Giving a digital twist to the classic jukebox

If you thought that jukeboxes went out with the jive in the 1950s you would be wrong. Meath start-up TouchHits is now making plans to develop international sales of a state of-the-art touchscreen digital jukebox.
Giving a digital twist to the classic jukebox

To meet the demands of the current generation of music lovers, company CEO and founder Adam McCrossan has created a slim, sleek 32-inch wall mounted ultra-modern device which is designed to resemble a giant smartphone or tablet.

“Called the JukePad this does a great deal more than a traditional jukebox. In addition to playing music and video content on demand, it streams digital advertising, can provide background music, is equipped with a digital camera for taking selfies and can publish information about the venue and its customers on social media,’’ says Mr McCrossan.

Although jukeboxes aren’t very widely used in pubs in Ireland, the market is much larger in countries such as the UK, US, Europe and Australasia. “In the UK, 80% to 90% of brewery-managed pubs have jukeboxes, while for independently owned pubs and clubs it’s approx 60% to 70%. The figure for Ireland is probably closer to 20%,” he says.

Based in Kells, TouchHits started out by developing software for use with digital touchscreen jukeboxes in 2012 which it sells to customers in the UK, Cyprus, Spain and New Zealand.  Its most recent offering is the JukePad which was launched early this year. Mr McCrossan, a software engineer, got involved in the jukebox business when his father, who provided equipment to the bars trade, asked him to come up with a solution that would make it easier for digital jukebox users to find the tunes they wanted to play.

The technology being used in many bars was often expensive and complicated to use, he explains.

Taking out a bank loan sufficient to buy a used car, he set up TouchHits and started working on the software in 2012. After trialling it in some local pubs with existing jukeboxes he put a demo on the TouchHits website.

“Operators which supply pubs with jukeboxes began contacting me. I also took it to the EAG trade show in London and also got customers as a result of this,’’ says Mr McCrossan. He now supplies around 20 operators, around half of which are in the UK. He says a significant selling point for the TouchHitsAV software platform has been its ease of use.

“You can use it to find any tune in three touches — pub owners using this software have told me that revenues are higher with this than with other jukebox software,” he says.

In 2013, Mr McCrossan decided that the next logical step for TouchHits was to develop a state of the art digital jukebox to rival current market leaders. Finding local companies to manufacture and fabricate many of the components, he rented a premises and took on three part-time staff.

In early 2014, TouchHits launched two 19-inch touchscreen jukeboxes — the Classic Hits and HitCity. By 2015, it was exporting both jukeboxes and software to the UK, Spain and Cyprus.

Securing Competitive Start Funding from Enterprise Ireland, it developed a 32-inch version, the JukePad, which it has started selling in the UK and Europe. Because the UK is its largest market the outcome of the Brexit referendum is a cause for concern for TouchHits. But it aims to develop sales to Europe and is also checking out the very significant US market.

In 2017, TouchHits is aiming to seek recognition as a ‘High Potential Start-up’ from Enterprise Ireland and to raise sufficient funding to develop international sales. Future plans include the launch of a retro or classic jukebox designed to resemble the pre-digital jukeboxes that will appeal to music lovers who are nostalgic for the 1950s.

This will be sold both for commercial and home use. Long term, Mr McCrossan says the aim for TouchHits is to establish itself as a major player in the digital jukebox market in Ireland, the UK and Europe and also to get a foothold in markets such as the US, Canada and Australasia.

Company: TouchHits

Location: Kells, Co Meath

CEO: Adam McCrossan

Staff: 4

Product: Digital jukeboxes

Website: www.touchhits.com

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