News

Building a Better Jukebox 'Â…Songbird to Deploy On-Demand Music Kiosks

MEI bill acceptors selected for widescale deployment following successful field results

December 2, 2004

WEST CHESTER, Pa., 13 November, 2002 - MEI, the world's leading developer of electronic cash payment systems, announced that its AE2600 cash acceptor has been selected for deployment in Songbird music kiosks manufactured by Songbird On-Demand Music, LLC. Following successful performance and widespread consumer acceptance, Songbird plans to deploy their kiosks nationally via distributors.

The Songbird music kiosk is similar to a traditional jukebox in that it is placed in bars and restaurants where customers can pay to play songs of their choice. However, unlike a traditional jukebox that is fitted with a physical inventory of music, the Songbird kiosk is networked to an on-demand music library, from which it streams songs in digital format. Also, because the songs are in digital format, they can then be played over the restaurant's high fidelity sound system instead of the jukebox speakers.

To play songs, users follow instructions on the kiosk's 19" color touchscreen. The user is prompted to insert a $1, $2, $5, $10 or $20 bill into the MEI cash acceptor. Once the money has been accepted, the kiosk gives the user song credits and prompts him/her to select music by style, song title, artist or popularity. Once selected, the song begins streaming to the kiosk in real-time. Songbird kiosks run on the Linux operating system, and are networked to Sprint's redundant fiber-optic network, local DSL or broadband operators, making the network extremely stable.

"We believe that the Songbird system will revolutionize the music industry the way that CNN revolutionized the news industry," said Karl Bingle, president of Songbird. "Consumers will have widespread, convenient, and affordable access to the latest music content. Songbird is currently seeking a strategic partnership with an established amusement vendor in order to expand the market to all 50 states as soon as possible."

Because a high percentage of consumers prefer to use cash for small transactions, Songbird knew that they would need to integrate a cash acceptor into the kiosk. Songbird selected the MEI AE2600 bill acceptor following analysis and trials of various bill acceptors. "These kiosks are powered by cash, and dependent on generate ROI based on continuous transactions," said Karl Bingle, president of Songbird LLC. That's why it was critical for us to integrate a reliable bill acceptor. MEI bill acceptors out-performed all the others in speed of acceptance and stacking, and their technical and integration support made the development run smoothly. The AE2600 accepts all valid currency, regardless of their physical condition or how they are inserted. "

Songbird On-Demand Music, LLC. is based in Spokane, Washington, USA and is dedicated to developing integrated software and hardware systems to serve the utility industry.www.binglearts.com <http://www.binglearts.com>.

MEIis one of the world's leading manufacturers of electronic bill acceptors, coin mechanisms, and other electronic payment systems. The company developed the world's first electronic coin validator in the late 1960s and today, has the largest, worldwide installed base of unattended payment mechanisms. Current innovations include MEI EASITRAX™vending management solutions. This leading-edge technology and software system supports every aspect of a vending operator's business from data collection and analysis to business management.

For more information on MEI and its products, visitwww.meiglobal.com/kiosks <http://www.meiglobal.com/kiosks>or call 1-800-345-8215 x2510.