Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Apple announced the iTunes store surpassed 3 billion songs sold and downloaded. The iTunes catalog now includes over 5 million songs, 550 TV shows and 500 movies for purchase, making it the third largest music retailer in the U.S., according to the NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey. (New York Post 8/1)

I’ve taken up this horrible habit of downloading the same piece of music both at work and home.  It would be most helpful if Apple could figure out a way to resolve this problem.  Obviously, not to their benefit from a profit perspective but it sure would make me happy.

Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, is filing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple, alleging the computer giant violated copyrights by allowing unauthorized downloads of the rapper’s songs onto iPods. The suit is “likely a sign of more to come in the music industry.” (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070731/METRO/707310351/1013/ 7/31)

MTV will debut The Real World: Sydney on August 8 at 10p. A sneak preview of the first episode started airing today at www.RealWorld.MTV.com, where fans can also find cast blogs, cast and house photos and 2-minute peaks of upcoming episodes. Exclusive content will also be available via MTV.com, and starting August 8 through Virtual Real World at www.vmtv.com. Episodes can be downloaded the day after airing on MTV through a variety of services: iTunes Store, Amazon Unbox, AOL Video and Walmart Video Downloads, plus the preview episode can be downloaded for free starting August 2.

(Below) SUCH a better option.  I’d rather watch an ad than pay for Wi-Fi anyday.  Certainly for business travelers who find themselves in several airports a week, this is a better solution.  On the road, this option works. At home, I personally would want to remain ad-free.  I haven’t used Net Zero in years and I’m not about to.

Start up ad firms such as JiWire are selling ad space in municipal Wi-Fi internet hubs, according to the Wall Street Journal, giving advertisers another online option. Instead of paying a fee to get online the user agrees to watch an ad instead. JiWire also sells space in airports and hotels; Charles Schwab and Dell have bought ads this year targeting business travelers on the go.

Facebook is removing the Audio music-sharing application from its platform, saying it violated music copyrights. Audio allows users to upload audio files, share them with others and listen to them within Facebook. Audio says it expects to be back online “within the next several days.” (http://venturebeat.com/2007/07/31/facebook-kills-audio-for-copyright-violations/ 7/31)

Below is the application which was removed from Facebook.  Click on the pic below to check out iLike’s site.

Is Google creating a campus in Manhattan, much like the one at its home base in Mountain View, Calif.? The Internet giant is vastly expanding its office space in the city. A Google spokesman says: “New York is significant to Google as we have many … advertisers and publishers there.” (http://www.observer.com/2007/google-gobbles-more-space-west-chelsea 7/31)

(Below) From inside sources, the ad sales team is in a very sorry condition at this point in time.  Many are looking for the closest exit.  As several leave, others are left burdened by too much work for the same $$.  Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that this is generally a bad sitution.

After an advertising sales shake-up last month, including the departure of ad chief Wenda Harris Millard, several ad execs are said to be looking to leave Yahoo. An exodus could take with it the expertise that persuaded the likes of Citibank and PepsiCo to move their ad dollars online. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/08012007/business/ad_ding__pain_business_holly_m__sanders.htm 8/1)

Endemol USA’s JoeCartoon.com relaunched with tons of new flash-based cartoons and games but the same twisted sense of humor. The Frog in a Blender concept has been advanced to include an interactive sketch where users get to torture the poor guy on a rack, one of many in the “press ‘n ’splode” series.

Hitwise has built a new category measuring broadcast network TV Show microsites, reporting weekly visits in terms of market share within this custom category. Initial results have shown a high concentration of reality shows, but The Simpsons obviously benefited this week from the 20th Century Fox movie release, which earned over $70 million at the box office last weekend.

Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Websites (Week ending July 28, 2007)  
Rank   Network   Website                            Market Share Of Visits
1       FOX         The Simpsons                              21.90%
2       CBS         Pirate Master                                7.15%
3       NBC         America’s Got Talent                      6.88%
4       FOX         American Idol                                6.19%
5       FOX         So You Think You Can Dance           5.81%
6       FOX         America’s Most Wanted                   4.23%
7       NBC         Deal Or No Deal                              3.17%
8       FOX         Hell’s Kitchen                                 2.69%
9       ABC         Greys Anatomy                               2.21%
10     NBC         Age of Love                                   1.85%
Source: Hitwise Rankings based on market share of US visits among custom category of television network websites among six major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, The CW and MyNetwork) for the week ending July 28, 2007 (Sunday ­ Saturday) from the Hitwise sample of 10 million US Internet users.

Swarmcast released a new live streaming solution that enables distribution of HD-quality video over the net. The company says the solution works seamlessly with existing Digital Rights Management Systems and can integrate with a number of popular media players.

Multiplatform kids service Kabillion unveiled a new pre-school block of programming today available online and on demand across Comcast systems nationwide. New 2-5 year-old targeted shows include 3D CGI-animated Dive Olly Dive, based on the dolphin series “Flipper & Lopaka.”