LOS ANGELES – After spending the last two years refining its SongPro player, Ronald L. Jones, founder and chairman of SongPro, Inc., along with Mark A. Bush, co-founder and vice president of business development, have reemerged with the announcement of major new developments for the company.
SongPro made media headlines soon after its founding in 2000 with the announcement of the first upcoming device with the capability of converting the Nintendo® Game Boy® into a digital music and multimedia player.
The SongPro player is now scheduled to launch at retailers nationwide this fall. SongPro, Inc. is the first African American owned portable digital multimedia device manufacturer in history.
The first announcement is the appointment of Jon Richmond, former president of News Digital Media, the digital arm of News Corporation, and Dr. Marc Hannah, co-founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc., as CEO and CTO respectively. In addition to Richmond and Hannah, Mark Dawson, former director of product development and content at News Digital Media, and Paul Wylie, former vice president of global operations for Activision, have joined the company, as vice president of product development and vice president of operations, respectively.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to have this new team of industry veterans on board to usher in the launch of the first SongPro device and create the blueprint for SongPro’s strategic direction moving forward,” says Jones. “I was always taught that business is an open-book test, allowing you to go out and get the best minds and talent for the job.”
The SongPro device opens an exciting new channel for secure digital content distribution squarely targeted at the coveted youth market and the 125 million users of the Nintendo® Game Boy®. In addition to supporting playback of traditional WMA/MP3 music files, the SongPro device enables the playback of special SPA multimedia files which integrate music with synchronized scrolling graphics and text, such as album art and liner notes. These SPA files will allow for the enjoyment of digital storybooks, photographs, slide shows, digital stamp collecting and other entertainment using the Nintendo® Game Boy® platform.
The second announcement is SongPro’s partnership with RioPort, Inc., the leading music application service provider. RioPort, Inc. will deliver secure online music and multimedia downloads for the SongPro player. Utilizing RioPort’s PulseOne Media Service™ and Direct-to-Device (d2d) ™ technology, SongPro device owners can easily access a large library of secure music from major recording artists through any PC.
As SongPro devices saturate the marketplace, the SongPro Network will evolve to support a permission-based, personal approach to the world of digital music. The Network will evolve to offer its community of users thousands of secure music and multimedia downloads, as well as core tools to extend their enjoyment, including chat, e-mail and instant messaging. Users will also have the ability to remotely access the Network from locations other than their home through RioPort’s direct-to-device (d2d) technology. The SongPro business model provides for two principal revenue sources the sale of hardware devices and the distribution of secure content. Tony Schaller, chief technology officer of RioPort, Inc. cites, “We think the SongPro business model is a great example of how digital content delivery can increase revenue possibilities for content holders and artists.”
SongPro’s early promise of revolutionizing the industry is now fast approaching with the 1.3 ounce player slated to hit retail in Fall 2002 for $99.
States co-founder Mark Bush, “The state of affairs for New Economy companies and business models has been challenging since the downturn of the U.S. market and economy. We’re excited that SongPro has been able to ride out the slump and to emerge for the long haul. Recent technology modifications and SongPro’s initiatives to harness entertainment industry support should make for a successful launch of the product.”
To see more of the SongPro player, and secure additional details and information, go to www.songpro.com.
Printed in volume 1 Issue 12
