Monday, September 30, 2002

Street Marketing Is More Essential for Labels as CD Sales Decline. Record companies are hiring "street team units" to persuade D.J.'s at trendy clubs to play new singles and generate a buzz on the streets. By Lynette Holloway. [New York Times: Arts]

A Digital Video Format Is Catching in Television. More than a quarter of the prime-time shows on the major broadcast and cable networks this season are being shot on 24P digital video. By Andrew Zipern. [New York Times: Technology]

As Digital Radio Stumbles, New Products Fill the Gap. Several radio manufacturers have introduced products that improve the quality and reach of broadcasts transmitted in analog. By Barnaby J. Feder. [New York Times: Technology]

Digital Artworks That Play Against Expectations. With more than 16,000 members, Rhizome is among the most popular virtual communities devoted to the digital arts. By Matthew Mirapaul. [New York Times: Technology]

Labels pay to settle price-fixing suit. The major record labels will pay out $67.3 million to settle charges that they violated antitrust laws through ad practices that kept the prices of CDs artificially high. [CNET News.com]

Liquid Audio unloads its download technology. The online music company agrees to sell its digital encoding patents to Microsoft for $7 million in cash, moving the company closer to its proposed merger with Alliance Entertainment. [CNET News.com]

Mr. Hollywood Lives in Washington. The powerful entertainment industry continues to push for legislation it thinks will protect its interests, but in reality just punishes itself by hurting the consumer. Digital TV is merely the latest focus. Commentary by Lauren Weinstein. [Wired News]

House Could Delay Radio Royalties VentureReporter.net Friday, September 27, 2002, 1:41 PM ET The House of Representatives votes next week to possibly give an extension on the bill that would require royalty payments for radio broadcasts on the Web. Many online radio broadcasters believe the bill, if passed, would force their programs off the air, which may, in some cases, be precisely the point. Many Webcasters are still trying to work out an arrangement with the musicians whose work they use. Read the Reuters story.