DRM

Wal-Mart Going Hardline on DRM-Free Online Music Store; SonyBMG and WMG Holdouts - 0 Comments
Posted By Rafat Ali - Tue 08 Apr 2008 10:41 PM PST

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), whose online music efforts haven’t exactly caught fire among consumers, is now trying a hardline stance on MP3 downloads, ditching Windows DRM-laden downloads that it used to…

Attributor Raises $12 Million Third Round To Help Protect Copyright - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Wed 02 Apr 2008 12:10 PM PST

Attributor, a start-up that helps content owners profit from plagiarism of their work, has raised a $12 million third round from Jafco Ventures and Turner Broadcasting, along with return backers…

Digimarc Sells ID Systems Unit To L-1 Identity For $250 Million - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Mon 24 Mar 2008 09:45 AM PST

Digital watermarker Digimarc (NSDQ: DMRC) has announced the sale of its ID Systems business to L-1 identity, a provider of ID and security services, for $250 million in cash and…

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Ebooks Catalog OverDrive Adds MP3 Audiobooks; Borders Signs On First - 3 Comments
Posted By David Kaplan - Tue 18 Mar 2008 09:01 PM PST

Ebooks distributor OverDrive is expanding its online catalog to include MP3 audiobooks, the company told us. Publishers who are participating in OverDrive’s audiobooks program include Random House Audio, Blackstone Audiobooks,…

Amazon-Pepsi Music Giveaway Deal Raises Retailers Concerns; Amazon Logo Taken Off - 0 Comments
Posted By Rafat Ali - Sun 16 Mar 2008 09:26 PM PST

Surprised this didn’t come out before: Pepsi tied up with Amazon.com (NSDQ: AMZN) for SuperBowl earlier this year, to give away 1 billion free MP3 songs though Amazon’s digital music…

Digital Media Tech Firm Entriq Acquires DayPort; Reportedly Around $45 Million - 0 Comments
Posted By David Kaplan - Mon 10 Mar 2008 08:01 AM PST

Digital media services and DRM firm Entriq has bought online video services firm DayPort, the companies said. Carlsbad, CA.-based Entriq hopes that DayPort can bring in additional tools for managing…

Facebook Continues Music Biz Outreach; Moves Appear To Mirror MySpace: Report - 0 Comments
Posted By David Kaplan - Tue 04 Mar 2008 03:13 PM PST

We reported on this first in October, Facebook has been setting up meetings with music industry executives as the social net tries to find the best way to set up…

Random House To Sell Audiobooks Without DRM - 0 Comments
Posted By David Kaplan - Mon 25 Feb 2008 08:17 AM PST

Random House will begin selling its online audiobooks without DRM protection starting next month, according to WSJ, confirming an earlier report on BoingBoing. The Bertelsmann-owned publisher’s Random House Audio division…

Updated: RealNetworks Buys Macrovision’s Games Business For $4 Million - 0 Comments
Posted By Rafat Ali - Fri 22 Feb 2008 01:17 AM PST

Earlier today Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN) announced its Q4 earnings and also mentioned that it has sold off its games DRM business (through Trymedia) to an undisclosed buyer for $4 million.…

‘DVD’ Jon’s DoubleTwist Gets Funding For iTunes Circumvention - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Mon 18 Feb 2008 01:45 PM PST

SF-based DoubleTwist, the DRM-fighting startup from famed hacker “DVD” Jon Lech Johanson, has raised funding from Skype-backer Index Ventures and Norway’s NorthZone Ventures, reports FT. After an unfulfilled partnership with…

Macrovision Sells Software Business Unit To Thoma Cressey Bravo For $200 Million In Cash - 1 Comment
Posted By David Kaplan - Thu 14 Feb 2008 07:08 AM PST

Digital rights manager Macrovision is selling its Software Business Unit to PE firm Thoma Cressey Bravo for $200 million in cash. The deal still has to be reviewed by regulators,…

Does It Make Sense To Have DRM For Free/Subscription Music Services? - 1 Comment
Posted By Rafat Ali - Sat 26 Jan 2008 01:01 PM PST

See the related comment by Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of Vivendi (EPA: VIV) (which owns Universal Music Group), which triggered this poll (RSS readers will have to click through). surveys -…

@ MidemNet: Vivendi ‘Still Strongly Attached To DRM’ And CDs - 2 Comments
Posted By Robert Andrews - Sat 26 Jan 2008 05:23 AM PST

Ed’s Note: Our paidContent:UK editor Robert Andrews is at the Midem conference in Cannes, covering the big music conference and marketplace. Below are his reports from Midemnet, the digital music…

Yahoo Working on DRM-Free Music Store: Report - 0 Comments
Posted By Rafat Ali - Wed 23 Jan 2008 05:04 PM PST

This isn’t a big surprise: Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) has said that it is looking to retool its online music efforts and has been exploring all kinds of options, including from…

Amazon Confirms Sony BMG To Sell MP3s; Amazon First To Get The Big Four - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Thu 10 Jan 2008 02:12 PM PST

It’s official… Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG will begin selling DRM-free tracks through *Amazon*’s music store by the end of the month, confirming reports that surfaced last week. In the announcement,…

Sony BMG Confirms DRM-Free Debut - At Bricks-And-Mortar Stores - 0 Comments
Posted By Robert Andrews - Mon 07 Jan 2008 12:56 AM PST

Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG has confirmed previous reports it will become the last of the major labels to offer DRM-free music. It’s a pretty tentative experiment - from January 15,…

Napster To Convert Download Store To MP3 Only - 1 Comment
Posted By Rafat Ali - Sun 06 Jan 2008 10:52 PM PST

Napster (NSDQ: NAPS), which last week quietly announced increase in its subscription music service, has now announced it will convert its downloads store to MP3 only by Q2 of this…

Warner Signs On With Amazon’s DRM-Free MP3 Download Store - 2 Comments
Posted By Staci D. Kramer - Thu 27 Dec 2007 08:40 AM PST

Effective today, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) follows Universal Music Group and EMI to the DRM-free Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) MP3 store. For Warner, it’s an admission that DRM-free music is…

Apple Rumor Site Think Secret Shutting Down On Settlement - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Thu 20 Dec 2007 10:37 AM PST

Think Secret, a popular source of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) gossip and news, will be shutting down, per a settlement of a trade secrets lawsuit brought by Apple in 2005. In…

Microsoft Rebrands PlaysForSure To ‘Certified For Windows Vista’—Seriously - 1 Comment
Posted By Staci D. Kramer - Wed 12 Dec 2007 05:27 PM PST

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has made some good branding moves. This isn’t one. In fact, it may be one of the worst I’ve seen. In some kind of misguided effort to…

Macrovision Buying Gemstar-TV Guide for $2.8 Billion - 1 Comment
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Fri 07 Dec 2007 05:03 AM PST

Content protection firm Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN) is acquiring Gemstar-TV Guide for $2.8 billion in cash and stock. The companies say there will be opportunities to combine Gemstar’s guide services with…

Irdeto Acquires Cloakware for $72.5 Million; Expands Content Security - 0 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Thu 06 Dec 2007 12:42 PM PST

Irdeto, a Dutch firm specializing in digital content security, has acquired Cloakware, a privately-held content security firm for $72.5 million. Cloakware, which offers a range of security products, was previously…

Amazon 1 Billion MP3 Giveaway Offer; Under Pressure, Labels Warm To DRM-free Format - 3 Comments
Posted By David Kaplan - Fri 30 Nov 2007 10:19 AM PST

If others can do a million, we can do a billion: Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is giving away 1 billion free MP3 songs, as part of a Pepsi promotion that’s set…

France To Disconnect Online Pirates; DRM Restrictions Might Go - 0 Comments
Posted By Robert Andrews - Fri 23 Nov 2007 10:36 AM PST

From our sister site paidContent:UK: If US digital liberties campaigners think they’ve got it bad with an RIAA so active in lobbying digital copyright policy, wait until they hear about…

Studios Unveil DVD Copying Schemes; Aim To Provide Piracy Alternative - 2 Comments
Posted By Joseph Weisenthal - Wed 21 Nov 2007 06:20 AM PST

The good news: Movie studios recognize that strict DRM on DVDs helps make piracy and illegal downloading an attractive route for consumers so various schemes are now being rolled out…