Bristol, PA -- Merit Industries, Inc., the world’s largest provider of touchscreen games and entertainment, and TouchTunes Music Corp., the world’s leading provider of digital jukeboxes, have announced the formation of a revolutionary new development agreement. The co-operative relationship is not a merger or a combination of the companies in any way, but is rather an opportunity for distributors, operators and customers to enjoy all the best aspects that each company has to offer.

"With the Internet and the concept of connectivity becoming crucial components of our business, a co-operative effort between our two companies seemed only natural," said Merit Industries’ Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Dave Myers.

The first product from this alliance will enable players to choose and pay for TouchTunes music through the popular Merit touchscreen games in locations that feature both Merit and TouchTunes products. Players can enjoy playing Merit’s popular games while selecting their favorite music from Touchtunes, all without ever leaving their seats.

"The ‘Wall Box’ remote selection application is the first and most obvious use of our combined technology," Myers remarked. "This alliance will allow operators to increase their revenue without any additional expense."

Merit and TouchTunes will also promote one another’s services on their systems, a tactic that will serve to draw attention to the units and generate player excitement while increasing revenue. This combination of two powerful facets of the amusement industry translates into bigger coin-drop for operators and a new avenue of convenient entertainment for customers, creating a "win-win" situation for operators, tavern owners and patrons. A marriage between both systems will help reap the benefits of both impulse spenders and dedicated touchscreen players and music enthusiasts.

"With Megatouch and music being two of the pillars of the tavern entertainment industry, communication and connectivity between the two was the next logical step," said Myers. "Megatouch games and TouchTunes jukeboxes both use the same operating system and input devices making our technological alliance even easier, " he said.

This new, two-way connectivity between Merit’s touchscreen countertop games and TouchTunes digital jukeboxes will be demonstrated at the September 2000 AMOA show in Las Vegas.

While the agreement paves the road for exciting new advancements in creating a total entertainment package, Myers stresses that the partnership will only benefit all involved. The operator will see his income increase, the distributor will sell more equipment and the player will get more satisfaction.

"We’re dedicated to our distribution network as a vehicle to provide service to our operators. The Merit sales team will work in conjunction with the TouchTunes sales organization to bring an even greater level of awareness and sales to our distributors," Myers said.

He added that many on the TouchTunes sales force are Merit alumni and explained, "TouchTunes has already proven adept at taking the Merit field sales force program and expanding it to accomplish impressive results."

Other income generating tools down the road will include cross-promotional bonuses. For instance, players may receive a free music selection for a high score on a Megatouch Maxx. In the same regard, those using a large denomination bill in a TouchTunes Jukebox or Megatouch Maxx could be rewarded with a bonus game or free music selection.

"All in all we are working together to create a totally integrated "Tavern Entertainment System" that will recharge our industry," Myers added. "This is only the beginning. The best is yet to come."

Merit Industries, a Bristol, PA based coin-operated amusement manufacturer, is the worldwide leader in touchscreen entertainment devices. For over 20 years, Merit has never ceased to assert its belief in providing long-term return on investment for operators by providing updates and upgrades on its variety of time-tested units. Merit Industries’ products appear globally in a wide array of venues, and appeal to an almost limitless demographic. Merit continues to expand its position in the industry with ever-increasing language content and new games. The company maintains a web site with all the latest information at www.meritind.com.

TouchTunes Music Corp. is the coin-op industry’s leading provider of digital downloading for music-on-demand jukeboxes across the United States. TouchTunes has partnership agreements with Capitol, BMG, Universal and Warner permitting the secure transmission, storing and playing of digitized copies of music masters on Touch Tunes’ digital jukeboxes. For more information visit their website at www.touchtunes.com.