ConnectedTravel® And Universal Music Group’s Capitol Music Group To Imagine Next-Generation Music Experiences For Connected Vehicles At The Capitol Royale Hackathon

Press Releases

Oct 31, 2019

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — ConnectedTravel®, a connected vehicle platform and application services company, today announced its collaboration with Universal Music Group’s Capitol Music Group for the upcoming Capitol Royale Hackathon from November 15-17, 2019. Named, the Music that Moves YOU Challenge, ConnectedTravel and host Capitol Music Group will bring together a group of market leading companies to empower developers to come up with new and innovative ways to bring fans directly to their favorite music and artists through their connected cars. The event will take place at the legendary Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles.

Music That Moves YOU will challenge participants to envision how in-car listening, concert experiences, curated special events, and pop-up merch stores can be connected, creating new innovative music experiences. These experiences can be delivered through the use of applications and technology from cutting edge companies including Arrive, iHeartMedia, and Ticketmaster. Participants will enable in-vehicle experiences through SDL APIs already available through automotive leaders including Ford, Toyota, and Subaru. New voice and payment technology from ConnectedTravel®, as well as APIs from the above companies, can enable a host of convenient services pertaining to the overall music experience. Entirely handsfree and controlled via voice commands, these services include purchasing concert tickets and concessions, buying merchandise and having it delivered right to the car’s trunk at the venue, reserving and paying for parking in advance of arriving at a concert, purchasing offers heard on the radio, receiving personalized offers and exclusive content before and after concerts, connecting directly with artists, discovering new music, and more.

The top three ideas and winners will be awarded with:

Grand Prize: $12,000 plus 20-hours of remote support for continued integration of the winning application
2^nd Place Prize: $2,000 plus up to five pairs of tickets to a show of the winner’s choosing at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles. Recent performers included Elton John, Bastille, the Chainsmokers, Trisha Yearwood, Lizzo, and Tyga
3^rd Place Prize: $1,000 plus five iPad Air 2’s, and five Amazon Echo Dots

The challenge will be judged by Scott Burnell, Global Head of Ford Developer Program, Paul Elsila, CEO of Livio, Jonathan Moss, Connected Vehicle Advanced Concepts Supervisor at Ford Motor Company, and John Moon, COO of ConnectedTravel.

“The fusion of revolutionary technologies like voice, e-commerce and mobile payments are enabling in-vehicle music experiences that were never before possible at scale,” said Bryan Biniak, CEO of ConnectedTravel. “The ConnectedTravel team is excited to partner with market leader Universal Music Group and its legendary Capitol Music Group to help inspire and enable the extraordinary ideas these developers will execute on behalf of artists and fans.”

“Over 70 percent of US consumers listen to music in the car, with an average of more than 80 minutes each day dedicated to listening to audio. Capitol Records is always looking for fresh and exciting ways to bring fans an even better experience,” said Linda Richards, Director of New Initiatives for Universal Music Group. “We are thrilled to be working with the best-in-class partners to empower the brightest minds during this year’s Hackathon to build new in car music experiences that we hope will shape the music industry to-come.”

“Music and cars go back almost as far as cars themselves,” said Scott Burnell, Global Head of the Ford Developer Program. “We’re excited to provide the developer community an opportunity to show how they can create a full 360 experience, not just in the car…but through the Music That Moves YOU Challenge, exploring how they can bring the connected car and its occupants to the events, meet ups, merchandise and other artist driven experiences.”

“Ticketmaster strives to make it easy for fans to discover and buy tickets to their favorite live events on the surfaces that matter most to them. That’s why we’re excited to collaborate with ConnectedTravel and the developer community to envision the future of the in-ride experience,” said Michael Chua, Senior Director of Strategic Partnership Development at Ticketmaster. “This is an opportunity to connect fans with the artists, teams and events that they love, and we look forward to seeing the innovative ideas that come out of this year’s Hackathon.”

“From the performance, to the crowd, to the venue, attending a concert is all about the experience. Arrive prides itself on extending that positive experience from the home to the car to the venue parking lot, providing fans who purchase parking in advance a more seamless experience from start to finish,” said Dan Cummings, Vice President at Arrive. “We are excited to participate in this year’s Hackathon and look forward to seeing what the developers come up with.”

“iHeartMedia is the leading audio platform for companionship, music, podcasts, news, entertainment, and more for listeners across the country,” said Michele Laven, President of Strategic Partnerships Group for iHeartMedia. “We are excited to partner with other industry leaders to create new experiences for our in-car listeners and look forward to seeing the innovation that comes out of this Hackathon.”

Tickets are on sale now for the second annual Capitol Royale. For more information, please visit the Capitol Royale website.

About ConnectedTravel
Founded in 2016, ConnectedTravel® has developed a comprehensive cloud-based platform services that utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), data fusion, behavior science and gamification technology to capture, understand, and drive consumers day-to-day mobile activities. ConnectedTravel® has developed, owns and operates a driver and passenger location-based application services platform and business that serves the automotive ecosystem on a SaaS basis. The platform provides data driven infotainment applications and APIs, real-time behavioral management and analytics tools, as well as geo-targeted advertising and attribution services. For more information, visit www.connectedtravel.com.

About Capitol Music Group
Capitol Music Group (CMG) is comprised of Capitol Records, Virgin Records, Motown Records, Blue Note Records, Astralwerks, Harvest Records and Capitol Christian Music Group, as well as Capitol Studios and the company’s independent distribution and label services arm, Caroline. Capitol Music Group is based in Hollywood, California in the iconic Capitol Tower.

Artists that record for CMG labels include: Erykah Badu, BANKS, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beck, Bee Gees, Jon Bellion, B.J. The Chicago Kid, Rosanne Cash, Christine and the Queens, Neil Diamond, Robert Glasper, Halsey, Don Henley, Hillsong United, Niall Horan, Illenium, Judah And The Lion, Tori Kelly, Kem, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Charles Lloyd, tobyMac, Paul McCartney, Migos, NCT 127, Ne-Yo, NF, Norah Jones, Katy Perry, Gregory Porter, Rich Homie Quan, Maggie Rogers, Calum Scott, Bob Seger, Troye Sivan, Vince Staples, SuperM and Chris Tomlin. For the U.S.: Bastille, Disclosure, Empire Of The Sun, MNEK and Sam Smith.