'Grand Theft Auto" simplifies song purchasing

Could it be that mindless violence and the old American 'self-made man' ethics makes players crave certain songs? Click here to read a Billboard article on the use of video games to sell mp3.

MTV Keeps Up With Digital Teen Culture

Grassroot promotional efforts, play up the branded-entertainment content, social media... Yep. MTV is sure doing well on the Web. Read an Adage interview with MTV Networks Chairman-CEO Judy McGrawth after the jump.

Microsoft Gets In On ITune Action

Zune service to compete with online titan, iTunes -- Microsoft is finally going after the TV download market with its Zune device and online network. More in this Hollywood Reporter article.

Ian Bogost on In-Game Advertising

Tauted a couple of years ago as the best way to advertise to 18-34, in-game ads have yet to fulfill this promise. Here's a nice article on the subject written by Ian Bogost in the Guardian. Click here to read the whole thing.

How to Adapt a Teen Soap for a Social Network

Sony Pictures has recently begun streaming a teen soap with a difference on Bebo, a social network catering to teen users: users have a say in the development of the story. Read all bout it here.

Press Release: Technicolor and CinemaNow Partner to Offer Retailers an Optimized Digital Movie Solution

BURBANK, Calif. and MARINA DEL REY, Calif. -- April 15, 2008 -- Technicolor, the Services Division of Thomson (Euronext 18453; NYSE: TMS), and CinemaNow, an innovator in digital entertainment technology, delivering high-quality Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos to users across multiple platforms, announced today that the two companies have partnered to offer online retailers a better way to deliver the digital content consumers are demanding.

Under the new partnership, Technicolor and CinemaNow will provide a seamless, fully-integrated platform for the electronic delivery of movies, TV shows, music and software to consumers via a broadband Internet connection. This platform will include content encoding and encryption, digital rights management (DRM), hosting and storage, promotions and ad management, streaming or download delivery, order fulfillment, reporting, and forensics. This end-to-end delivery channel will utilize Technicolor’s purpose-built infrastructure and CinemaNow’s well-developed storefront and Media Manager application to facilitate new and exciting developments in electronic content distribution.

Online retailers wishing to enter the digital market or to replace legacy solutions will benefit from optimized user interfaces, streamlined infrastructure and an extensive reporting system provided by the end-to-end offering that CinemaNow and Technicolor’s Electronic Distribution Services (EDS) business will offer. Emerging digital delivery services such as e-Copy and second session, which are supplementary digital versions of physical DVDs purchased at retail stores, and online downloads will work across CinemaNow’s entire ecosystem of compatible consumer electronic devices including PCs, portable media players (PMP), digital television sets (DTV), set top boxes (STB), and network attached storage (NAS) devices from manufacturers such as Archos, Dish Network, HP, and Samsung.

Scott Dougall, senior vice president and general manager of Technicolor EDS, said, “This is the next stage in the evolution of the broadband digital supply chain. As the distribution of content transitions from physical to digital, a new streamlined infrastructure is required. The partnership between CinemaNow and Technicolor will bring together and unify two major pieces of a traditionally fragmented solution.”

Under the terms of the partnership, CinemaNow and Technicolor will also collaborate on special projects including adding HD movies to CinemaNow’s library of more than 10,000 titles available via embedded stores and consumer electronic devices. The partnership will also enable CinemaNow to expand internationally, leveraging Technicolor’s digital supply chain services including preparing and hosting movies with subtitles and foreign language audio tracks.

“As an innovator in this industry, CinemaNow always seeks to partner with those that share our vision of creating an unparalleled consumer experience.” said David Cook, president and COO of CinemaNow. “By combining Technicolor’s superior infrastructure with our proven distribution technology, our goal is to provide the most effective way to date for online retailers to deliver digital entertainment to their customers.”

Founded in 2007, Technicolor EDS (www.technicolor.com/eds) addresses the growing need for digital content distribution services in the media and entertainment industries. Its business model is unique, and unlike other outsourced content delivery networks that only distribute content, Technicolor EDS offers clients a comprehensive suite of end-to-end or a la carte services – from content preparation and digital rights management to global distribution and reporting. Technicolor EDS also provides a host of online services to help bring new and innovative Internet-based connectivity functions for digital copy DVDs and emerging interactive features for Blu-ray discs.

About Thomson — World leader in digital video technologies Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides technology, services, and systems to the Media, Entertainment & Communications players – content creators, content distributors and broadcasters – and supports them in order to help them to improve their commercial offers and their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. For more information: www.thomson.net

About CinemaNow
CinemaNow, Inc. is an innovator in digital entertainment technology, delivering high-quality Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos to users across multiple platforms. Founded in 1999, CinemaNow has partnered with some of the biggest brands in consumer electronics and digital entertainment including ARCHOS, EchoStar Communications, Hewlett-Packard, Macrovision, Microsoft, Samsung and Sonic Solutions to deliver thousands of video titles directly to consumers. CinemaNow works with more than 250 licensors including 20th Century Fox, ABC News, Disney, HDNet, Lionsgate, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Sundance Channel and Warner Bros. For more information: www.cinemanow.com

New Movie Download Service for PS3

Read the LA Times article here.

Marvel Entertainment Lands Ira Rubenstein to Lead Digital Strategy

More about it here.

Producer launches online 'studio'

Read all about it in this BBC article here.

Nova Spivack Talks About the Future of the Web

Interesting predictions from Nova Spivack, a semantic Web pioneer...



Learning from the Future with Nova Spivack from Maarten on Vimeo.

Codemasters and Ebay Motors Launch Advergame

Codemasters and Ebay Motors have launched a new driving advergame, 'Grid'.

An interesting footnote to the Advergaming fad is, according to Forrester analyst Shar VonBoskirk, is that this new medium is not living up to expectations even though the market will grow around 40% to a 504 million total between 2008 and 2010.

Read all about it after the jump.

59 % of Web Users Dislike Targeted Ads

A new Harris Interactive study indicates that 59% of online users dislike targeted ads and what they feel is 'corporate snooping'. The research also states that the older you are, the more you resent Website 'tailoring'.

Check out the full set of stats here.

Internet TV Finally Taking Off

A gold mine for some, a nightmare for others... It finally seems like the Big Six are getting on the action. All they need now is a viable and effective ad model...

More after the jump.

Create your own 3D world... Free

Create your own unique world and share it with your friends. Play games, share media, chat, make money, all in breathtaking 3D graphics.

Check it out at Mycosm®

Online Sales to Grow 17 Percent in '08

Wired has all the details, click here to read the whole thing.

64% of US Teens Engaged In Online Content Creation

If you add Facebook to the equation, more than 64% of US teens are creating online content acording to Pew/Internet.

More info here