QUICK HITS: Roxi to launch in US with Sinclair • MBW Entrepreneur Of The Year • EastCoast Entertainment

Music video platform ROXi has partnered with station owner Sinclair to create the first interactive over-the-air broadcast channels in the US.

Initially, three interactive music TV channels will launch in the US: the ROXi Music Channel, the ROXi Music Video Karaoke Channel, and the ROXi Music Games Channel leveraging ROXi’s FastStream tech and NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) to allow broadcast TV viewers on connected TVs to pause, play, and skip music videos without downloading an app on TV.

New research shows a strong appetite for free interactive music TV channels with 77% of US households wanting free interactive music TV channels, karaoke, and music games.

• Music Business Worldwide’s Entrepreneur Of The Year winner for 2023/202 is Meng Ru Kuok, the founder and CEO of Singapore-based Caldecott Music Group and its popular music creation platform, BandLab.

BandLab has over 60 million registered users, generating 17 million monthly new tracks.

Meng believes that we are at the start of an explosion in creators and a blurring of the lines between creator and consumer: “I think there will be over 1 billion music creators by 2030, potentially even sooner.

• EastCoast Entertainment, the 47-year-old booking agency and national talent-buying firm has added Kaitlin Sweeney as a Managing Partner. 

Joining ECE as an agent in 2014, Sweeney quickly rose to Manager of their Philadelphia office n 2017. “Supporting artists, nurturing their talent, and celebrating their achievements continue to be the driving force of my career,” states Sweeney. 

Bruce Houghton