After spending nearly a decade trying to build a new-age media empire, Time Warner is spinning out AOL as a separate Internet company run by former Google advertising executive Tim Armstrong. He was hired in March to try to revive the brand once known as America Online. Time Warner owns 95 percent of AOL and will buy out Google’s 5 percent stake during the third quarter. Around the end of the year AOL will be spun off into a separate publicly traded company.

The $147 billion deal in which AOL bought Time Warner in 2001 became a disastrous corporate combination. In 2002 and 2003, Time Warner absorbed nearly $100 billion in charges to account for the diminishing value of the combined company, eventually dropping AOL from its corporate name. Much of AOL’s original revenue came from providing dial-up access, a business that peaked for AOL in 2002 at 26.7 million subscribers. The rise of broadband ate away at that business, and AOL had just 6.3 million dial-up subscribers at the end of the last quarter. AOL laid off thousands of employees to try to streamline, but after a few strong quarters, ad growth slowed and then began declining.

“We believe AOL will have a better opportunity to achieve its full potential as a leading independent Internet company,” Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said in a statement.

The Digital Watermarking Alliance (DWA) has announced findings from a recently commissioned survey on piracy deterrence. The study, conducted by media and technology measurement and market research firm Interpret, aimed to determine whether the inclusion of Digital Serial Numbers (DSNs) in online content would deter illegal file sharing. The results showed that DSNs would deter illegal downloading among 33 percent of the 994-person sample and deter illegal uploading among 52 percent. DSNs represent a new way to track media content by digitally watermarking audio or video content such as music, movies or TV programming with unique, imperceptible digital identification numbers. Unlike Digital Rights Management, DSNs allow consumers to freely access content and make multiple copies for backup use or for different playing devices. Should the content be used illegally, however, the DSN can be associated back to the original buyer.

Additional findings from the survey:

* The introduction of DSNs would encourage more legal, paid downloads among consumers;
* The illegal downloading of music would be impacted the most with the introduction of DSNs, decreasing by approximately 40 percent;
* DSNs would result in a 45% decrease in the number of P2P users who leave music and video files in shared directories for others to download;
* The vast majority of consumers who download content find DSN technology “less cumbersome” than DRM and a “better balance between consumer needs and copyright protections”; and
* Many consumers would buy more CDs and DVDs when introduced to DSNs.

One conclusion from the survey is that consumers would need to be educated on the differences between DSNs and traditional Digital Rights Management, specifically regarding the legal status of content and the risks of uploading.

Findings from the survey are detailed here.

Foxworthy Countdown Celebrates 10 Years
This weekend, May 30 and 31, marks the 10th anniversary of The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown. Debuting in 1999, the weekly four-hour radio show features the current Top 30 country hits as well as interviews with top country artists. Airing on nearly 300 radio stations nationwide, The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown can be heard in such markets as: Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Columbus, San Antonio, Richmond, Minneapolis and many others. Foxworthy is the largest-selling comedy-recording artist in history, a multiple Grammy Award nominee and best-selling author of more than 26 books. Premiere Radio EVP of Affiliate Marketing, Julie Talbott, stated: “In an industry where few shows last a decade, Jeff Foxworthy has put his stamp on radio. He consistently delivers a top-rated program with his unique brand of comedy, and entertains millions of listeners.”

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George Strait — Singer and Songwriter
“Living for the Night,” the debut single from George Strait‘s upcoming Twang album will be available to radio stations across the country tomorrow (5/28) via Play MPE. Check those songwriting credits carefully and you’ll see that this song is the singer’s first single credit as a songwriter. Strait wrote “Living for the Night” with his son, Bubba, and Dean Dillon. Strait’s only other cut as a songwriter was in 1982 with “I Can’t See Texas From Here” off his Strait from the Heart album, but it was never released as a single.

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Honky Tonk TV is On the Air
Country Music has a new nationally syndicated daily TV show. Honky Tonk TV, which is billed as “entertainment news for country music,” has been on the air for two months and has already aired over 40 shows. The show is syndicated across 154 markets (mainly the CW Network) and filmed live each morning out of Orlando, FL. Country artists, managers and label execs are encouraged to head down to Orlando to appear on the show. They’ll even put you up in one of their sponsors’ Walt Disney Resort hotels in exchange for a live performance and interview. To check out Honky Tonk TV, click here.

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The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced  that RCA Records artist Martina McBride will perform at the 2009 Canadian Country Music Awards. The awards will be held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC, on September 13. This will be McBride’s first time as a guest at the CCMA Awards. Other stars confirmed for this year’s broadcast include 2008 CCMA Male Artist of the Year, Johnny Reid, six-time 2008 CCMA Award winners and 2009 JUNO recipients, Doc Walker, and multiple CCMA Award winner Terri Clark.