DOT DOT DOT COM

PAVING THE WAY FOR HOMEMADE PORNO
MAGIX Entertainment has announced the launch of Music and Video Generation 6, which allows consumers to produce their own multimedia creations by adding music to personal videos. Touting a new Windows interface, the software features an enhanced audio effects rack with 48 tracks, six virtual instruments, more than 2,000 sound loops, over 550 MB of video files and a bunch of other geeky features we don't really understand. The truly adventurous can even step up to Music and Video Maker Deluxe, which features a 64-track arranger, eight virtual instruments and over 3,200 sound loops. The software works with all common video-capture cards to integrate shots from VCRs, video camera, and digital cameras. MAGIX U.S. head Ken Alterwitz plans to use the program to spiff up the nine-hour documentary he's making about his career.

FEDERAL COURTS IN DENIAL
In a transcript released on Friday, March 15, the United States District Court denied the RIAA's motion to dismiss a claim for damages, filed against them by MP3Board, Inc., an Internet search engine focusing on music files. According to MP3Board, the RIAA issued a "take down" notice to MP3Board's service providers in an attempt to have the search engine shut down. The claim accuses the RIAA of tortious interference with contract and prospective economic advantages, and was filed in response to an RIAA-led suit against the site for providing hyperlinks to music files through an automated search engine.

MCINTYRE IS NEW COSMOPOLITAN
Kozmo President and CEO Gerry Burdo today announced that former BMG Entertainment EVP Tom McIntyre has signed on as SVP and CFO of the online entertainment, food, and gift retailer/delivery service, which services nine U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and New York City. McIntyre will oversee the finance, legal, and human resource functions of the company in addition to his mandatory duties as a delivery boy.

MP3.COM CROSSES BROOKE
You say no artists are breaking off the web? MP3.com, in its typically soft-spoken, hype-free way, ventures to disagree. According to the online music destination, Pop singer Brooke Allison was discovered on MP3.com (through a venture between 2ksounds and Virgin Records) when the singer zoomed up the MP3.com charts. And now that over 40 radio stations have added Allison's debut single, "The Kiss-Off (Goodbye)" in the last week, the netco taking the credit for creating a star. If Allison's career fails to fulfill its promise, this will be blamed on Napster.

JACKALOPE DISCOVERED
IQuest Networks Inc. officially launched its music-sharing network, Jackalope Audio today. Like Napster, the service allows users to listen to songs that fellow users have on their hard drives. However, Jackalope claims to bypass legal issues by sidestepping the actual downloading or copying of files. Instead, users listen to each other's files in streaming audio, chosen from a self-composed track listing. In a related story, RIAA lawyers drew straws to decide who got to file suit against the service.

WINDOWS MEDIA: JUST ADD POPCORN
Sightsound Technologies, Microsoft Corp., and Panasonic Broadcast and Television Systems Co. announced a joint digital cinema trial today, whereby audiences watch a movie delivered via the Internet and projected onto a movie screen. Streaming movies over the Net rather than by traditional means will of course reduce distribution costs, while the use of Microsoft's Windows Media Video 8 allows for high-quality pictures (instead of the pixilated postage stamps seen on our crappy computers). SightSound even broaches security issues by using videos encrypted with Windows Media digital rights management. The first film, "Quantum Project," starring Stephen Dorff, Fay Masterson and John Cleese, premieres today at Star City Cinemas in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, there still isn't a reliable software to come up with a decent script.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THIS ITEM NOT AVAILABLE
Sonic Foundry Inc. announced today that it will be providing a customized version of its digital music and video entertainment software, SIREN XPress, through a partnership with eAudio. As an audio-only Internet portal carrying various music-related products such as MP3 players and sound cards, eAudio will include SIREN XPress as an integrated offering from their website, and promote the software through different marketing venues.