Egreetings Hires Record Promo Vet

* Record promotion veteran Nancy Levin has been hired as president of the Los Angeles-based entertainment division of Egreetings Network, an Internet site specializing in online greeting cards and invitations. Levin, a former radio program director who ran the record promotion departments at Seagram’s MCA, Red Ant and EMI Group’s Priority Records, will help San Francisco-based Egreetings license music to bolster the graphics and animation displayed in its cards. The company intends to allow consumers to purchase CDs of recordings featured in its electronic greetings.

* MetaCreations Corp., the Carpinteria-based maker of e-commerce software, has named Bob Rice president and chief executive. He succeeds Mark Zimmer, who resigned Monday as the company finished divesting its graphic software business. Rice is also head of MetaCreations’ Metastream Corp. subsidiary and his elevation signals the company’s refocusing on its e-commerce software business. Last month, Metastream formed a technology-licensing pact with America Online Inc.

* Gerry Byrne, publisher of the entertainment trade paper Daily Variety and its weekly international edition for 11 years, has retired and been replaced by Variety’s U.S. publishing director, Charles Koones. Peter Bart will remain in charge of editorial operations as vice president and editor in chief of Variety, the company said.