Napster founder goes legit on P2P
After years as the No. 1 enemy of the recording industry, Napster founder Shawn Fanning is launching a company with hopes of taking peer-to-peer networks legit.
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Canuck iTunes bows late but cheap
Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in Canada late Thursday, a few days later than expected, and served up a bargain to Canuck music fans.
Staddon tapped as Fox exec VP of marketing
Peter Staddon, one of the key architects of Fox's aggressive push into DVD special editions and TV programming, has been promoted to exec VP of marketing.
Andrews reflects on ‘Poppins’
Just For Variety -- Good Morning: "I can't do it, I'm pregnant." That was Julie Andrews' reply to Walt Disney when he went backstage after seeing her in "Camelot" in 1961 and offered the unknown (to…
Nintendo’s game to produce own pix
Mario and friends are on their way to the bigscreen, this time in their own way. Japanese vidgame giant Nintendo is preparing to get into the film biz, likely by creating an inhouse unit to develop…
Japan coming down on piracy
A Japanese court has sentenced a man to a year in prison for violating copyright law, the country's first Internet film piracy prosecution. (Sentence was suspended for three years, however.)
Scots raid pirates
STIRLING, Scotland -- Police seized £10 million ($19.1 million) worth of counterfeit CDs, videos, DVDs, computer games and software after raids in central Scotland on Wednesday, the most successful…
Warner inks Scandi online pic pact
Warner Bros. has inked a second broadband deal in Europe, this time in Scandinavia, which will allow computer users to download the studio's movies for a fee.
Blockbuster sweetens its offer for H’wood
The bidding war for Hollywood Entertainment grew more fierce Wednesday as Blockbuster sweetened its offer, but also refused to rule out a hostile takeover.
WB pix go broadband in Europe
In a first-of-its-kind deal, Warner Bros. will provide such hits as "The Matrix Revolutions" and "Mystic River" via broadband connections in Europe. Warner Bros. Intl. TV Distribution recently signed…
Blurbs binge by 10%
U.S. ad spending jumped a healthy 10.3% to $102.4 billion for the first nine months of this year, according to media tracker TNS Media Intelligencer/CMR.
