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Seeing is Believing multi-media zone #1 Heads Up International, Ltd. |
Upon loading this CD, my first thought was that this was going to be another boring promotional multimedia CD. I was almost right..It was promotional, but definitely not boring. In addition to the usual marketing hype, this CD demonstrates a new and exciting medium for delivering music, one which I believe will be taking off in the near future…enhanced CD’s.
So, for those of you that like to keep it simple I present to you the Hype and the Hoopla…
The Hype
One of the enticecments (and menu items) associated with this CD is a free gift. But…to get the free gift, you have to enter a password. To get the password, you must first visit the Heads Up website and enter your name, address, etc. into their database, no doubt to become part of their mailing list.
The letter from the C.E.O of Heads Up is a nice touch, but the letter was presented using a scroll box. It would have been a better idea to put a multimedia message from the C.E.O. on this multimedia CD. The scroll box looks like an afterthought in comparison with the richness of the other musical and artistic renderings.
I popped the CD in a PC with no sound card and it sent the hard drive into overdrive! Because the CD is constantly shuffling between the seven song clips, the program kept trying to go to the next song immediately after trying to load the current one which (of course) didn’t play. I guess no one ever expected some dummy to put a multimedia CD into a PC with no sound card, but it happens…
There is also a link to the Heads-Up website and, of course, the ever present on-line catalog.
The Hoopla
With it’s avant-garde design, simple-to-navigate interface and rich, full sound erupting from the multimedia speakers, this enhanced CD sampler is a feast for the eyes and ears. With a single click you can sample new releases from Gerald Veasley, Joe McBride, The Caribbean Jazz Project, Eric “Scortch” Scortia, Roberto Perera, Kenny Blake and Joyce Cooling. And all of the samples are rich and full. You are also given a screen of individual information about the sample that is selected.
This is a nice way to get to hear samples of artists you may never haave heard before. But, more importantly it sets the stage for the next generation of Music CD offerings…enhanced CD’s. With enhanced CD’s you get a CD filled with regular audio music as well as a multimedia track that contains other content like interviews, videos, MIDI files and song lyrics. All on one CD!
In the introduction to this CD sampler, Heads Up commits itself to being in the forefront of the multimedia revolution in the music industry, and promises to come out with enhanced CD offerings from some of it’s artists in the future. If this CD sampler is any indication of things to come, the music consumer will be getting a better product and recording artists will have new avenues of expression available to explore. The consumer wins both ways.
Overall Rating:
Heads Up International