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SpiralFrog inks licensing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing

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spiralfrog.pngSpiralFrog, Inc. and Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC announced a licensing agreement to make its premier collections of musical compositions available on the SpiralFrog web site.

“Sony/ATV is aggressively moving to create new digital revenue streams for our song writers,” said Martin N. Bandier, chairman and CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing. “SpiralFrog has created a new opportunity to monetize an untapped market by offering a compelling alternative to illicit file-sharing sites.”

Signing rights from music publishers is a critical element in SpiralFrog’s mission to make ad-supported music downloading available on a free and legal basis. Licensing sound recordings and music videos requires more than obtaining rights from the recording artists and record labels who own the masters. The writers and composers of the songs must also be compensated, and music publishers license these underlying compositions.

SpiralFrog provides an integrated entertainment experience for users, with an emphasis on discovering new music and accessing a wide variety of content about the artists they are passionate about. Currently, SpiralFrog is live in the U.S. and Canada, offering more than 800,000 songs for downloading and 3,500 music videos for viewing and/or downloading.

Originally posted on October 22, 2007 @ 10:38 am

Judd Apatow joins FunnyorDie.com

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Judd Apatow, the creative force behind such hits as “Knocked Up,” “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Superbad,” has joined the FunnyorDie.com team as a Principal Partner.

“I am beyond thrilled to have Judd join us at FunnyorDie. However I do find him to be odd in social situations,” says Ferrell. “This is very awkward but I don’t know who Judd Apatow is,” said McKay, adding that “Although, after looking him up on IMDB, he seems very impressive.”

Apatow, whose “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” fake outtakes have been audience favorites on FunnyorDie.com, will work alongside Ferrell and McKay to ensure that FunnyorDie.com contains a steady stream of the funniest videos on the web. “

Originally posted on October 22, 2007 @ 9:50 am

Activision brings “Dancing with the Stars” video game to Wii

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Activision, Inc. have teamed up with Disney-ABC Television Group’s ABC Entertainment and BBC Worldwide America to create the first ever “Dancing with the Stars” video game for Wii. The “Dancing with the Stars” video game gives fans of the show and players of rhythm games exactly what they want – hours and hours of active family fun!

The gameplay in “Dancing with the Stars” for Wii is accessible for gamers of all ages and abilities. The Wii Remote and the Nunchuk is used to physically mimic elegant dance moves while at the same time allowing the player to add his or her own personal flair!

“Dancing with the Stars” for Wii will be available on October 30th, 2007 for $49.99 with a rating of “E 10+” for Ages 10 and up by the ESRB. It will also be available for PlayStation2 and compatible with the PlayStation2 Dance Pad on the same date for the price of $39.99. A limited-edition “Dancing with the Stars” dance pad bundled with the PlayStation2 game will be available on November 13th, 2007 for $49.99.

Editor’s note: Now we can all dance like Mark Cuban

Originally posted on October 19, 2007 @ 9:11 am

MySpace launches “Roommates” web series

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MySpace announced the launch of an original scripted web series, Roommates, in collaboration with Iron Sink Media and sponsored by the 2008 Ford Focus. The first of 45 episodes goes live today on MySpaceTV with new episodes debuting each weekday at 1:00 pm PT/ 4:00 pm ET through December 21. Roommates is the company’s first co-development project and the first original web series created specifically for MySpaceTV.

Roommates is an original scripted web series that follows a group of eight former college roommates after graduation. The four main characters – Peyton, Violet, Heather, and Sigourney – move to Los Angeles where they are invited to participate in a “reality show” by living in a house wired with cameras and computers to document their every move. The series is a combination of raw and voyeuristic segments, confessionals, and college flashback footage, and allows old friends and romances of the main characters to address viewers interactively via video blogs.

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Originally posted on October 22, 2007 @ 7:20 am