Amazon unveils AutoRip, turning your 15-year-old CDs into free digital copies

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If you’re like me, you’ve probably got hundreds of old CDs laying around the house that rarely get used. Now, Amazon is launching a nifty little service to get some digital airtime out of those old CDs, as wel as newer purchases. The company is introducing AutoRip, a free service that converts CDs purchased via… Read More…

RealNetworks to run divisions as standalone units in possible prelude to bigger moves

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RealNetworks plans to start running three of its divisions as standalone business units, saying it wants to make them more accountable for their own financial and operational performance. The company’s RealPlayer, Software as a Service and Games units will become more autonomous as a result of the changes. RealNetworks declined to comment beyond a regulatory… Read More…

Mars Hill Church, now with its own music label

Citizens will be the first act to release a full-length album on Mars Hill's new label.

Rock, rap and Jesus? Seattle-based ministry Mars Hill is launching a record label to serve and attract its growing membership. The fledgling record label is called Mars Hill Music and run by Deacon Jonathan Dunn. Dunn is a founding member of the heavy metal band Demon Hunter and directed A&R at Tooth & Nail/Solid State… Read More…

Profitable digital media agency Smashing Ideas finds a buyer in Bertelsmann

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Smashing Ideas, a 15-year-old Seattle digital media agency, has been acquired by Bertelsmann AG’s Random House unit for an undisclosed price. Profitable since inception, the company never took on outside capital or accumulated debt. It plans to maintain offices in Seattle and the United Kingdom, and it will continue to work with its slate of… Read More…

RealNetworks plans new digital photo and video utilities, too

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Turns out RealNetworks isn’t just getting into the business of cleaning up iTunes music libraries. The digital media pioneer, trying to turn around its broader business, also plans new photo and video tools as part of its effort to reinvent itself for the age of cloud computing. The new $39 “Rinse” music cleanup program from… Read More…

With upgrade, RealNetworks tries to help Helix media server through mid-life crisis

That Helix, he's still a charmer

RealNetworks is attempting to remake the image of one of its oldest products, launching a refreshed version of its Helix media server with new capabilities, a new name and a “Hello, My Name is Helix” marketing campaign featuring a down-on-his luck, middle-aged guy who discovers in the end that he still has some charm. The… Read More…