Sound Leisure has announced it has joined forces with UK SWP manufacturer Games Warehouse to cross-promote products.
The agreement was announced on Tuesday at Sound Leisure’s technical training day, held at its headquarters in Leeds, UK, and will see the manufacturer’s jukeboxes encourage customers to visit the SWP and vice versa.
Almost 60 engineers, operators and retailer representatives gathered to see how Sound Leisure has yet again pushed into new territory with its latest digital jukebox development, VenueHub.
VenueHub was first shown back in January at the EAG International trade show, but development has been ongoing and the technical training day allowed buyers and engineers to see just how different this new jukebox is to everything else currently on the market - and the direction Sound Leisure intends to take in the future.
It was also the first opportunity to see the new larger P32 version of the VenueHub, as well as some other new products, including the innovative Cig Safe behind-bar secure cigarette vendor and the stunning Rocket 88 50s style retro nostalgia jukebox.
It was VenueHub that took centre stage, however. Mike Black, Sound Leisure director, explained how the software for VenueHub had been inspired by developments such as the iPod and iPhone. VenueHub is essentially a platform that can run various applications - of which the jukebox itself is one. In this way, future applications or V Apps can be added quickly and at low cost and the functionality of the jukebox can be either customised or developed in line with user requirements.
In a similar way to modern hand-held devices that have become so prevalent in our lives, the VenueHub also features intuitive gesture controls, so users can sweep their fingers across the screen to scroll through lists. Other user-friendly features include helpful prompts and suggestions on other music that the customer might enjoy.
With access to a massive seven million tracks through an online connection, there is little chance that the customer might not find what they are looking for. In fact, Sound Leisure was keen to stress to operators that VenueHub is not really suitable for those sites that are simply looking for a jukebox to play chart hits. Instead, VenueHub is a connoisseur’s jukebox for top earning sites - it works well in locations where customers take an interest in music and have eclectic tastes.
Chris Black also took delegates through the contactless payment feature on VenueHub and told them that by 2012, 20 per cent of all retailers will accept it as a payment option and 23 million Barclays customers and 30 million Oyster Card users will have access to them to pay for items of up to £20.
VenueHub can only really be appreciated with an online collection. “Otherwise, it is a bit like using a top of the range Jaguar for a trip to the local shops,” explained Soundnet’s James Luck later in the day. Soundnet has various solutions for operators wanting to get sites online without signing up for contracts with expensive broadband suppliers. Prices start from just £15 a month on very flexible terms.
The other advantage of going online is that it gives operators access to OpWeb, which is the online remote interface developed by Soundnet and Sound Leisure to help manage jukebox estates. OpWeb enables operators to see the status of the machine, to notify sites if there is a problem and of course to manage music uploads and analyse play data. For those with jukeboxes sited great distances apart it truly could save a lot of time and money.
“We are thrilled with the response,” said Chris Black. “We had more people attend than we expected and yet we managed to cram them all in. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and get a lot from it. The mix of people that attended was ideal and from the feedback that we received all parties went away with a clearer understanding of what each other’s role was, from setting a machine up in the workshops to achieving the best from the VenueHub when it is on site.”
