After the “crazy ride” that 2025 has presented so far, NSM Music is anticipating a fevered response to its new bespoke slimline entertainment solution Phantom at next week’s inaugural ARE show, with sales manager Alex Kirby telling Coinslot “we have no idea how this is going to do, we just know people are really excited for it.”

Coinslot: It’s been a tough start to the year both economically and on the regulatory front, which makes the industry gathering at ARE an important opportunity to test the market as the season shifts into gear. What are you hoping to get from the two days in Manchester?

Alex Kirby: We’re going with an open mind. It’s a new show, so we don’t know what to expect. We don’t know what kind of customer we’re going to get; is it going to be sites, operators, a mixture of both?

I’ve heard it could be international. We’re just going to see where it flows. If there’s a hunger for the show we will always support it, but obviously unless operators or customers support it, it’s not going to survive. So, we don’t know what we’re going to get from it. It’s exciting. We had the same attitude when we went to IAAPA last October, and that was phenomenal. We’ll wait and see. 

Coinslot: In terms of product, what innovations and new launches will visitors be seeing on your stand next week?

Alex Kirby: At EAG we showed an up-and-coming product which we’ll have in the third/fourth quarter of this year called Phantom, and we’ll be showing that at ARE.

It’s a slimline unit, PC size, about 100mm by 100mm, which connects to an amplifier and external screens. You communicate with that via Co-Pilot, and with that little bit of hardware you can specifically pick which facility you want it to run, whether that’s background music, virtual jukebox where people can interact via the app, Quiz, or if people want advertising, this little unit can be bespoke to every location, individually, and that will be a minimal cost for that product. 

That will fit every location out there, whether it’s a jukebox location, or background music location, and it’s a low-cost solution. 

Coinslot: We’re now into the second quarter of 2025, what have been the highlights of the year so far in terms of business development and product launches?

Alex Kirby:  The Atom’s still very strong, that has to be a highlight of the year. That’s still going out there like you wouldn’t believe, we’re still struggling to keep up with demand. But I would say the excitement over the Phantom, people are asking for it, wanting it, so the up and coming new products are a real highlight. 

We have no idea how this is going to do, we just know people are really excited for it, is this going to be the next Atom? It’s been a crazy ride already this year. You look back and you think; crikey, we’re almost in May! It’s a blink of the eye, and we’re just trying to keep up with demand. It’s very exciting, we’ve had EAG, we’ve had the Irish Show, we’ve got this show coming up, and then we’ve got other shows later on in the year so it’s just trying to see everybody, and fit it all in. That’s a definite highlight, the excitement around the NSM brand. 

Coinslot: Looking at the market forces and the somewhat erratic signs regarding movement on the Gambling Review, what do you feel the industry needs to realise the growth we need moving forward?

Alex Kirby:  For NSM, if I could have one wish, I would rub the genie’s lamp and ask for authorities to start helping the industry and not hindering it, I would like them to start policing venues that are using music streaming services which should only be used for personal use, and not commercial use. That would be my number one. 

We know an awful lot of people are using the likes of Spotify, Apple Music etc. for commercial venues, but it’s not allowed to be used. It makes it very difficult to compete with that because it’s so affordable, as it’s for personal use. So we would want the authorities to police that better, or certainly to educate venues and pub groups on what is legal, and what is not. Or; what is right and what is wrong.  

This would have a positive effect within the industry, certainly for operators, but also manufacturers like us. It would give manufacturers more confidence to invest in new products which will then help venues, pub groups and operators. In other words, we need venues and pub groups to help us help them.