Ecast Signs Performance Rights Agreement with BMI Licensing All Ecast-Powered Digital Jukeboxes.Entertainment Editors/Business Editors/High-Tech Writers NASHVILLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2004 Ecast Inc., which uses the Internet to bring the digital music revolution to listeners via a fleet of digital downloading coin- and credit card-operated jukeboxes, has reached agreement with performing rights Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music’s composer/lyricist and publisher (with the royalties generally split 50/50 between the two) when a business uses music in a public performance. organization BMI BMI body mass index. BMI abbr. body mass index Body mass index (BMI) A measurement that has replaced weight as the preferred determinant of obesity. to license the public performance of the 4.5 million songs BMI represents. "This BMI agreement will greatly simplify our business," said Lisa Tiver vice president of rights and licensing at Ecast. "Licensing through BMI gives us the right to play millions of songs from 300,000 copyright owners. Because we offer consumers a vast array of songs, this blanket agreement is far more convenient and cost-effective than pursuing individual licenses from a huge number of copyright owners." Ecast's Location-Based Broadband Network(TM) delivers music to consumers at bars, restaurants, hotels, cafes and other out of home venues via pay per use broadband connected digital jukeboxes. All usage is captured and reported enabling accurate compensation to publishers and writers. "Ecast's powered digital jukeboxes provide consumers with a broader music selection to choose from than traditional jukeboxes, and they play more music," said John Shaker Shaker Member of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, a celibate millenarian sect. Derived from a branch of the radical English Quakers (see Society of Friends), the movement was brought to the U.S. , senior vice president of licensing at BMI. "BMI's new agreement with Ecast benefits both businesses and copyright owners alike." Jukebox A storage device for multiple sets of CD-ROMs, DVDs, tape cartridges or disk modules. Using carousels, robot arms and other methods, a jukebox physically moves the storage medium from its assigned location to an optical or magnetic station for reading and writing. operators and venue owners are also empowered by the usage data, since it enables them to ensure their Ecast-powered digital jukebox features music popular in their venue. They can also delete the less popular music. If the customer cannot find the song they want on the digital jukebox they can access for play any track from the Ecast's 140,000 track strong Location-Based Broadband Network. Customer friendly features on Ecast-powered jukeboxes include the MAKE MINE FIRST(TM) option, which lets patrons advance their selection to the front of the song queue, and SEARCH ALL MUSIC(TM), which lets customers narrow their search by artist, album, genre or song. Tom Annastas, vice president of general licensing at BMI, said licensing the BMI repertoire to Ecast will assure that songwriters are compensated when their music is played on digital jukeboxes. "Ecast's proprietary technology will bring a higher level of copyright compliance to the jukebox industry and reduce the administrative burden for Ecast, operators, venue owners, and BMI," said Annastas. About ECAST Ecast Inc. owns and operates a Location-Based Broadband Network(tm), which combines a proprietary software platform, an extensive broadband network and digital media vending devices. Much as ATM networks enable banks to dispense cash and services, Ecast's Location-Based Broadband Network enables the company to deliver music, games and other digital entertainment media from record labels and video game publishers to consumers at hotels, coffee houses, restaurants, nightclubs, bars and other location-based venues. Ecast has content partnerships with BMG BMG Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (Germand: Federal Ministry for Health) BMG Be My Girl BMG Blue Man Group BMG Bertelsmann Music Group BMG Be My Guest BMG Browning Machine Gun BMG Bulk Metallic Glass , EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) An electrical disturbance in a system due to natural phenomena, low-frequency waves from electromechanical devices or high-frequency waves (RFI) from chips and other electronic devices. Allowable limits are governed by the FCC. , Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Warner Music Group (WMG) is one of the four major record labels. Warner Music Group also has a publishing arm, Warner/Chappell Music, which dates back to 1929, when Jack Warner, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. , Midway Games Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American video game publisher. Midway's legacy includes landmark titles such as Ms. Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam. , Playboy Enterprises Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA), also organized as New Playboy, Inc. (NYSE: PLAA), is the company founded by Hugh Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. It was created in 1953 as the HMH Publishing Co., Inc. and others. Founded in 1999, Ecast Inc. is privately owned with offices in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and Tokyo. About BMI BMI, founded in 1939, is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements, it grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of approximately 4.5 million musical works from around the world. |
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