You, Too, Can Edit the Atlantic. Now About That Paycheck…
Ever have the desire to edit a big Web site, for free? Clever Gabe Snyder figures there are a few of you out there: He's asking readers of the Atlantic Wire, a buzzy offshoot of the print magazine's main site, to play along with his staff as they chat about what the site ought to...
Netflix Adds Miramax Movies
Netflix has finalized a previously reported deal to bring "several hundred" old Miramax movies, like "Pulp Fiction" to the rental service. The deal is non-exclusive and doesn't cover new titles, since the holding company that owns Miramax hasn't made any movies since it bought the library from Disney last year (though that could change). The...
Case Closed: LimeWire Settles With Labels For $105 Million
And now the long-running LimeWire saga is really over: The file-sharing site, forced to shut down by a Federal court order last fall, has agreed to pay the big music labels $105 million to settle a copyright case. The two sides had spent the past coupl...
About That Music Recovery…
If you were looking for some reason not to get too excited about a reported uptick in music sales, here you go: Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label, says revenue decreased 5 percent in the last quarter, after accounting for currency effects. The label said digital revenues were up 17.6 percent.
Elvis, Muhammad Ali and American Idol Sold For $509 Million
CKX, the holding company that owns the production company behind "American Idol," is being sold to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $509 million. Besides 19 Entertainment, CKX also owns licensing rights for Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, as well as a majority share of Presley's Graceland mansion. Deadline and the LAT have good...
Warner Music Rewards New Owner With Decent Quarter
This is a nice way to greet the new boss: Warner Music, set to be acquired by investor Len Blavatnik, reports a nice Q2, particularly by music industry standards: Revenue was up 2 percent, while digital sales were up 9 percent. But operating income was...
Book Publishers, AOL To Launch New Book Recommendation Site
Three big publishers and AOL are set to launch Bookish, a "new digital platform for readers." Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, and CBS' Simon & Schuster are backing the new site, which is supposed to launch this summer; AOL will promote the property and handle ad sales. A press release describes Bookish as "a place...
Warner Bros. Buys Flixster, Rotten Tomatoes
Warner Bros. has acquired movie recommendation site Flixster, along with rating service Rotten Tomatoes. Time Warner's movie unit didn't disclose a price, but Kara Swisher, who reported on sales talks in March, reported that Flixster was looking for $60 million to $90 million. News Corp., which owned a minority stake in Flixster, also owns this...
Hulu Audience Head Eugene Wei Leaves
Eugene Wei, Hulu's senior vice president for audience, is leaving the video site to start his own company. Hulu CEO Jason Kilar announced the move via a blog post published Saturday. Wei joined the company in its pre-launch days, nearly four years ago. Last year founding CTO Eric Feng left the site to become a...
Web Commenting Platform Disqus Raises $10 Million