Directors of the new company
will include IAC chairman Barry Diller, and Newsweek publisher Dr. Sidney Harman,
who will serve as executive chairman.

"We now move forward with the vision
that Sidney Harman, Barry Diller and I have been relishing — the creation of a
vibrant company to continue the groundbreaking online Daily Beast and a
revitalized Newsweek," said Tina Brown.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4t224n8

http://www.thedailybeast.com

IntoNow's SoundPrint Mobile App Can ID TV Shows

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Palo Alto, Calif. – IntoNow on Monday introduced its
SoundPrint technology, a "Shazam for TV" that can identify live TV
programs by analyzing audio samples. The company said it has indexed more
than 140 million minutes of broadcast TV so far, and is currently monitoring more
than 130 channels in real-time. Available for the Apple iPhone and iPad,
IntoNow said its SoundPrint application can be used to share TV viewing on
social media, and to help power recommendations and commerce.

 

Related Links:
http://www.intonow.com

AOL, Mark Burnett Team on "CliffsNotes" Comedic Shorts

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – AOL (NYSE: AOL) on Monday announced a deal with reality TV
producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor"), publisher John Wiley & Sons and
Coalition Films, to co-develop a series of comedic video shorts based on
Wiley’s "CliffsNotes" guides to literature. The videos will
"present classic works of fiction in humorous, irreverent, animated shorts
that still manage to present the plots, characters, and themes to the
viewer."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6b87l3o

Report: 23.8% of Global Web Traffic Involves "Digital Theft"

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Washington – Some 23.8% of global Internet traffic involves
"digital theft," with the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol accounting
for 11.4% of this figure, according to a study commissioned by NBC Universal
and conducted by brand and trademark monitoring firm Envisional.

In the U.S.,
the study estimated 17% of Internet traffic is "infringing," with
BitTorrent traffic accounting for 9% of this total.

Envisional’s analysis of
the top 10,000 peer-to-peer swarms found that 99.24% of non-pornographic
material being traded was copyrighted material.

It also found that
"infringing cyberlocker sites" accounted for 5.1% of global Internet
traffic, while "infringing video streaming sites" made up 1.4% of
global traffic.

"Bottom line, according to this new study, nearly
one-quarter of the traffic on the Internet involves the unauthorized
distribution of copyrighted material such as movies, TV shows, music and video
games," said Bob Pisano, president and iterim CEO of the Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA).

"Whether you call it piracy, digital theft,
illegal downloading or unauthorized streaming, it’s stealing the creative work
of others."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/45nd5xm
(PDF: Envisional report)

Report: Android Smartphone Shipments Surpass Nokia's Symbian

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Reading, U.K. – Worldwide shipments of smartphones equipped
with Google’s (NASD: GOOG) Android operating system surpassed those of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Symbian
handsets for the first time ever during the fourth quarter of 2010, according
to a report from market research firm Canalys.

Android shipments were 32.9
million during the quarter, to 31 million for Nokia’s Symbian.

HTC and Samsung
were the makers of nearly 45% of the Android-based handsets shipped; other top
manufacturers included LG and Acer.

The U.S. market remains the largest in
terms of smartphone shipments, and Android led in the fourth quarter with
shipments of 12.1 million units — nearly three times the number shipped by
BlackBerry maker RIM.

"The U.S. landscape will shift dramatically this
coming year, as a result of the Verizon-Apple agreement," said Canalys analyst
Tim Shepherd.

"Verizon will move its focus away from the Droid range, but
the overall market impact will mean less carrier-exclusive deals, while increasing
the AT&T opportunity for Android vendors, such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung."

 

Related Links:
http://www.canalys.com/pr/2011/r2011013.html

Screenshots Hint Amazon Readying Video Streaming Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Seattle – Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) may be preparing to launch an instant
streaming video service to compete with Netflix (NASD: NFLX), according to screenshots
published by Engadget.

The screenshots display a new video streaming option
available on Amazon Prime, the company’s service that offers unlimited two-day
shipping and other amenities for $79 per year.

A "Watch now" button appears
next to movie titles, in addition to text that reads, "Your Amazon Prime
membership now includes unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of 5,000
movies and TV shows at no additional cost."

An Engadget tipster also noted
that a unit of Amazon recently acquired several variations of the domain
PrimeInstantVideos.com.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4zh7hrm
(Engadget)

Startup America

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

White House Launches "Startup America" Investment Program

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington – The White House on Monday announced the launch
of Startup America, a new program chaired by AOL co-founder Steve Case that
aims to expand access to capital and other key resources for start-ups with the
potential to create large numbers of jobs. The program already has garnered
major commitments from several of the nation’s largest tech companies,
including a $200 million pledge by Intel (NASD:  INTC) to invest in start-ups, $150 million
from IBM (NYSE:  IBM) to fund programs that promote entrepreneurs and new business
opportunities and a plan by Facebook to host "Startup Days," a series
of 12-15 events designed to provide entrepreneurs with access to expertise, resources
and engineers.

"Those entrepreneurs who are intent on growing their
businesses create the lion’s share of these new jobs, in every part of the
country and in every industry," the White House said in a statement.

"Moreover, it is entrepreneurs in clean energy, medicine, advanced
manufacturing, information technology, and other fields who will build the new
industries of the 21st century, and solve some of our toughest global
challenges."

 

 

Related Links:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/31/are-you-ready-startup-america

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/startup-america

http://www.startupamericapartnership.org

AOL Acquires European Video Distribution Network goviral

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – AOL (NYSE: AOL) said on Monday it has acquired goviral, a
European video distribution network, in a deal worth $96.7 million.

Under the
deal, AOL paid $74.1 million at closing, and will pay another $22.6 million
over the next two years.

goviral, which will maintain its offices in the U.K.,
Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Spain, distributes branded video content
across the Internet for major brands, media agencies, creative agencies and
content producers.

Clients include Nike, LG, Unilever, Paramount, Nokia,
Hyundai/Kia, Audi, Nintendo and Gucci.

AOL said the acquisition will bolster
its video offerings in Europe, and ultimately North America.

"Video is
core to AOL’s consumer programming strategy and goviral has created an
incredibly compelling platform," said Kate Burns, the senior vice
president of AOL Europe.

Over the past year, AOL also has acquired StudioNow,
5min Media, TechCrunch, Thing Labs, Pictela and about.me.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4vuta6q

http://www.goviral.com

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