Roundup: IPOs slow to a crawl, China gets music sales, Facebook competition kicks off and more
July was slowest for IPOs in five years — A measly 56 companies went public last month, raising $5.6 billion. Pretty depressing, compared to last year’s figure of 190 companies and $31.7 billion. This month is expected to be similarly slow, with a pickup coming late in the year or early next.
From free to 3 cents for music in China — Chinese startup Wawawa has a great idea: Actually charging for music in China, where the notion… Continue Reading
Roundup: Sony opens to online advertisers, Electronic Arts confirms Rupture acquisition and more
Here’s the latest action:
Sony opens to in-game ads — The company is about to announce support for ads in the PlayStation 3 video game console, and in-game advertising company IGA Worldwide will be the first to announce a deal, according to Forbes and other publications. As video games become both more lucrative and more expensive to make, this seems like an obvious revenue source, albeit one that may not be welcomed by all gamers. No word… Continue Reading
Shawn Fanning negotiating to sell social gaming company Rupture for $30M
Shawn Fanning, who gained fame after launching early music file sharing company Napster, is in advanced stages of talks to sell his most recent social gaming start-up, Rupture, for $30 million.
The buyer would be Electronic Arts, but unlike first reported by Techcrunch, the deal hasn’t gone through. I reached someone very close to the deal but who requested anonymity, who said “nothing has been signed, but it’s getting close.”
“Is it likely to go through?,” the… Continue Reading
Fanning to launch Rupture, a social network for games
Shawn Fanning, founder of the popular music file sharing company Napster, is back in the game with a new start-up.
This time, Fanning wants to bring social networking to popular online games like World of Warcraft, as BusinessWeek first reported.
Experts say this is a promising area, because millions of gamers have formed communities with each other through playing, but their interactions have been limited by the confines of proprietary software. Why not open up… Continue Reading