Cover Story
(September 2007)Cover Story
(September 2007)Donald P. Jones once said, "The quickest and shortest way to crush whatever laurels you have won is for you to rest on them." Rowe must have taken those words to heart.
In 2002, Rowe introduced one of its most eye-catching jukebox designs: the StarGlo Model CD-100K. It was a time when the industry's attention was focused on the emerging digital downloading technology so the original CD-playing StarGlo did not fully penetrate the installed jukebox base.
But the StarGlo story hardly ended then. When Rowe recently showed an upgraded StarGlo cabinet (a CD-to-digital makeover available in the latest Jump Kit conversion) music operators went crazy for it, according to Rowe, which reported comments like this: "Now this is a jukebox!"
With that in mind, Rowe decided to employ the "K" cabinet for its latest floor-standing digital model, the GrandSTAR. Locations told Rowe that their customers loved the cabinet and even commented that it was what a jukebox should look like.
Even though the GrandSTAR is cutting edge digital technology it has a more traditional look than Rowe's NightSTAR. It also has the striking presence that customers can see all the way across even the biggest rooms.
The GrandSTAR is taking the StarGlo legend into the future. Operators were thrilled with the Jump Kits to convert their CD StarGlo jukeboxes into digital models but it featured a smaller 15-inch touch screen display. The GrandSTAR has it all: 19-inch monitor, classic styling, and impressive features. It will be on display at the upcoming Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) International Expo. As you can see in the photos, it really is quite extraordinary. Isn't that what operators want in a jukebox? Rowe is confident it is.
The team
Rowe International opened AMI Entertainment's Chicago, Ill., software development center in early 2006. The office focuses on maintaining and enhancing the AMI Entertainment Network, which administers music services for digital jukeboxes.
For those who are familiar with the legendary Rowe history know that Automatic Music Instruments (AMi) was a separate company in the early part of the 20th century making musical machines; Rowe came along some time later and was a cigarette machine manufacturer. When the two companies merged in the 1920s, the new company was called Rowe/AMi and its focal point was music.
How appropriate to bring back the AMI name that started it all although AMI Entertainment Network provides a radically different service. It now provides the content to Rowe-built jukeboxes. And, in the future it may service others.
In addition to server operations, the Chicago center oversees the Web site (www.amientertainment.com). This Web site allows jukebox operators to monitor and update their jukebox clients, and back-office software development for administrative functions, which include royalty payments, and music feeds from record labels, among other functions required of a digital music provider.
AMI Entertainment's software development center is headed up by Ron Richards, Vice President of Software Engineering, who joined the company in July 2005, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in software design and development. His extensive experience came from jobs at Lattis Inc. where he was Vice President of Product Development and he spearheaded the design and development of a health care work flow application designed to improve patient safety.
His staff consists of top-level engineers with experience in producing enterprise-class software for such Fortune 500 companies as eBay, Nestle, Semantic, Ford Motor Co., IBM, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
As with any client-server product, the team stresses company growth. The expanding AMI Entertainment Network music library and growing number of jukeboxes connecting to the network make it necessary to constantly upgrade the network to keep data flowing smoothly.
Leadership
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales John Margold, who joined Rowe five years ago, has definitive thoughts on leadership. "Leadership is not just about the number of jukeboxes connected to a music provider's network. The core of good leadership is understanding that operators are equally interested in technical support, reliability, stability, and sustained return on investment (ROI), among other service-related attributes that define a company's value. At the end of the day, these qualities are the ones that make a difference."
Companies all over the world offer platitudes on their customer service, whether it's really up to par or not. Commercials on TV describe their customer service more than their products, and although we may not find good customer service in retail stores, we expect it to be there and are more often than not disappointed.
Customers won't be disillusioned at Rowe International and its subsidiary AMI Entertainment Network. They don't just tout superb customer service they put their words into action. "We don't just sell a jukebox to a customer. We sell the future of reliability, service, and quality as part of that sale," stressed Margold. "Our customers are buying more than a piece of equipment, they are buying into the company."
He believes that a sale is something just about anyone can make but offering the services Rowe has developed along with that sale is special. Margold should know. He's been in the coin machine business since 1975, where he began selling jukeboxes for a Rowe-owned distributorship. He worked for Bally Midway, selling Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. He said of that experience, "Selling Pac-Man was like falling out of a canoe and getting wet. It's not hard to do!"
He spent years at Betson, joined NSM, and then TouchTunes, before being offered an opportunity he couldn't pass up when he came full circle and returned to Rowe International selling what he describes as, "The best there is and that's not just me talking; it's our customers too."
Margold admits that his introduction to digital music wasn't like being bonked on the head similar to the V8 juice commercials. "I thought it sounded exciting but at the same time was ambivalent because CD technology was relatively new and a giant leap from 45s. I thought 1,500 songs were all anyone would ever need. I was also a little skeptical when in 1978 a new cigarette machine with a new coin mech allowed operators to charge $1.45 for a pack. I thought no one would ever pay that."
Margold talks about the "little things" that Rowe offers its customers such as a lifetime warranty on the hard drive. Little thing? We don't think so. What that says is that Rowe is not looking to save 40 cents by buying the cheapest hard drive and letting the operator worry about replacing it when it dies. "We have plenty of choices in hard drives. However, we are only looking at those that will last virtually a lifetime. This is just one example of defining Rowe's leadership and taking responsibility for doing what is right for customers," said Margold.
Software and tech support
Margold began, "I can tell you all day how superior our technical support is, but if you talk to operators they will tell you that our technical support is the strongest in the industry. You can't fool operators. We believe that we have to earn the business every day with word of mouth, reputation, and our service."
Margold emphasized, "We develop features that will actually increase collections. We developed other features that will shorten the time it takes an operator to manage his music (thus saving him money)."
One example is Remote Management developed by Rowe to save operators trips to the location. AMI operators can call tech support and often updates and changes can be done from Grand Rapids, Mich., with no need to drive across town.
Another example is the focus on content that will increase operator income. "We identified Latin locations as primary music stops and developed the best Latin content to help operators maximize income in these lucrative venues," said Brian Hoekstra, Content Manager, whose primary focus as Music Librarian is expanding the music offerings. He has really focused on the growing Spanish market more than anyone else in the industry.
To bolster its Spanish music content, serving one of the most important demographics, Rowe introduced last year premixed hard discs featuring predominantly Spanish music stored in cache. The new Spanish music hard drive arrangements are available for all Rowe Internet-access jukeboxes and Merit's Mod Box, which connect to the AMI Entertainment Network.
Rowe builds 16 premixed hard drives, each storing up to 300 works in album format for locally stored music and up to 20,000 singles in hidden cache that represent the most frequently requested material on the AMI network. In the Spanish category the hard drive premixes feature larger music proportions in four Latin music genres: Latin Pop, Regional Latin, Tejano, and Tropical Latin.
Spanish cache enhancements benefit both broadband and standard dial-up operating modes, the two connection methods Rowe jukeboxes are capable of supporting. Jukeboxes connected to standard phone lines, however, are the biggest beneficiaries since their data link's limited bandwidth is unable to support AMI's music-on-demand, which allows jukebox patrons to make selections from the entire AMI music library remotely. Therefore, additional music stored in a hard disc's cache emulates the on-demand experience, know as Virtual Music on Demand (VMOD).
Another example is Kwik Pick, a local software feature that runs a daily calculation of the most popular 50 songs played on a location's jukebox system over a period of two weeks or longer. That music is loaded into the jukebox software's Kwik Pick playlist.
Each time a patron touches the Kwik Pick button, a random list of the 50 popular songs is displayed. It includes both local and Music On Demand songs. The patron can view the Kwik Pick list using the arrow buttons that enable vertical scrolling. To play a specific song in the list the patron simply touches the song title; credit is deducted and the song queues up. This was a feature suggested by a customer.
The feature also has a button called Play All Credit to further simplify the selection process. When it is selected, songs on the Kwik Pick list automatically play, starting at the top of the list, until the credit value is used up. In March, the Kwik Pick application generated $1 million in sales since its introduction in late 2005.
Again, Margold describes it as a small feature that won't change the world but he added, "People should understand that this is an example of listening to customers."
Welcome AMI
It was just over three years ago that AMI Entertainment began publicly rolling out its digital music service for the jukebox industry. The formation of AMI Entertainment Inc., as a subsidiary of Rowe, emphasized Rowe International's new direction as a location-based "music on-demand" entertainment provider, as well as a technology solutions provider for equipment owners and operators. AMI Entertainment initially would complement Rowe's jukebox hardware business.
In June 2004 Rowe/AMI Entertainment signed Harry Fox and BMI and soon a myriad of other performing rights organizations, major record labels, and independents.
Rowe's reputation as the leading jukebox manufacturer before the digital age stuck hard. Many American operators are pleased to continue calling themselves Rowe operators; these are music vendors loyal to the brand. And Rowe builds a digital jukebox line that meets the rigorous requirements of commercial operations.
Though the vast majority of jukeboxes associated with the AMI Entertainment are built by Rowe, the network also supports jukeboxes from Merit Entertainment, which makes the ModBox and a wallette-style device that combines AMI music and Merit video games.
Clearly Rowe jukeboxes and AMI music and software solutions are known and praised industry wide. People outside the industry, however, are also noticing. Last year, Rowe celebrated the production of its one-millionth machine off the production line and the event garnered local, national, and industry media attention. This past spring a museum in Rowe's hometown, Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated an exhibit to Rowe jukeboxes. The display examines the progress of the coin-op music industry and the jukebox's connection to American culture, from the early 20th century to the present.
"I'm in there!"
To further cultivate awareness of Rowe jukeboxes and AMI Entertainment, Rowe/AMI is creating a new marketing campaign and mantra they call "I'm in there" that sends the message that everyone including the industry, the music business, and customers have are a vital part in AMI music. It's all about the artists, music publishers, patrons selecting and playing their music, equipment operators, distributors, and everyone at Rowe and AMI. There is a small part of all of us in the AMI music experience.
When it comes to the team at Rowe and AMI Entertainment the mantra couldn't be more fitting. The average tenure time of employees is 27 years! That's amazing. Ed Gundrum, for example, oversees the assembly line to make sure every jukebox coming off the line passes quality control, and according to Margold, "They pass wonderfully."
Gundrum has been at Rowe over 20 years and ran the factory in the incredible boom years when Rowe was pumping out jukeboxes trying to keep up with the demand. In addition to Gundrum, there is an impressive team of people in quality control, material handling, mechanical engineering, and more. The facility has been home to Rowe since 1922. If you watch companies come and go in the coin machine industry, Rowe defines stability.
As Margold quipped, "I'm the new guy being here only five years!" He added, "Rowe has very little turnover. We're now seeing second and third generation of families working here. When we say we're in there, we couldn't say it better. These people really know how to build jukeboxes."
Margold is very quick to praise the entire work force at Rowe and AMI Entertainment. He said, "We think that it's necessary to get the point across that our people are dedicated and focus on operators' success."
The management team for Rowe and AMI Entertainment includes President Mike Maas, Vice President of Finance George Pinos, Vice President of Manufacturing Ed Gundrum, Director of Software Development Ron Richard, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing John Margold.
The sales staff is an experienced group that Margold calls an absolutely great team. The team includes Vice President of Sales Terry Lacher, who has been with Rowe 20 years; Vaughn Williamson, with 12 years at Rowe also has an extensive technical background and heads up the Rowe Service schools across the country; and Richard Gershman, a 25-year industry veteran who understands operators from his years of working with them.
In addition, there are Jack Silverest with 25 years of industry experience; Joe Scholz, who sports a technical background and worked in distributing in service and parts; and the rookies Tom Raub with five years of experience and Scott Fuller with two but comes from a sales background.