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Reaching the On-Demand Generation
You get what you want immediately, you have access to huge
amounts of music, you never get bored or need more music for quite some
time. Now consider how many people out there are using these kinds of
on-demand devices.
Technology has turned consumer expectations upside down. Patrons
come into the bar from an outside world where they expect to be exposed
to something new and interesting at all times. Jukebox technology of
late has kept pace, and one purveyor of digital jukebox music aims to
feed the consumer the on-demand music experience he or she wants.
Ecast is a touchscreen music service with installation in more than 10,000 locations nationwide.
“We give consumers access to a massive music library of the most
up-to-date content,” says Craig Stokes, product marketing manager.
“That’s because we are the only 100 percent broadband music provider in
the industry.”
That selection finds its way to on-premise locations in the form of
19 different jukeboxes by partner manufacturers NSM, Rock-Ola and View.
User-friendly touchsceens and immediate broadband delivery of music
meet the expectations of today’s on-demand, MP3 player-addicted
consumers in a manner appropriate for the on-premise environment. Ecast
says a nationwide study it conducted with Arbitron found that 79
percent of patrons found the Ecast jukebox made the overall bar
environment more enjoyable.
What They Want
“Our operators work with locations and consult to determine what
jukebox is needed for that location and what type of music is need as
well,” Stokes says. The entire catalog of music is available for play
24/7; however, for owners who do not want to overwhelm patrons and
instead wish to focus on a specific vibe, Ecast-powered jukeboxes can
be filtered by music genre. For example, rappers Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg
could be blocked from appearing in a country location, while Tim McGraw
or Toby Keith could be blocked from being selected for play in a hard
rock or hip-hop location.
Ecast’s unique Unsigned Artist Program allows bar owners to get
their favorite local bands on their jukeboxes. Other benefits of
Ecast’s service include new music added to the jukeboxes automatically
each week. New album and song releases appear the day after the labels
release them for sale, giving patrons a great way to try out new
artists and songs before going to the store to buy the CDs or buying
songs for their MP3 players.
Music Discovery
One of the biggest desires of many of today’s consumers is music
discovery —i.e., coming across something new that they haven’t heard
before.
Patrons accustomed to looking for music on iTunes, for instance,
will be right at home with the Ecast interface. “You start with one of
idea in mind, and find yourself somewhere totally different, playing
songs you weren’t even anticipating,” says Suzanne Maineri, marketing
communications manager for Ecast. “You can search for specific music or
use our Hot Hits playlists to discover new songs or artists or
favorites you forgot about.” |
