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Wallabing Is Giving Renters And Owners An Alternative To High Fees Plaguing The Peer-To-Peer RV Rental Market

Benzinga

By Rachael Green, Benzinga Click here to learn more about Wallabing and invest in its raise Younger travelers, in general, look for adventure and new experiences, with RV travel ranking high as a lower-cost means of exploring the country, especially with a family in tow. In a survey by RVshare, 75% of millennials and 58% of Gen Z said they were planning to take a road trip or vacation in an RV within the next year. For many, the reason they’re opting for RV travel is a greater preference for nature and wildlife as well as an interest in spending quality time with friends and family. Peer-to-peer rental platforms like Wallabing make getting that experience and quality time that today’s travelers value easier and more affordable. As the new RV rental platform raises capital on WeFunder and works toward profitability, take a look at why RV rental platforms are taking off and what makes Wallabing different from similar platforms in the space. Younger Experience-Focused Travelers Are Driving A Renewed Interest In RV Travel As millennials start entering their 30s and 40s, the notorious industry-killing generation isn’t killing travel – but they are drastically changing it. According to a Morning Consult report, millennials travel more than any other age group, even edging out the wealthier and often retired Baby Boomers. Despite being saddled by debt and weathering three economic downturns, millennials are not only still willing to spend on travel but see it as an important piece of their identity and what makes life worth living. As a result, that spend tends to be a lot more intentional, and they’re much more likely to spend on experiences rather than luxury goods. That high priority younger travelers place on travel balanced by the need to be cost-conscious and careful about how they spend their travel budget makes RV rentals one of the best ways to check all the boxes. Spontaneous new adventures suddenly become more attainable when you can just book an RV when you need it and give it back to the owner when you’re done. For owners, the platform can not only help make up the cost of ownership but also turn their RV into a passive revenue stream when they’re not traveling themselves. Since most owners only use their RV for about 20 days per year on average, that’s a lot of downtime that can be turned into extra cash. RV Rental Platforms Like Wallabing Bridge The Gap Between RV Owners And Renters That win-win scenario for owners and renters has helped the emerging RV rental market see notable growth. “With the rapidly growing rental market for RVs, valued at $546 million in 2020, and the forecast of 44 million Americans planning to go RVing this summer, Wallabing's platform emerges as an essential solution,” said Wallabing’s lead investor, Mark Thimmig. However, the challenge that owners and renters alike face in the current RV rental landscape is high fees. “I currently rent my 2 Campers on both Rvshare and Outdoorsy,” said Wendell Olson, a Wallabing investor on WeFunder. “I see RVshare take 25% of my nightly rate and the same on back end charges. Outdoorsy takes less on nightly and much less on back end charges but it's still high.” Moreover, many of these platforms are also charging similarly high fees to renters. So renters end up paying more – and RV owners earn less. That’s what Wallabing founder and CEO Jason Carlson wanted to do differently with the launch of the new RV rental platform. On Wallabing, owners pay nothing to list and aren’t charged any fees when their RV is rented. The price they set is the price they get, making it the only platform to date that doesn’t charge a commission to owners. Instead, the platform earns revenue from a flat 10% fee charged to renters on the nightly rate only – not on any cleaning fees or other add-on services. The transparent, low-fee pricing structure saves renters up to 25% per trip on average. In the first phase of its growth, Wallabing has been focused on building up its RV inventory, which has grown 628% so far, including a 25% increase in new listings in the first half of this year. Its goal is to have over 150,000 RVs listed on the platform within the next five years. Alongside that growing inventory, Wallabing recently began a PR and marketing campaign to reach renters. That helped bring in over 30,000 new users since June and substantially grow the company’s social media following. As that increased user base and social media following starts to translate into RV bookings, the peer-to-peer RV rental platform is targeting $780,000 in gross revenue per month by the end of their fiscal year. As it works toward profitability, it is raising funds via its recent WeFunder campaign and talking with Venture Capitalists and angel investors. So far, it’s raised over $1 million in capital from an initial family and friends funding round along with over $55,000 from investors on WeFunder. Learn more about Wallabing and its raise here. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 26, 2023 09:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Shapeways Enables and Empowers Small to Midsized Manufacturers Through Digitization

Benzinga

By Faith Ashmore, Benzinga Greg Kress, the CEO of Shapeways Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHPW), recently appeared on the Let’s Talk Supply Chain podcast. During the discussion, Kress highlighted the gaps in the digitization of the manufacturing industry and explained Shapeways’ role in addressing these challenges. As a leader in the field of digital manufacturing, Shapeways continues to redefine the global manufacturing industry by providing on-demand manufacturing and simplifying complex production processes through proprietary software. The company is helping small and midsized manufacturers do this by providing access to Shapeways’ proprietary software and supporting them in digitizing their operations, growing revenue and expanding manufacturing capabilities. “Small and midsized manufacturers are enabling incredible amounts of innovation in the US,” said Kress. “They are driving the manufacturing industry—and the amount of available work out there is enormous. Our goal is to enable them to be really successful.” Kress compares his business model to what Toast (NYSE: TOST) did for the restaurant industry. Toast is a cloud-based restaurant management software that has essentially brought much of the restaurant industry into the 21st century. Shapeways is using that inspiration to provide small and midsized manufacturing companies with the resources they need to succeed and expand. “Previously no one had access to industrial grade manufacturing equipment without investing millions of dollars and having a ton of know-how and time,” said Kress. “Now, Shapeways is allowing anyone to get access to on-demand manufacturing services at scale,” Shapeways is democratizing the manufacturing industry and expanding accessibility so that small to midsized companies can excel in their craft. The company has invested millions of dollars in the digitalization of end-to-end operations and building scalable software that caters to the market. On the podcast, Kress discussed how the pandemic has been a wake-up call for the company, regarding the need for better workflows in manufacturing overall, sharing: “COVID has re-set the playing field. The amount of on-shoring we’re seeing is significant, and with the level of supply chain flexibility that’s required moving forward, there’s a different expectation. Those two challenges require businesses to take a step back and reexamine their approach in how to solve them.” In many ways, Shapeways has become that solution. Realizing a need–and recognizing the opportunity–to reshape manufacturing, Shapeways responded with the launch of OTTO, a proprietary software platform that streamlines ordering, performs file analysis, and accelerates production. OTTO offers advantages beyond optimizing labor efficiency, asset utilization, and inventory costs. This powerful software platform also strengthens relationships between manufacturers and their customers, encouraging growth and paving the way for future opportunities. Shapeways acquired MFG in 2022 to provide further support to manufacturers and buyers by adding new software features and services. MFG allows buyers—including engineers, product designers, and inventors—to submit requests for quotes (RFQs) to MFG’s network of independent manufacturers. This enables buyers to get multiple quotes quickly, at no cost. Manufacturers also benefit from the opportunity to gain new leads and build customer relationships. Shapeways isn’t content to stop there though. With increased investment in MFG, the platform now offers new orders and transactions features that streamline process management and payments, aimed at increasing efficiency for both manufacturers and buyers. Shapeways recently introduced MFG Materials too, a new feature providing paid members with access to a wide range of raw materials at 15 to 50% off list prices. Kress shared that the company has experienced success with customers under their multi-tiered model: "Our customers typically upgrade very quickly. The payback period is very fast. If you close one order on the platform, you’ve paid for your investment in MFG for the next two years. There’s a very strong ROI associated with the process." Shapeways seems well-positioned to revolutionize the manufacturing landscape, and Kress is confident in the company’s unique offerings within the industry. By extending their innovative, on-demand manufacturing services and software to a broad range of industries, Shapeways allows other companies to tap into their knowledge and insights to remain competitive in an ever-changing modern market. Read more about what Shapeways is doing in the manufacturing and software industries. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 25, 2023 09:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

MultiversX Rivals the World’s Largest Hackathon Prize Fund of $1M to Expand the Blockchain Ecosystem at xDay 2023

STORM Partners

Sep 22nd, 2023 - MultiversX has announced the launch of its global development event, the xDay Hackathon, to further expand the Web3 ecosystem for new and emerging projects. Organized alongside Encode and Dora Hacks, the event is powered by its esteemed partners, including Google Cloud, Tencent Cloud and Deutsche Telekom, offering prizes and funding of up to $1M. MultiversX is offering one of the largest hackathon prize funds in history. Beyond cash and seed funding rewards, the grand prize offers the winning project an exclusive spot on the xLaunchpad platform. This grants them access to an incubation platform that provides emerging projects with assistance in multiple areas including: funding, legal & compliance, marketing and developer support amongst other services, while also giving access to a community of over 100,000 users. The xDay Hackathon has already garnered impressive interest, with over 500 participants registered. The event has been designed to offer invaluable learning opportunities, including 19 workshops and 4 AMA sessions. Developers can build tools, scripts or smart contracts in languages like Rust, C/C++, Python, and TypeScript, making the xDay Hackathon a global call for coders of all skill levels. " The xDay Hackathon is the very best time to build. Builders, tools, prizes, funding. Everything is ready for the global builder community. Time for builders to explore new ways of utilizing the unique capabilities of the MultiversX network. " says Beniamin Mincu, CEO of MultiversX. Registrations for the xDay Hackathon are still open at xday.com/hackathon until October 16th. The event spans across six tracks: AI, DeFi, Payments, Infrastructure & Dev Tooling, Mobile Apps, Gaming & Metaverse, running from September 21st to October 20th. While the event is hosted online, the grand finale will be held at the xDay conference, in Bucharest, Romania, with optional in-person attendance. The MultiversX ecosystem has rapidly grown to become a leading force in the blockchain space, boasting an impressive 2.3 million wallets, over 345 million processed transactions, and a thriving community of builders with 2,500+ tokens, 6,500+ applications and over 2 million NFTs created. About MultiversX MultiversX is a highly scalable, secure and decentralized blockchain network created to enable radically new applications, for users, businesses, society, and the new metaverse frontier. About Encode Encode Club is a leading web3 education community. Its mission is to help ambitious, talented people achieve personal and professional goals together in web3. Encode does this through organising high-quality programmes including hackathons, coding bootcamps, educational workshops, and accelerators in partnership with the leading blockchain protocols. Once participating in the programming, they help people get hired through the dedicated recruitment arm or receive investment through the investment fund. About DoraHacks DoraHacks is a global hackathon organizer and one of the world's most active developer incentive platforms. It creates a global hacker movement in blockchain, quantum computing and space tech, and provides a wide range of toolkits to help developers around the world team up and fund their ideas and BUIDLs via hackathons, bounties, grants and more. Distributed by STORM Partners. Contact Adrian Bono for interviews and quotes - adrian.bono@storm.partners or telegram @STORMPartners Contact Details Media Contact: Dan Voicu, Head of Communications dan.voicu@multiversx.com

September 22, 2023 10:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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TECH SOLUTIONS FOR BUSY FAMILIES & CONNECTED PARENTS

News Media Group, Inc.

Contact Details Karl Wayne +1 334-440-6397 karl@newsmg.com Company Website https://newsmg.com/

September 22, 2023 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Boost Mobile is Now Offering New Customers Unlimited Wireless for Only $12.50 for Their First Month

Benzinga

In the midst of rising inflation rates and economic downturns, individuals are feeling the pressure to reduce their expenses in any way possible. One area where people are looking to make substantial savings is their recurring bills, such as phone bills. As the cost of living continues to increase, households are reevaluating their budgets and searching for alternatives that better align with their tighter financial constraints. One carrier that solves this problem is Boost Mobile (NASDAQ: DISH) – offering one month of unlimited data for $12.50 for your first month as part of their introductory offer. 1 The pressure to save is particularly evident among young adults in their 20s and 30s, who, perhaps unsurprisingly, often continue to stay on the same cell phone plans that their parents signed them up for during their school years. Despite progress in various aspects of their lives, such as shouldering their own financial responsibilities and repaying student loans, up to 53% of millennial adults are still on their parent’s plan. Those who do pay for their own cell phone bills are often looking for plans that don’t break the bank but still provide good coverage. For those looking for phone plans that offer reduced rates or better value for money, Boost Mobile is a budget-friendly option. With Boost Mobile individuals can effectively trim their monthly expenditures without sacrificing essential communication. When it comes to prepaid providers, Boost Mobile is one of the best in the game. CNET recently named Boost Mobile’s $25 unlimited plan 1 one of the “ Best Prepaid Phone Plans.” One of the best aspects of Boost Mobile is their approach to contracts, or rather, the absence of them. With no contracts, users have the flexibility to choose plans that align with their needs without being tied to long-term commitments. Boost Mobile also boasts some of the lowest prices in the market, making it an attractive choice for budget-conscious individuals. The broad coverage provided by Boost Mobile ensures reliable connectivity across numerous locations. Boost plans to leverage its 2.5 GHz spectrum and deploy Massive MIMO radio technology to achieve this goal. The Massive MIMO technology can deliver greater capacity than current LTE systems, which will enable Boost to offer faster speeds, increased network capacity and an overall better experience for its wireless customers. Another distinguishing feature is the eSIM capability, allowing users to activate their service digitally without the need for a physical SIM card. Additionally, Boost Mobile enables users to roam in Mexico for only an additional $5/mo., ensuring seamless communication while traveling. All of Boost Mobile's plans include unlimited talk and text, along with hotspot capabilities, offering users comprehensive communication options. The company’s BoostOne app also offers a unique feature where users can bill credits by participating in various activities like playing games. These features and benefits make Boost Mobile a solid choice for consumers seeking a convenient, reasonably priced and feature-rich mobile service provider while having fun in the process! Boost Mobile has recently introduced a new unlimited plan that is just $12.50 for the first month – offering unlimited talk, text and data for $25 per month. 1 This plan stands out from the crowd as it is not tied to 12-month increments, unlike the 12-month plan offered by players like Mint Mobile. This offer is only available to new Boost customers who bring their own phone or purchase a full SRP phone from Boost Mobile. This promotional offer includes a free SIM Kit, which is valued at $9.99, and free shipping, adding even more convenience and savings to the package. This deal is compatible with most unlocked GSM phones, allowing customers to enjoy these benefits without the need to purchase a new device. The company's commitment to providing value to its customers is evident in its no-contract policy. The company’s BoostOne app also offers daily discount opportunities. Given all the benefits it offers, Boost Mobile seems to be a highly attractive choice for those seeking a reliable and cost-effective cell phone service provider. Get this offer now before it goes away. 1 After 30GB high speed monthly data allotment is exceeded, speeds may be reduced for the remainder of the month. Taxes and fees extra. Requires AutoPay. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 21, 2023 05:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Meet FiscalNoteGPT From FiscalNote (NYSE: NOTE), A First-Of-Its-Kind AI Tool Tailored To Legal and Regulatory Workflows

Benzinga

FiscalNote Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: NOTE) has taken a monumental leap forward in redefining the policy and regulatory landscape with the introduction of FiscalNoteGPT. This cutting-edge AI system, purposefully crafted for the unique intricacies of the industry, marks a significant milestone in FiscalNote's ongoing commitment to delivering innovative solutions tailored to the challenges of policy and regulation. In a visionary move, FiscalNote has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence through strategic partnerships with technology giants OpenAI, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). These strategic collaborations harness the respective strengths of these tech leaders, augmenting FiscalNote's ability to offer a truly transformative solution. The introduction of FiscalNoteGPT could redefine the landscape of policy and regulatory intelligence by capitalizing on advanced AI capabilities. This system represents a culmination of in-depth industry knowledge and technological prowess, enabling organizations to navigate intricate regulatory terrains with unparalleled precision. At the heart of this innovation lies the integration of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing and predictive analytics – meticulously calibrated to cater to the dynamic demands of the policy and regulatory domain. FiscalNoteGPT demonstrates the potential to analyze vast amounts of legislative and regulatory content, effectively identifying trends, predicting impacts and providing actionable insights to its users. This AI innovation addresses a critical gap in the industry, empowering professionals to streamline their workflows and make informed decisions swiftly. FiscalNoteGPT's exceptional capabilities extend to automating tasks that traditionally demanded exhaustive manual labor, thereby freeing up valuable resources for strategic analysis and decision-making. With FiscalNoteGPT, the industry now has a transformative tool that can distill voluminous regulatory data into comprehensible and actionable intelligence; organizations can anticipate trends, navigate changes and make well-informed decisions, thus positioning themselves for success within the evolving regulatory landscape. “With this groundbreaking new release, we continue to push the boundaries of AI innovation in a way that benefits both FiscalNote and the industry,” said Josh Resnik, President and Chief Operating Officer of FiscalNote. “No one is in a more unique position to do so than FiscalNote, given our 10 years of leadership in applying AI to a broad array of proprietary and external data and information in the regulatory and policy domain. What also sets FiscalNoteGPT apart as a clear, competitive differentiator are our proprietary databases, consisting of thousands of trusted internal and external sources, which means our customers can engage with confidence to help guide and inform their decisions and results.” For a more comprehensive understanding of the profound impact and capabilities of FiscalNoteGPT, including details on partnerships with Open AI, Google and Microsoft, please refer to the original press release available here. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 21, 2023 05:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time

RIP Wall Street vs. Main Street

Benzinga

Whenever the retail news talks about Wall Street vs. Main Street, I just chuckle. Wall Street vs. Main Street is long gone. The new market structure is entirely different now, with exciting new opportunities for retail traders and investors. The term “Wall Street” referred to the giant Sell-Side Institutions, the big banks and investment firms which once dominated the market. Big banks were the power and money behind most transactions. That dominance ended in 2008 with the banking debacle of that era. “Wall Street” has never been the same. Banks are struggling. Should you be worried? No. What you should be focused on are the Giant Buy-Side Institutions, which I call “the Dark Pools” since they transact orders on hidden Dark Pool venues. They are now the dominant force behind the scenes. They create a slow but massive liquidity draw when millions of shares of stock are bought slowly over time. This creates a huge hidden opportunity for both retail traders and investors. The Big Banks are always in the news. Not so with the Dark Pools, but they control 130 trillion dollars of assets under management worldwide. While the big banks’ revenue growth is eroding due to the growth of crypto currencies and all the variables of blockchain technology, the Dark Pools have been buying up huge quantities of the top crypto currencies to create new ETFs and other new investment and trading products. They are already making huge profits on these new derivatives. Peer-to-Peer transactions are growing in popularity. The banks’ role as intermediaries, as “vital and necessary to the global monetary system,” is in question. When all transactions are digital and the use of virtual wallets is the new normal, will we need banks as intermediaries for transactions between corporations, small businesses, consumers or government? Meanwhile, the Dark Pools manage the vast majority of 401(k)s and other retirement accounts. THEY are vital to the stability of the middle class of America. The Giant Buy-Side Institutions are usurping the big banks’ profitability from underwriting IPOs. The NASDAQ Private Market (NPM) is a new “professionals-only” stock market exchange where Buy-Side Institutions can invest in private companies much earlier in the cycle. Banks are no longer in control of which private companies will IPO, as the Buy-Side Institutions invest in these private companies via the NPM before they go public. Banks will experience a sharp reduction of profit from underwriting IPOs because the Buy-Side Institutions used to be their Preferred Clients, who bought shares of stock directly from the banks, which sold the majority of the shares to the Buy-Side Institutions well ahead of the IPO date. Banks are still used by most corporations for corporate “buybacks” of shares of a company’s public stock, but even that may end soon as new-technology financial companies, hedge funds and other firms can offer trading floor transactions instead of using the Bank of Record for buybacks. Or, the corporations may hire highly skilled traders and use AI as a means of managing buybacks. So “Wall Street,” aka giant banks and financial services, is not the force driving the huge growth of the stock market. This is an irreversible condition of an evolving global financial system. There is no “Main Street.” The millions of Americans who trade or invest in stocks are not one mindless group all behaving the same way. Each group trades and invests in a totally different way. This affects how stock prices move. Retail Long Term Investors. The SEC estimates about 70 million FAMILIES have invested in the stock market. As long-term investors, they are usually profitable. They have experience and some basic market knowledge. Retail Traders. This group is mostly trying to day trade, so they lose more money than any other group. They are largely gamblers and speculators with minimal market experience. Semi-Professional Traders. These individuals Trade as a Business full-time, similarly to independent professional traders. They have IRS business status for tax purposes. Smaller Funds Managers. These companies or individuals work with less than $3 billion in assets under management to as small as $100,000. They are considered “retail” as they lack experience or knowledge and tend to react to news similarly. They are no longer required to file SEC reports. MEME stock trading groups. This is a large group of higher-income younger-generation investors and traders who follow a retail-side guru. They trade the same “meme” stocks all at once to move the market deliberately in huge swings of price. Stock Market Cycle of Market Participants from TechniTrader® Thinking in terms of “us” vs. “them” is not the right attitude for successful trading in the financial markets. With a better understanding of the market participants–their goals, knowledge level, hold duration, how they trade, etc.–a well-educated trader or investor can identify when they are active and follow the market participant that best aligns with their goals. This is why I created the stock analysis method called “Relational Technical Analysis,” which is based on the Cycle of Market Participants. Visit my website to learn more. Martha Stokes, CMT https://www.technitrader.courses/ This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent Benzinga's opinions and has not been edited for content. This contains sponsored content and is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 21, 2023 05:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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TCCF PITCHING Attracts a Record-Breaking Number of Entries with Cash Prizes Exceeding $150,000 USD

Taiwan Creative Content Agency

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 21 September 2023 - Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) 2023 kicks off its largest edition to date this November 7th and, for the first time, the festival organized by Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) welcomes international works into its PITCHING section. Of the record -breaking 539 submitted projects from 29 regions such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Iran, France and USA, 53 have been officially selected to participate in PITCHING. The event will take place between November 7-10 and is divided into two sub-sections, Project to Screen, featuring high-quality film and TV proposals and Story to Screen, focusing on Taiwanese IPs with great adaptability potential. Projects from both programs are eligible for a significant number of cash prizes and awards, with a total combined value exceeding $150,000 USD. Considered the largest pitching session in Asia, TCCF PITCHING arrives with an exciting international roster of projects ready to be showcased to investors traveling to Taipei this fall. Given the large number of entries this year, the Project to Screen section will be split into four sessions: Feature Films, Series, Animation Features and Series and Documentary Features and Series. The Feature Films session introduces Golden Lion nominee and Un Certain Regard winning Japanese director Koji Fukada's new project. In his upcoming film, Nagi Note, he will pay tribute to one of his inspirations, legendary French filmmaker Éric Rohmer. The Shadows by Japanese horror producer Takashige Ichise and Taiwanese director Lingo Hsieh ( The Bride, Green Door ) will mark Hsieh’s first foray into the English-speaking market. On Series, Malaysian director Edmund Yeo adapts Yoko Tawada's dystopian novel The Last Children of Tokyo on an international co-production between Betula Films and Flash Forward Entertainment (Taiwan), and NHK (Japan). Director Teng I-Hang, creator of one of the most internationally recognized Taiwanese dramas, Fragrance of the First Flower, will also present her new project So May We Start, a coming of age story with the Taiwanese indie rock music scene as background. TCCF PITCHING also introduces Animation and, for the first time, Documentary sessions given the increased popularity of these two formats in the region. In the Animation Features and Series session, French director Denis Do, recipient of the Grand Jury Prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, weaves an emotional tale in SORYA, following a young Cambodian woman seeking freedom in the city. Lastly, the Cannes Docs-in-Progress Award winner Island of the Winds, documenting 20 years of history of the Losheng Sanatorium, and PALIMPSEST: traces of a name by Éric Rohmer's frequent collaborator, editor and director Mary Stephen, will both be present at the Documentary Features and Series sessions. All projects in the Project to Screen program are eligible to the $30,000 USD TCCF Award: Best Project in addition to prizes from local and international partners such as the Motion Picture Association, Udine Far East Film Festival or Series Mania. If they fulfill all other prerequisites, this year's selections for the Project to Screen section will also be eligible for TAICCA’s “Creative Content Development Program - Development Fund” ( CCDP ) and “Taiwan’s International Co-funding Program” ( TICP ) with up to $300,000 USD available in funding. In addition, the single-session Story to Screen will introduce some of the most exciting upcoming Taiwanese IPs to international buyers. Story features projects from some of the most well-known IP holders in Asia such as Kadokawa Taiwan Corporation, Mirror Fiction Inc. and NAVER Webtoon. Three projects will receive the TCCF Award: Best Story with a cash prize of $100,000 NTD, and all selected entries are eligible to other awards from collaborators such as the Taiwanese broadcaster Sanlih. Project to Screen projects were chosen by 15 international jurors with Paperheart producer and mylab curator Lorna Tee, and former TorinoFilmLab artistic director Matthieu Darras among them. Meanwhile, Story to Screen’s jury was formed by 5 Taiwanese industry leaders such as Jayde Lin, chairwoman of KOKO Entertainment, the production behind political drama Wave Makers. Producers and/or directors behind each project will also attend pitching workshops organized by TCCF between October and November. Besides showcasing their projects on stage in front of local and international buyers during TCCF, they will also have the chance to meet one on one with key players looking to invest in each of the IPs. 2023 TCCF PITCHING Date: November 7-10 Place: Taipei New Horizon 6F, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park Complete list of selected entries: tccf.tw/en/pitching-selected-entries Complete list of award partners: tccf.tw/en/pitching-awards Contact Details Jaime Costas Nicolás +886 2 2311 7007 jaime.costas@ddg.com.tw Wengin Hsu +886 2 2745 8186 wengin.hsu@taicca.tw

September 21, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Pieter van Rijn joins the Board of Directors at Downtown Music Holdings

Downtown Music Holdings

Downtown Music Holdings today announced the appointment of Pieter van Rijn, President of the group’s business and professional services division, Downtown Music, to its Board of Directors. “When we first set out to transform Downtown Music, our B2B division, into a fully integrated suite of business service offerings, we were fortunate to have such a strong executive in our organization who could help us execute on that vision,” said Andrew Bergman, CEO of Downtown Music Holdings. "The addition of Pieter to our board further demonstrates Downtown's commitment and mission to empower creators and the businesses that serve them." Following the sale of its owned song copyrights in 2021, Downtown has undergone a significant transformation of its music services businesses through the positioning of its business services into one fully integrated division. Downtown Music now offers a comprehensive suite of distribution, publishing, UGC monetization, sync and platform services. Most recently, new royalty and financial services have been added to broaden Downtown’s service offerings with the acquisition of Curve Royalty Systems earlier this year. In July 2022 van Rijn was appointed to lead this division. Said Justin Kalifowitz, Founder and Executive Chairman, Downtown Music Holdings, “Pieter is an exceptional executive who has played a key role in transforming Downtown Music into the market leader for business and professional services. We are looking forward to welcoming Pieter to the Board as we continue to chart the future of the company.” Said President of Downtown Music, Pieter van Rijn, “Already the largest end-to-end music rights management platform in the world, Downtown is firmly positioned as the future of the music industry. I’m excited to join Justin, Andrew and the Downtown board of directors to continue shaping that future.” Van Rijn joins Downtown’s existing board of directors, including independent directors Alison Moore and Kelli Turner, who joined in January 2022. Prior to becoming President of Downtown Music, van Rijn was the CEO of music distributor FUGA, which Downtown acquired in January 2020. Joining FUGA in 2014 as CEO, Van Rijn developed the company’s global footprint, launching new hubs across EMEA, LATAM and APAC, and led the transformation of FUGA becoming a music tech leader. About Downtown Music Holdings Downtown is the world's leading music services company with over 2 million clients from 145 countries representing a catalog of over 38 million music assets in a wide variety of genres and languages. Downtown's technology and service offerings support creators and businesses in all facets of the music industry including music creation, distribution, marketing, royalty collection, financing, accounting and payment services. www.downtownmusic.com Contact Details Kite Hill PR Alexandra Morrison downtownmusic@kitehillpr.com

September 21, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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