Curvalicious
AMI Debuts Its “Most Beautiful Jukebox” Ever
It has the same great features customers have come to know and love – only it’s even more visually stunning, AMI Entertainment says about their new, dual-screen NGX Curve jukebox, which began shipping in mid-October.
“The original NGX was a great product, but aesthetically speaking, it wasn’t the Lamborghini of jukeboxes,” said AJ Russo, AMI’s chief creative officer. “The NGX Curve is like our Lamborghini without that cost.”
The curved screen idea had been considered for many years, but was found to be cost prohibitive, said VP of operations and hardware engineering Steve Jarema.
With the NGX Curve, it’s actually three separate panels that give it the sleek curved look; there are 18.5” upper and lower displays with the top one showing music videos or promotional material and the bottom one a touchscreen with the functional controls (be sure to look up the jukebox on YouTube or see the animations at amientertainment .com/curve to get a better feel for the product).
The final result has proved to be extremely well-received. In fact, Jarema reported, industry veteran and AMI senior vice president of sales John Margold said it was the “most beautiful jukebox” he’s ever seen.
The NGX Curve is certainly not the type of juke that’ll be an afterthought for a location – relegated to a hallway leading to the bathrooms or something like that.
“We’re going to see product placement here that’s going to be central to the bar,” Jarema said.
Operators seem to think so, too. Despite not launching it at a trade show like they usually do, AMI’s first week release of 150 units sold out quickly.
“The customer reaction to this thing was just bonkers,” Russo said. “It’s the most rapidly-selling product we’ve ever done during the digital age. It was a love at first sight thing for customers.”
Beyond the visual components, the music video on-demand feature allows access to the full library of more than 25,000 music videos with new ones added weekly. Today’s patrons, AMI said, grew up in the era of music videos and love the ability to upgrade to video on their favorite songs.
It’s not only the look of the jukebox and its features, but things the company integrates with all of its jukeboxes, Jarema remarked. “The Curve is really just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
There’s the continually updated AMI Music app, which allows bar patrons to make selections right from their phones.
For operators, there’s the very helpful Co-Pilot app that allows them to remotely run and oversee their route. If that’s not reason enough to be excited for the new AMI jukebox, Jarema reiterated that all of the brand’s internal components are shared across the entire product line – meaning operators don’t need to have extra spare parts on hand specifically for the NGX Curve because it has the same components as their previous AMI model.
The latest product is the “Swiss army knife” of jukeboxes, they say – it’s got the looks, the features and the versatility with its components.
The concept began in October 2018, when everything fell perfectly in place. The name came immediately. The original rendering is exactly what is shipping now. And after six weeks of testing, Russo said, “We started recognizing we had a real winner here.”
So, if you’re going to upgrade your existing locations, he rallied, look no further than the NGX Curve.
“We think locations are going to absolutely fall in love with the look of this jukebox,” Russo said. “AMI is not a company that’s resting on its laurels. The Curve might be the most versatile jukebox in our portfolio.”
Stay up-to-date with AMI at www.amientertainment.com.