COLUMBUS,
Ohio, April 26, 2007 — TouchTunes Music Corporation and jukebox
operator Shaffer Services have celebrated the installation of the
25,000th TouchTunes digital jukebox at a longtime Shaffer location in
Columbus, Ohio.
The companies hosted a party April 25 to unveil the newly arrived
Gen 3-powered Allegro jukebox at the Bon-Aire Restaurant & Lounge,
a neighborhood institution that’s been in business since 1962 and has
had a jukebox of one type or another for as long as anyone can
remember. “TouchTunes’ Gen 3 is the most powerfully-featured software,
from the industry’s leader,” company officials said.
The new unit replaced an older TouchTunes digital model.
Shaffer Services, which owns and operates more than 200 TouchTunes
jukeboxes, purchased its first TouchTunes unit in 2000. Prior to that,
it had operated CD jukeboxes made by an old-line manufacturer with whom
the company had done business for many years.
In a congratulatory letter presented to Andy Shaffer of Shaffer
Services, TouchTunes President and CEO Art Matin wrote, “It took vision
and courage then to make the leap to digital jukeboxes and to do so
with TouchTunes, which was the new kid on the block.”
Today, Shaffer Services is one of TouchTunes’ largest customers,
Matin noted. “Thanks to your finely tuned organization and tireless
marketing to locations, your average jukebox route revenues are among
the highest of any operator in the industry.”
For his part, Shaffer said, “The return on investment from
TouchTunes has been absolutely awesome. They’ve done a great job of
innovating and finding creative ways to maximize the amount of revenue
the jukebox can generate.”
Shaffer added, “We’re incredibly excited about the MyTouchTunes.com
patron playlists and the other industry-first features that TouchTunes’
new technology is making available.”
Brad Spurlock, who, with Loraine Culp, has owned the Bon-Aire since
the 1980s, said the neighborhood sports bar and restaurant, locally
popular for its fresh, home-style American cooking, attracts a wide
range of clientele, from young rap-music fans to middle-aged fans of
classic rock and country music and even jazz buffs. “The variety of
music they play is quite extensive,” he said. “The TouchTunes jukebox
has worked out wonderfully.”
When a digital jukebox first replaced the bar’s CD jukebox,
Spurlock said some patrons were “gun shy” about the higher price per
play, but not any more. “They’ve gotten over the fact that it’s more
expensive,” he explained. “Everybody’s finding music they like. That’s
why it’s worked out so well and why TouchTunes has been such a hit.
It’s made everybody happy.”
Shaffer said the Bon-Aire “has been a very good customer of ours for
a very long time. I’m tickled to death that we can bring this kind of
celebration to this location.”
TouchTunes provides the “ultimate experience” for its operators,
location owners, and end-users. By delivering the best-in-class
service, sales, support — and an unsurpassed music library delivered
through the industry’s most innovative technology and marketing
capability — TouchTunes offers a true 360-degree Digital Customer
TouchPoint ™ relationship. TouchTunes continues to pioneer
industry-firsts such as MyTouchTunes.com, a Web site where users can
create their own personal playlists for the new generation of broadband
jukeboxes.
TouchTunes’ online network of 25,000 digital jukeboxes in bars,
restaurants, and other establishments throughout North America is the
industry’s largest, representing a market share of more than 60
percent. To date, its interactive digital jukebox network has played
more than 1.6 billion songs. TouchTunes introduced the world’s first
digital-downloading, pay-per-play commercial jukebox in 1998.
A privately held U.S. corporation, TouchTunes Music Corporation’s
principal offices are in Montreal, Canada, Lake Zurich, Ill., and New
York. The company is backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, one of
the largest venture capital firms in the world with offices in Silicon
Valley, New York, and Montreal. VantagePoint has a substantial
portfolio of consumer-oriented digital-media companies that complement
TouchTunes’ growing leadership in out-of-home, interactive
entertainment.
For TouchTunes product and sales information, call (888) 338-5853 or
e-mail Michelle Santangelo,
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Web site:
www.touchtunes.com.