The British music streaming startup backed by Stephen Fry and Robbie Williams is finally launching a product
The device was first announced at a press conference in London on October 14, 2015. At the time CEO Rob Lewis said the £169 device would be released in time for Christmas.
The Electric Jukebox never arrived. The release date was pushed back to Easter 2016 and the US launch was scrapped.
But the company behind Electric Jukebox, Magic Works, now says the device will go on sale on Wednesday, and will begin shipping the next day. It's a year late, but it's finally being delivered.
Lewis explained to Business Insider that one of the main reasons for the delay was a battle to secure global music streaming rights. The US launch is still on the cards, he said, but is expected to come next year alongside other, new devices.
The Electric Jukebox, which now comes in red, blue, and charcoal (the pink version has seemingly been cut), will include a library of 29 million songs with no ads. Lewis denies, however, that he's out to beat existing music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. Instead he said he wanted to increase the market for music streaming.
Business Insider asked Lewis about the profit margin for a music streaming hardware product. He said there wasn't an "outrageous margin" but said there was a "healthy" margin when the product was sold direct to consumers. A press release from the company says it's also being sold through "Selfridges, Argos, Amazon and a major TV network".
Additionally, it was reported earlier this week that the company behind Electric Jukebox has raised £1.4 million in new funding from an investment group named "YOLO Leisure & Technology". The company counts Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon, Stephen Fry, and Sheryl Crow as its celebrity backers. They also own shares in the company.