User:TouchDivaCorp/sandbox

Spotify

TouchDiva Logo
Original author(s)	TouchDiva Corp. Ltd.
Stable release	0.4.9.295.gf1902819 / December 15, 2010 (2010-12-15)
Preview release	Linux: 0.4.9.302.g604b4fb / Linux: December 22, 2010 (2010-12-22)
Written in	Java
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, iOS, Linux, Android, Windows Mobile, S60, Telia digital tv, webOS
Available in	English, Spanish, French
Type	Music
License	Proprietary
Website	http://www.touchdiva.com/

TouchDiva – Music as a service is a privately held music streaming service. TouchDiva was founded by Mr. Thomas Christian Melskens and launched in Denmark – Scandinavia 2008. Access to the service was in the beginning exclusively via dedicated hardware, but today available on a variety of platforms. TouchDiva is independent of any telco's or the like.

The TouchDiva

Upon launch, the music service was only available on a dedicated piece of hardware - the TouchDiva. The TouchDiva was comprised of a 15,4 inch touch sensitive screen, an embedded PC system and a 125ASX2 B&O ICEPower amplifier module. A new and upgraded version of the TouchDiva was presented at CES in Las Vegas January 2011.

History Thomas Christian Melskens former business CD FACTORY A/S was acquired by ODS (Optical Disc Servivce GmbH) in 2004, electing Thomas the CEO. The acquisition implied signing non-competition clauses exempting Thomas from working with physical media for 5 years. Having been deeply involved in the music business all his life, Thomas Christian Melskens had to find another business model for his next venture when he left ODS in 2006.

Having a bulky CD collection in his house, Thomas Christian Melskens realized that the ideal Audio system would be an easy-to-use, fully integrated system with direct access to the entire music catalogue. The business idea for TouchDiva - Music as a service was born.

Thomas Christian Melskens realizes that consumers did not want to have PCs nor large chunky multimedia centres in their living rooms.

The next year, Thomas Christian Melskens spent developing his idea and travelled the world searching for an appropriate piece of hardware. There was no hardware available on the market at the time so Thomas Christian Melskens decided to design his own and once again travelled to China, Taiwan and Hong Kong talking to potential business partners and designteams who could help him realize the project.

Innovation was to be key, and a lot of effort was put into creating an exclusive piece of hardware in a sleek Scandinavian design that would look beautiful in any surrounding - bringing the music back into the living room.

Until January 2011 more than € 8 million have been invested.

Timeline

January 1st. 2008 - Thomas Christian Melskens employs Mr. Bo Haaber. Bo Haaber's background was a 17 year carreer as sales director with IBM. Thomas Christian Melskens did not want to take on the job as CEO for his new venture, as he wants to concentrate on design and innovation.

Spring/summer 2008 - The TouchDiva unit is designed, and own production facilities in Shanghai, China were set up. Furthermore an international software team is set. ¬¬¬ Spring/summer 2008 - Music streaming deals are negotiated and signed with the major labels: EMI, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and SONY Music.

Autumn 2008 - The global recession hits the world economy and TouchDiva hard. One investor commits suicide, and another withdraws from further negotiation. Many other different potential investors around the world were approached and five times a LOI was signed and sharetransfer agreements were negotiated. However no deals were closed, and the situation for TouchDiva was increasingly critical due to lack of funds.

January 2009 - Thomas Christian Melskens manages to find funds for manufacturing startup, and the first batch goes into production. Alongside, the Board of Directors plan a new funding round with Sydbank A/S, being the corporate bank of TouchDiva. However, in the final moment Sydbank A/S rejects to participate as planned, leaving TouchDiva in a critical position and without funds to continue manufacturing.

March 2009 - The Danish copyright lawyer Johan Schlüter (JS) and Jesper Bang-Olsen (JBO) from Basepoint Media A/S (the music aggregator for TouchDiva) invests in TouchDiva. Subsequently, Johan Schlüter is elected Chairman of the Board.

June 2009 - Due to health-reasons Johan Schlüter steps down as Chairman of the Board, leaving the TouchDiva Board without a Chairman at a very critical stage. September 2009 - Humphrey Lau (CEO, Grundfos, China) joins the Board of Directors and together with Thomas Christian Melskens, they invite Michael Wolff Jensen to join as Chariman of the Board. Michael Wolff Jensen has been directly responsible for two IPO’s and numerous additional financing rounds, raising a total of over USD 500 million.

September 2009 – CEO Bo Haaber is dismissed by the board of directors, and Thomas Christian Melskens is elected CEO.

November 2009 - TouchDiva runs out of stock and subsequently is unable to supply the Danish retailer F. Group A/S (FONA), despite massive interest and many back orders.

January 2010 - Johan Schlüter and Jesper Bang Olsen puts forth a proposal followed by a document to be signed by the Board of Directors. The clause would in effect put the board out of influence of the funding process. Johan Schlüter and Jesper Bang Olsen claimed to have found an investor in Luxembourg. The proposal was turned down by the Board.

February 2010 - Johan Schlüter and Jesper Bang Olsen demanded that the Board of Directors step down and take their place themselves. They threaten to shut down the music service if their demands are not met. This is rejected by the Board of Directors and the music service continues.

March 26. 2010 - Due to technical reasons the Board files the Danish subsidiary TouchDiva Europe A/S for chapter 11. TouchDiva Europe A/S was a subsidiary of TouchDiva Corp. Ltd.

April 2010 - The Board decided to replace the music aggregator Basepoint Media A/S with German 24/7 Entertainment GmbH.

May 5, 8 and 11, 2010 - Danish business newspaper Borsen runs a serie of articles about TouchDiva and Thomas Christian Melskens regarding the bankcruptcy of TouchDiva Europe A/S. Lawyer Lars Halgreen, partner at Johan Schlüter Lawfirm and shareholder in Basepoint Media A/S, representing Johan Schlüter and Jesper Bang Olsen, publicly claim that they will shut down the music service. However, this never happens.

May 6. 2010 - Sony Music, Universal Music Group, EMI and Warner Music Group accept that TouchDiva replaces Basepoint Media A/S with 24/7 Entertaintment AG as new aggregator for TouchDiva.

May 7. 2010 - F. Group (FONA) mails out to all their TouchDiva customers that TouchDiva Europe A/S is bankcrupt. Furthermore F. Group advises customers to stop the monthly subscription fee to TouchDiva, as F. Group could not guarantee that PayPal was secure nor that the music service would continue.

May 12. 2010 - TouchDiva announces that the TouchDiva music service will be shut down for a couple of days, while the aggregator shift is carried out. For most clients the music service is up and running after one week and customers now have access to more than 7,500,000, tracks.

May 25. 2010 - Johan Schlüter and Jesper Bang Olsen, Basepoint Media A/S are bought out.

Summer 2010 - Preparations are made to restart the assembly line in Shanghai with a new product batch in September 2010. However, due to delivery problems of a vital component, the production startup is initially delayed but then cancelled in August. Subsequently the coorporation with the Chinese manufacturer is terminated and the factory eventually shut down.

December 2010 - Søren Tvilsted joins TouchDiva as Director of business development. Mr. Tvilsted is the founder of the World famous music service TDC Play (TDC Play is the first free music service in the world, provided by Danish Telco TDC A/S).

December 2010 - TouchDiva Group is restructured. A new holding company is formed in Zürich, Switzerland as well as new headquarter in London, UK. UK premise is to become Global headquarter. The new TouchDiva software team is placed at the premises in London.

January 2011 - TouchDiva participates at CES in Las Vegas, presenting the redesigned TouchDiva unit.

Present

The TouchDiva team is working on rolling out TouchDiva - music as a service worldwide. To realize the plan, a new funding round has just been initiated.

Furthermore new business models are being written, allowing the music service to run on various platforms, making it independent of the TouchDiva device itself. A concept allowing for complete flexibility with regards to hardware platform. By summer 2011 TouchDiva - Music as a service will run on Android, iOS, Blackberry, Symbion, Linux, MacOS X, Windows.