Following the closure of US-based jukebox supplier Ecast last week, AMI Entertainment has announced it will keep the Ecast network up and running with legally licensed music.
While operators still have a choice and can go down other paths, AMI is looking to offer a seamless option and there will be no need for operators on the Ecast network to acquire new jukeboxes or upgrade the hardware. In a conference call to national press AMI’s Mike Mass said: "AMI has obtained possession of certain assets of Ecast's network and will soon be able to provide AMI music content through the existing network to Ecast jukeboxes.
“We expect this service to be available to operators no later than Thursday of this week and perhaps sooner. For clarity, AMI did not acquire the business or operations of Ecast and did not assume any of its obligations to creditors. Essentially, we are restoring the jukebox capabilities substantially as they were a week ago, but with a catalogue from AMI."
So for former Ecast operators, this move will give them access to more music as well as customer support from AMI for help with both the network and any hardware issues. Ecast operators can begin receiving AMI music by a simple web-based sign-up. Pricing for AMI music will be the same as it is currently on the AMI network. The percentage decreases with unit volume, from an initial 20 per cent down to 16 per cent for a certain volume of jukeboxes. Operators will get the rate based on their combined count of AMI and Ecast units, which for some will automatically lower their rate. Over the next 90 days, AMI intends to engineer what it's calling "a seamless, software-only" upgrade path for operators of Ecast jukeboxes. This means that AMI will transition the machines from AMI content over to the Ecast network to using all-AMI services and software. "As part of that effort, we intend to replicate key Ecast functionality into the AMI software to preserve the user experience that Ecast patrons have come to expect," said Maas. "We expect the software-only migration to be transparent to operators, such that after signing up this week there are no further actions required by the operator. Operators who just do nothing will get upgraded to all the best that AMI has to offer."
