Introduction
MakeMusic, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (referred to herein as we, us, the Company or
MakeMusic), is a world leader in music education technology whose mission is to develop and market solutions that transform how music is composed, taught, learned and performed. Founded in 1992, we currently have approximately one
hundred thirty employees and are headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
MakeMusic develops and
markets two product lines, notation and SmartMusic, that reinforce each others features and competitiveness. The notation product line includes the well-established Finale
®
family of music notation software products which are utilized by music colleges and composers around the world in the creation of music scores. Finale serves a large
and stable customer base, and generates revenue through sales of new version releases. Also included in the notation product line is MusicXML
TM
, the industry standard open format for notation software and Garritan
TM
sound sample libraries.
SmartMusic
®
is a subscription-based product directed toward the very large and constantly renewing market of music students and music teachers. SmartMusic combines a software
application with a library of thousands of music titles and skill-development exercises. It provides students and musicians with a compelling practice or audition experience and music teachers with the efficiency and effectiveness to reach more
students and assess student achievement and growth.
SmartMusic
Market Need
Music teachers are challenged to reach all of their students
in the way they passionately desire. The SmartMusic technology allows teachers to be more efficient and effective, allowing them to affect more of their students in ways they never imagined. SmartMusic also addresses the increasing desire and need
of educators and administrators to document the assessment of students achievement. Assessment standards have become topics of intense interest at the state level of education administrators and MakeMusic is becoming recognized as having the
technology that allows them to accomplish their goals. As a result, MakeMusic is expanding the assessment capabilities in SmartMusic to include the association of assignments to state standards, rubrics to evaluate student assignments, student
portfolio and multiple choice capabilities. Students find that SmartMusic is a satisfying and helpful way to practice and learn to sing or play a musical instrument. SmartMusic allows practice to be more engaging and rewarding, which results in the
acceleration of students growth and achievement.
The SmartMusic Solution
SmartMusic software is an interactive music teaching, practicing and learning solution for band, orchestra and vocal programs, for use in
the classroom and in the students home. SmartMusic enhances and transforms the hours spent practicing by putting students inside a professional band or orchestra, so that they can hear how the
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music is supposed to be performed and how their part fits in. This makes practicing much more engaging, causing students to practice longer and more often. SmartMusic also offers a rich variety
of effective practice tools that make practice time more efficient and productive. The combination of making practice time more engaging and productive leads to rapid student skill-development, increased student confidence, higher student retention,
and stronger music programs.
Teachers use the SmartMusic Gradebook capability of the educators subscription to
issue assignments to students, receive completed assignments from students, assess student achievement, and manage student records. The grade book process works as follows:
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1.
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Teachers log in to SmartMusic Gradebook via a web browser and through Android or iOS mobile devices, select the piece and pre-defined assignment, set a due date and
point value and issue the assignment. This process takes the teacher about one minute.
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2.
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Students log in to SmartMusic at home or at a school practice room, click on the assignment and see practice instructions. Students can use SmartMusics practice
tools: slow down the tempo, hear how their part is performed, set practice loops, use the tuner, etc. Students performances are recorded, visually assessed and scored for note and rhythm. Students can listen to the recordings and visually see
which notes and rhythms need to be improved on through the use of a red and green notation assessment for incorrect and correct performance, respectively. Students submit the performance of their choice as their completed assignment and accompanying
the performance is the SmartMusic assessed score of achievement.
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3.
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Students submit the performance of their choice as their completed assignment. Accompanying the performance is the SmartMusic assessed score of achievement which the
teachers SmartMusic Gradebook receives. Students only need an Internet connection to do this, no browser or e-mail program is required.
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4.
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Teachers receive submitted assessed graded assignments in their SmartMusic Gradebook. If the teacher required students to submit recordings of an assignment, the
recordings are also in the Gradebook. Teachers can listen to recordings with a single click, which facilitates an efficient grading process. In 2011, we released Android and iOS apps for mobile use by teachers, enabling them to review, listen to and
comment on students assignments with ease and mobility. Teachers also find the app extremely useful as an engagement tool with parents during parent teacher conferences.
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SmartMusic Assignments
With SmartMusic and SmartMusic Gradebook, teachers
have the assistance of technology to influence students home practice time and measure individual student achievement. They are able to use student records in SmartMusic Gradebook to explain semester grades to students and their parents.
SmartMusic Gradebook also makes it easy for a teacher to share recordings of students performance with parents, via email or live in parent teacher conferences. This encourages parents to be more actively involved in their childs musical
education.
SmartMusic assignments hold students accountable for their practice and mastery, which makes practice time more
rewarding and inspiring. Third-party interviews with students have shown that they prefer the autonomy of using SmartMusic and SmartMusic Gradebook to practice and submit completed assignments privately at home, rather than performing in front of
their teacher and peers.
An administrator can audit his or her teachers SmartMusic Gradebook to verify that student
achievement is consistently being measured and that students are developing skills and achieving desired competency levels. This provides tangible justification for the music program, which is generally acknowledged as very important to the school
district and to the overall growth of the student.
How Does SmartMusic Develop Skills and Motivate Students?
SmartMusic provides a rich combination of features that helps students focus their practice time and master specific skills, contributing
to a more engaging and rewarding practice. These features include the following:
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Assessment.
SmartMusic assesses student performance. Wrong notes and rhythms turn red while correct notes turn green. SmartMusic scores each attempt by the
students, giving the student total autonomy in mastering their music.
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Practice with professional accompaniment.
SmartMusic puts the student into a professional ensemble through background music. The music comes alive for them as
they hear how professional musicians create the drama, excitement and beauty of the music.
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Practice at slower tempos.
Students need to slow music down in order to master the technical challenges. SmartMusic allows students to set any tempo and then
gradually build up speed.
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Hear how their part is performed.
SmartMusic can play each students part so that they can hear how a professional would perform it.
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Record.
Students often cannot hear what they are doing wrong as they sing or play. SmartMusic allows them to record themselves so that they can instantly hear
what needs to be corrected.
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Follow me feature.
When practicing solo literature that requires expressive interpretation, SmartMusic listens to the students as they speed up or slow down and
the accompaniment follows their tempo changes. Students are free to experiment with phrasing, learning to project their personalities into the music and make it their own.
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Practice performing in tune.
The SmartMusic tuner is built in and helps students hear where the pitch should be.
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Fingering charts.
When students do not know how to finger a note, they can just click on it to see its fingering chart. SmartMusic automatically provides the
right chart for the instrument that the student is playing.
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Practice loops.
Students can isolate difficult measures for concentrated practice.
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Skill-development exercises in all keys.
SmartMusic includes a large library of exercises that foster skills related to scales, intervals, arpeggios, rhythms,
playing by ear and jazz improvisation.
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Wide range of repertoire.
The SmartMusic accompaniment library includes classical, jazz, opera, worship, musical theater, classic rock, pop and other genres. The
accompaniments, made by professionals, are stylistic, authentic and fun to practice with.
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Licensing, Publisher Relations and
Content Development
Content is critical to SmartMusics success. We determine teachers preferred titles by
studying published lists of titles such as 1) state contest approved lists, 2) most often performed lists, 3) best-selling lists, 4) basic library lists and 5) most teacher-requested lists. Additionally, publisher requests, input from subscribers
and information from JW Pepper, the largest sheet music retailer, are factors considered to determine content.
While the
SmartMusic library contains many titles and exercises that are either in the public domain or copyrighted by MakeMusic, the vast majority of SmartMusic content is licensed. Licenses for band, orchestra and vocal titles typically cover three usages:
1) the right to include the title in SmartMusic, 2) the right to display the music notation (and lyrics if applicable) on-screen, and 3) the right to use an audio recording of the title.
These rights are licensed from a wide range of music publishers, including industry leaders such as Hal Leonard Corporation, Alfred
Publishing and Music Sales, Ltd. MakeMusic has been successful at licensing titles for use within SmartMusic and believes it has good relations with the publishing community at large. However, there is no guarantee that licensing efforts will
continue to be successful in the future.
The content development process for SmartMusic includes the following: 1) editing
Finale notation files supplied by publishers or engraving the files with Finale and modeling the result on the published music, 2) synchronizing the audio recording file with the Finale notation file, 3) marking the audio file as needed for use
within SmartMusic, 4) defining assignments for all large ensemble titles, and 5) testing the final file. Once this process is complete, the file is added to the library database and posted for available download to subscribers. The development costs
for each title added into SmartMusic are capitalized and when added to the library database, amortized over a five-year period. The costs for band titles are more expensive than vocal and orchestra titles due to their complexity and number of parts
required. Development costs will vary depending upon the complexity of each title.
4
In March 2012, MakeMusic announced an agreement with music publisher, Hal Leonard
Corporation, to expand our SmartMusic music library to include popular songs and contemporary hits. These songs will be available for purchase from within the SmartMusic application on a pay-per-title basis which will be separate from the
subscription price. Development and product release is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
As of December 31, 2012,
SmartMusic had 2,291 titles available for band, 285 for jazz ensemble and 902 titles available for orchestra. These band and orchestra titles are in addition to the thousands of titles in SmartMusic of solo literature, numerous beginning methods and
skill-development exercises including sight reading and sight singing.
SmartMusic Application Development
The SmartMusic application is developed by an internal team of software programmers and testers. Certain technologies are licensed from
third parties and then adapted for use within SmartMusic. Development priorities are set by researching how teachers and students use SmartMusic, noting what improvements and additions are required.
The SmartMusic application coordinates a complex web of interacting technologies that include 1) playback of music, either synthesized or
audio, 2) display of music notation on-screen with Finale technology, 3) use of a microphone attachment to record a students performance, 4) recognition of notes and rhythms and comparison of a students performance to what is notated, 5)
communication of errors and correction techniques to students, and 6) the support of a growing selection of skill-development features that accelerate student learning. In addition, the application has features, such as Follow Me which
allow students to develop their skills of expression for solo literature.
Most importantly, the SmartMusic application
communicates directly with the SmartMusic Gradebook, making the posting and submitting of assignments automatic and problem-free. It also manages aspects of the subscription service as well as content updates.
In November 2012, we announced the spring 2013 release of an iPad
®
version of SmartMusic which will offer much of the functionality found in the desktop version. The app will include quality practice tools, assessment and
accompaniment features as well as access to the content library with a SmartMusic subscription. The assignment capability will be available in the fall of 2013. Schools throughout the United States are using iPads in the classroom and this will
bring SmartMusics key features to the mobile device.
Licensed Technology
Certain pitch recognition software incorporated into SmartMusic for purposes of music performance assessment is licensed from Institut de
Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) which is based in Paris, France. The license agreement continues in perpetuity and was exclusive to SmartMusic through November 24, 2009. In light of the constantly changing environment of
music technology, coupled with an increase in alternative technology sources, we do not believe the expiration of this license exclusivity has had a material impact on SmartMusic.
SmartMusic Patents
We licensed, from Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU) on a worldwide basis for the life of the patent, the use of the U.S. patent that covers the automated accompaniment developed by MakeMusic that listens to and follows tempo changes from a live performance. Although this patent
expired in 2005, we have further developed this technology and patented additional features. We have obtained five additional patents that protect improvements to the user control of the software and that contain certain aspects of the repertoire
file that enhance the softwares algorithms, accompaniment controls and repertoire data file capabilities and expand miscellaneous interface features of the product. As a result of the additional patented features we have developed, strong
synergy with our Finale notation product and continuing development of an extensive library of licensed repertoire, we do not believe that SmartMusic has been or will be materially affected by the expiration in 2005 of the CMU patent.
5
In 2012, we filed a patent for Method and Apparatus for Computer-Mediated Timed Sight
Reading with Assessment. This patent is pending.
SmartMusic Website and Back Office Development
The SmartMusic Gradebook is the most visible aspect of the web support provided to the SmartMusic application. We use another layer of
interacting technologies, databases and services to support the Gradebook. This ensures that the SmartMusic solution is comprehensive and that the SmartMusic experience is logical, efficient and enjoyable.
The website and back-office services are also developed by an internal team of programmers and testers. Certain aspects of this
development are sometimes handled by external contractors with any development remaining the property of MakeMusic.
SmartMusic Accessories
The primary SmartMusic accessories are the instrumental microphone and the vocal microphone headset. These microphones are
inserted into the microphone input of the computer and their audio signal is routed to the SmartMusic software for recording and assessment analysis. The instrumental microphone has a plastic-coated tip that allows it to be clipped onto a musical
instrument or the students clothing. We outsource the microphone manufacturing to suppliers who can meet the specifications at competitive pricing. During 2012, the suggested retail price of the SmartMusic microphones was $19.95 and the USB
microphone for Macintosh users retailed for $29.95. When SmartMusic is used on an iPad, a microphone will not be required.
SmartMusic
Subscription Business
SmartMusic is sold as an annual subscription. Currently, teacher subscriptions, which include the
SmartMusic Gradebook, are priced at $140. Additional subscriptions for school computers and student home subscriptions are priced at $36. Multi-year subscriptions are also available. In July 2013, SmartMusic will be changing to a per user licensing
model instead of the per device model that is currently in place. This will allow subscribers to access their subscription on any computer, anywhere. At that time, the price of an annual student academic subscription will be increasing to $40 and
the price for home hobbyists will be $50. Additionally, annual school practice room licenses will be available for $8 per student. Educator subscription pricing remains unchanged at $140 per year. We evaluate our pricing on an annual basis and
additional changes may occur in the future.
We believe that teachers greater reliance on SmartMusic to prepare concert
music and develop student skills, together with ongoing emphasis on documented assessment of achievement, will result in greater utilization of SmartMusic Gradebook and assignments. Because SmartMusic assesses and grades automatically, teachers can
quickly issue all assignments related to scales, intervals, arpeggios, rhythms and solo repertoire as well as their concert music. As teachers post a greater number of SmartMusic assignments, we expect that more students will be motivated to have
SmartMusic at home and that our student subscription rates will increase.
Among the statistics by which investors can
evaluate SmartMusic growth are the following:
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Number of SmartMusic educator accounts
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Total number of SmartMusic subscriptions
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Subscriptions purchased during the period
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Educator subscription renewal rates
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SmartMusic subscriptions are sold directly to teachers, parents and students. Marketing communications consist primarily of presentations, clinics and exhibits at music educator state conferences, e-mail
and on-line. Direct sales efforts are typically aimed at major accounts matching our ideal demographic profile. We are also focusing dedicated business development efforts on key music education states and states where legislation has been enacted
requiring music educators to measure growth, assess and document student progress.
SmartMusic Sales and Marketing
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The market for SmartMusic is large, with student use being the largest potential market. It
is estimated that approximately 55,000 school buildings offer instrumental programs and recent independent research suggests that an estimated 6,000,000 students participate in instrumental music programs in our target market with additional
students participating in general music and vocal programs. We believe the key to expanding the number of subscriptions for students is producing a compelling reason for educators to make SmartMusic an integral part of their curriculum and the basis
for how they assess student achievement and their alignment with state standards. Further, we believe that the majority of students will prefer the convenience and enhanced practice experience of completing SmartMusic assignments at home with the
use of technology and it is this dynamic that will continue to drive subscription growth.
As of December 31, 2012,
MakeMusic had more than 13,200 teacher accounts with active SmartMusic subscriptions. Since these teachers are already using SmartMusic, they will likely be the first to adopt SmartMusic Gradebook and embrace the concept of requiring students to
submit frequent SmartMusic assignments. Therefore, this group of users represents one of our most important target segments. We are able to track when each teacher creates a SmartMusic Gradebook account, when they set up a class and the number of
students enrolled. As a result, we have the ability to tailor our direct marketing messages.
The SmartMusic solution provides
administrators with the ability to easily measure individual student achievement and growth, create and deliver district-wide curriculum and provide parents with secure on-line access to student assignments and grades. Based on this solution,
MakeMusic has established a direct sales organization. The major account representatives have an objective of calling on district decision-makers and individual band, orchestra and choral directors.
Prospecting efforts are largely based on major accounts in target states based on student population, average household income and
geography. Priorities are established by leads obtained at tradeshows and clinics and identifying current users in target districts and requesting their assistance in setting up a meeting and presentation with district decision-makers and other
music educators within the district and in neighboring districts.
Our SmartMusic marketing efforts are primarily focused on
the U.S. and Canadian markets and directed at public and private school music administrators, instrumental music and choral educators and their students. With the new assessment capabilities, we will also be expanding our focus to general music
educators. In addition to aggressive direct marketing programs, MakeMusic participates in more than 30 annual music educator conventions and presents SmartMusic clinics in a variety of settings, including webinars, to cultivate demand.
The primary distribution for SmartMusic subscriptions is via our direct sales organization and the
www.smartmusic.com
website
(linked with
www.makemusic.com
and
www.finalemusic.com
). School orders are normally processed directly through the MakeMusic customer support department.
SmartMusic Competition
SmartMusic is a revolutionary concept that created
a new product category for teaching and learning music. As such, it entered the market with no direct competitors and no major competitors exist today.
At this time, no competitor has a library of content comparable to SmartMusic. Nor does any competitor have SmartMusic Gradebook functionality, the Follow Me feature, or the ability to utilize Finale
files for user-created content. We believe these features, as well as our long-standing relationships with major industry partners, our existing subscriber base, our comprehensive repertoire and our competitive pricing strategies, represent
significant competitive barriers, but we can make no assurances that SmartMusic will not face challenging competition in the future. Market entrants who are introducing products with limited comparable features to SmartMusic include Chromatik Inc.,
Miso Media Inc. and Tonara.
NotationFinale products
We are a market leader in music notation software with our Finale family of products for use with Macintosh
®
and Windows
®
PC operating systems. Music notation software enables a musician to enter musical data into a computer using either the computer keyboard, a MIDI- (Musical Instrument
Digital Interface) equipped
7
electronic music keyboard or other MIDI-equipped instruments and contemporaneously display the data on a computer screen as a musical score. We are one of the dominant methods for composers,
arrangers, publishers and music teachers to create printed music. With the growth in portable computer display technologies, Finale also makes it possible for customers to share digital scores for review and performance.
The Finale product is a powerful and comprehensive notation software product which is sold worldwide. Finale music notation software has
a suggested retail price of $600. Finale software is differentiated from other music notation software by its breadth and depth of features and the highest quality printing required for professional use, customizable music education worksheets and
inclusion of world class sounds.
We also produce an Academic/Theological Edition of the Finale product that is sold
exclusively to schools, teachers, college students and religious organizations at a suggested retail price of $350. This edition has been a key source of revenue and registered user-base growth. In addition, it reaches a market that is continuously
replenished with new student users.
The Finale product is currently translated into German, French, Italian, Swedish and
Japanese. All transactions with our international customers are completed in U.S. currency.
Finale
PrintMusic
®
and Finale SongWriter
®
are entry-level music notation software products, retailing for $119.95 and $49.95, respectively. Each contains a subset of the notation tools contained in the Finale
product. These products allow us to offer entry-level products to the retail customer, thereby expanding the base of registered users and increasing the potential for sales of notation software upgrades. These products are targeted to a broad
audience in the education and general consumer marketplace. They are both available through our reseller network as well via download directly from our website. In addition they are also sold internationally and available in German, French, Dutch,
Italian and Japanese.
Finale NotePad
®
is an introduction to the Finale notation family and provides a quick and easy method to transform musical ideas into printed music. Finale NotePad was available via
download for $9.95 in 2011. Beginning on February 15, 2012, it was offered free of charge.
Finale SongBook,
released in June 2012, is a free music app that enables iPad users to view, play and print electronic sheet music. SongBook directly supports files created by the Finale family of music notation software and is offered free of charge.
Finale Sales and Marketing
As of December 31, 2012, Finale notation products were sold through approximately 50 distributors serving countries world-wide. In the United States and Canada, the Finale family of notation products
is sold by channel-specific distributors and retailers in the musical instrument, educational and consumer electronic channels, as well as directly from our website. Our products are merchandised through a combination of websites, catalogs and
in-store displays. We support these efforts with a modest co-op advertising program. We have a domestic distribution agreement with Hal Leonard Corporation, the largest music publisher in the world, to provide our products to U.S. and Canadian
musical instrument and print music retailers. Additionally, Finale 2012 was offered for sale via download from our website in 2011.
Upgrades and trade-ups are marketed and sold exclusively by MakeMusic in North America. MakeMusic requires all notation products sold in North America to be registered and we regularly market upgrades and
trade-ups to the registered user database. Each campaign is evaluated based on the return on investment and against original projections. All Finale products operate on both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
Internationally, Finale notation products are represented by key distributors in many overseas territories. Finale is translated into
German, French, Japanese, Swedish and Italian. MakeMusic markets a variety of Finale notation education offerings to schools, students and other qualified institutions including the Finale Academic edition and the Finale site license. The Finale
site license provides educational discounts for volume purchases.
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Education sales have steadily increased, although the mix is shifting towards site licenses indicating wider acceptance and use of Finale notation software in educational settings.
Customers can also utilize Finale software to create accompaniments for use with SmartMusic. A Finale file is saved as a SmartMusic
accompaniment and becomes part of the SmartMusic solution. This interplay provides MakeMusic with cross-marketing opportunities between Finale and SmartMusic users and products and also provides a unique differentiator in the marketplace.
As more products are increasingly purchased on-line and software specifically is increasingly downloaded, or in the case of
mobile devices, downloaded only, we expect to see a continued shift towards direct downloaded notation sales and lower sales through our distribution channel. During 2012, we made significant investments in standardizing the Finale file format and
modernizing our Finale engine, which drives all the Finale notation products and the SmartMusic product. We will continue to invest in improving the user experience, as standards of expectation of the interface have become well established. These
investments are required to leverage the capabilities of newer operating systems and the devices and delivery that customers expect to be able to use with software. We believe that continued investments in our Finale engine and user experience will
ensure the long-term health and viability of our business.
Finale Patents
In 2012, we filed a patent for Distribution of Audio Sheet Music as an Electronic Book. This patent is pending.
Finale Competition
The
notation market is highly competitive and includes competitors such as, Avid/Sibelius Software, NOTION Music, Inc., Gvox/Encore, MusScore, Noteflight and Capella Software. Competitive factors in marketing Finale products include product features,
quality, brand recognition, ease of use, customer support, our long-tenured development team, merchandising, distribution channels, retail shelf space and price. We believe we compete effectively through regular upgrades and marketing initiatives
and continue to maintain dominant market share.
NotationGarritan Sound Libraries
In December 2011, MakeMusic acquired Garritan Corporation, a leading provider of virtual software instruments. Garritan software libraries
are used in conjunction with music-writing software such as Finale and provide realistic sounds comparable to a live performance. Garritan sounds are widely used in television, film, game audio and on concert stages. Samples of Garritan sound
libraries are also incorporated into Finale and are part of MakeMusics notation product line.
The suite of Garritan
libraries include Garritan Personal Orchestra, World Instruments, Concert & Marching Band, Jazz & Big Band, Instant Orchestra and the recent releases of Classic Pipe Organs and Garritan Harps. The suggested retail prices for the
libraries range from $99.95 to $179.95. Upgrades from prior versions are also available for $49.95. The Garritan Ultimate Collection, which combines six Garritan virtual software instrument libraries, was released in November 2012 with a suggested
retail price of $600. As of December 31, 2012, Garritan sound libraries were sold through approximately 20 distributors serving countries world-wide as well as direct from our website. MakeMusic intends to release two to four new sound
libraries annually to expand the Garritan suite of products.
Garritan Competition
The virtual instrument sound library market is competitive and includes competitors such as EastWest/Quantum Leap, Miroslav Philharmonik,
Vienna Symphonic, ProjectSAM and Fable Sounds. Garritan libraries are differentiated by their affordable price point and easy-to-use libraries that work in the learning and
9
production environments. They contain instruments representing all families of orchestral instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboard instruments.
Synergies between SmartMusic and Notation products
From a technology perspective, there are considerable synergies between the SmartMusic business and the Finale notation business because the products benefit from shared technologies. The Finale notation
technology, for example, is used within SmartMusic to display, among other things, sheet music, exercises and beginning band method songs. It is this technology that puts red and green notes on the screen to show SmartMusic students what they played
incorrectly and how to correct their mistakes. The synergistic integration between SmartMusic and Finale notation products represents a differentiator for our notation products and provides a barrier to entry into the marketplace. Likewise, the
ability to create SmartMusic repertoire using the Finale product is a major benefit for SmartMusic customers. Additionally, samples of Garritan sounds are incorporated into Finale.
General Information
Customer Support
As of December 31, 2012, customer support for all products is handled by 25 employees and as of December 31, 2011, our customer
support staff totaled 21. They are supported by knowledge-based software that allows customers to ask questions on-line at
www.finalemusic.com
,
www.smartmusic.com
and
www.garritan.com
and then presents them with answers. As new
questions are asked by customers, the database of questions and answers is expanded. This software reduces the number of contacts reaching customer support employees and thus enhances efficiency, reduces cost and provides a better experience for
customers.
Principal Sources and Suppliers
Printing of user manuals, packaging and the manufacture of related materials are performed to our specifications by outside subcontractors. We currently use one subcontractor to perform standard copying
and assembling services, including copying software DVD and CD-ROM discs and assembling the product manuals, discs and other product literature into packages. If this subcontractor is unable to perform, there are alternative vendors that we could
use for this service. Our instrumental and vocal microphones are each currently provided by two separate vendors that are sole source suppliers. We believe there are alternative vendors available if our subcontractors are unable to supply
microphones.
Dependence on Major Customers
As of December 31, 2012, no distributor or direct customer for either our SmartMusic or Finale products represented more than 10% of total revenue.
Product Development
At
December 31, 2012 and 2011, there were 54 and 53 employees, respectively, involved in product development for SmartMusic and Finale products at MakeMusic. This staff engages in research and development of new products, enhancements to existing
products, business systems support, repertoire development and quality assurance testing. Outside contractors are also used to support our product development initiatives.
MakeMusics non-capitalized expenditures for product development were $7,554,000 and $4,638,000 in 2012 and 2011, representing 42.6% and 27.3% of gross revenues, respectively. These expenses include
the costs for our notation upgrades, product maintenance releases and support for our business systems. Product development costs increased significantly in 2012 due to modernization efforts, file format standardization, user experience
enhancements, the addition of MusicXML and Garritan sound libraries, and expansion to mobile platforms.
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Trademarks
We own the registered trademarks in the United States for Allegro
®
, Dolet
®
, Finale
®
, Finale Allegro
®
, Finale NotePad
®
, Finale
PrintMusic
®
, Finale Reader
®
, Finale SongWriter
®
, Finale
Viewer
®
, FinaleScript
®
, Garritan Instant Orchestra
®
,
Garritan Personal Orchestra
®
, Gigapiano
®
, Gigastudio
®
, Gigasampler
®
,HumanPlayback
®
, HyperScribe
®
, In the
Beginning,Was the Note
®
, Intelligent Accompaniment
®
, MakeMusic
®
, MicNotator
®
, Recordare
®
, Sampalaign Sonic Morphing
®
,
ScoreManager
®
, SmartFind and Paint
®
, SmartMusic
®
, SmartMusic
Impact
®
, StudioView
®
, and TempoTap
®
, and In
addition, the names Finale
®
, Finale in Katakana
®
, Finale NotePad
®
, Finale
PrintMusic
®
, Finale SongWriter
®
, Finale Viewer
®
, Garritan
®
, Intelligent Accompaniment
®
, MakeMusic
®
, SmartMusic
®
and The Art of Music Notation
®
have been protected in some foreign countries. We have applied for trademark registration in the United States for ARIA Engine
TM
, ARIA
Player
TM
, Finale SongBook
TM
, Garritan
TM
, Garritan Classic Pipe Organs
TM
, Garritan Concert & Marching Band
TM
, Garritan Jazz & Big Band
TM
. Garritan Ultimate Collection
TM
, Garritan World Instruments
TM
, SmartMusic GradeBook
TM
and SmartMusic Inbox
TM
. In addition to our own registered trademarks listed above, this report also contains references to trademarks owned
by third parties.
Technology Infrastructure
The MakeMusic data center is comprised of both on and offsite facilities. MakeMusics systems are operated internally with the assistance of certain third-party providers and offer extensive uptime
and connectivity to the Internet via fiber optic connections. MakeMusics technology infrastructure utilizes industry standard best practices to provide availability and uptime in line with our customers expectations.
Transaction with LaunchEquity
On March 13, 2013, we announced that LaunchEquity Acquisition Partners, LLC Designated Series Education Partners (Parent), LEAP Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent
(Purchaser), and LaunchEquity Partners, LLC, a direct or indirect sponsor entity of Parent and Purchaser (LaunchEquity), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement) with us whereby Parent
will acquire us. The acquisition will be carried out in two steps. The first step is the tender offer by Purchaser to purchase all of our outstanding shares of common stock at a price of $4.85 per share in cash (the
Offer). It is anticipated that the Offer will be commenced around the end of March 2013. The Offer is subject to customary conditions.
Following the successful completion of the Offer, Purchaser will, as the second step, merge with MakeMusic, and all shares of our common stock not purchased in the Offer (other than shares held by
Purchaser or Parent and shares for which appraisal rights are perfected under applicable law) will be converted into the right to receive $4.85 in cash per share (the Merger). In addition, under the terms of the Merger Agreement,
Purchaser is granted an option to acquire up to one share more than 90% of our issued and outstanding common stock if necessary to allow this second step, back-end merger to be conducted as a short-form merger under Minnesota law, which
would not require a shareholder vote. The Merger is subject to customary conditions.
Available Information
All reports filed electronically by MakeMusic with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its annual reports
on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy and information statements, other information and amendments to those reports filed (if applicable), are accessible at no cost by contacting the Investor Relations
department at MakeMusic. These filings are also accessible on the SECs website at
www.sec.gov
. The public may read and copy any materials filed by MakeMusic with the SEC at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE,
Washington, DC 20549. The public may also obtain information from the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
Cautionary Statements
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Reform Act) provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements
made by us or on our behalf. We have made, and may continue to make, various written or verbal forward-looking statements with respect to business and financial matters, including statements contained in this document, other filings with the SEC and
reports to shareholders. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and can be identified by the use of terminology such as believe, estimate, expect, intend,
may, could, will and similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made.
Our forward-looking statements generally relate to the following: the transactions under the Merger Agreement with LaunchEquity and its affiliates; expected benefits from our business development efforts;
our intent to expand our product and content offerings, including the development of sound libraries, the addition of titles and method books to SmartMusic, the develop and release of new products and features, additions to our pay-per-title
licensing program and the expansion of our products to additional platforms, such as iPad; beliefs about our ability to compete in the music software industry; expectations and beliefs relating to our vendors, contractors and suppliers; beliefs
about the impact of intellectual property and licensing rights and our ability to develop, license and maintain intellectual property rights in the future; expectations relating to our business model and strategy; expectations with regard to the
growth of SmartMusic and the identification of metrics that are indicative of such growth; the adequacy of our leased facility; expectations with respect to sales strategies and future product distribution methods; expected development, production,
marketing, capital, selling, general and administrative, and other expenses; beliefs relating to the market penetration of our products, including expectations in regard to subscription rates, site agreements, international sales, synergies between
our products lines, and sales; expectations regarding our results of operations; expectations and beliefs regarding executive compensation
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arrangements; beliefs with respect to realization of deferred tax assets and our intent to retain earnings for use in operations. Forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed and actual
results may vary materially due to the uncertainties and risks, known and unknown, associated with such statements. We do not intend to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law. We wish to caution investors that the following
important factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect our actual results of operations and cause such results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements made in this document and
elsewhere by us or on our behalf. It is not possible to foresee or identify all factors that could cause actual results to differ from expected or historic results. As such, investors should not consider any list of such factors to be an exhaustive
statement of all risks, uncertainties, or potentially inaccurate assumptions.
We currently believe that we have sufficient
capital, but we may have other future capital needs.
We experienced a net decrease in cash in 2012 due to lower operating cash flow and expenses related to planned investments in product development and sales and marketing initiatives and
general and administrative expense increases. We expect our operating cash flows to be positive in the future, provided we continue to increase revenue and manage expenses. We believe our cash reserves are sufficient to execute our strategies. If we
do not maintain positive cash flow, or if there is a significant change in our business plan or operating results, we may need additional capital in the form of debt or equity financing to continue to operate the business. There is no assurance that
additional debt or equity financing will be available to us on favorable terms or at all.
We are dependent upon our new
product development efforts.
Additional development work is required to increase the breadth of and provide periodic upgrades to our SmartMusic and Finale products, to expand the accompaniment repertoire for SmartMusic and to release new sound
sample libraries. There can be no assurance that our timetable for any of our development plans will be achieved, that sufficient development resources will be available, that we will be able to retain or maximize contributions from key individuals
who joined MakeMusic as part of our recent acquisitions, that development efforts will be successful, or that we will achieve the anticipated revenue growth associated with these product offerings.
We are dependent upon the Internet in our business.
We are dependent on the Internet to activate our SmartMusic subscriptions and
secure our licensed content. We also utilize the Internet to process orders and to make certain products available for download. Critical issues concerning the commercial use of the Internet, including security, cost, ease of use and access,
intellectual property ownership, and other legal liability issues, remain unresolved and could materially and adversely affect both the growth of Internet usage generally and our business in particular. If we experience problems developing and
maintaining our Internet operations, our sales, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We
are dependent upon obtaining and maintaining license agreements with music publishers, of which there are a limited number.
The world market for music license rights is highly concentrated among a limited number of publishers. We have entered
into license agreements with leading music publishers that provide access to certain musical titles for accompaniment development. Many of our contracts with major publishers are not exclusive, which means that similar agreements may be made with
competitors or that the publishers themselves may sell the same titles. While we believe that our relationships with these publishers are good, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or expand these relationships. The lack of a
sufficient number and variety of musical arrangements would greatly limit the ability to market our products and services.
Certain of our products have limited and fluctuating sales.
Sales of our SmartMusic subscription products have not achieved, and
may not achieve, significant levels. Further, Internet sales have fluctuated, as have sales of Finale products, which are historically higher following the release of product upgrades and were impacted in 2012 due to no Finale product release during
the year. We believe that results of operations may fluctuate as a result of, among other things, the purchasing cycle of the education market and the timing of releases of new products and product upgrades. Certain states have had significant
budget deficits and education funding cuts, which could negatively impact sales of products to the education market. Additionally, we have rapidly expanded our direct educational sales organization. There is no guarantee that our sales strategy will
result in increased SmartMusic subscriptions. We may also have limited success retaining sales personnel.
The uncertainty
in worldwide economic conditions may divert consumer spending from our products.
The spending habits of our target group of students and their families are often impacted by general economic conditions. If the improvement of economic conditions
remains uncertain in the United States or internationally, our
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target customers discretionary income and purchasing decisions may change. This could negatively impact Notation sales, SmartMusic subscription rates and accessory sales.
We have incurred operating losses in the past and may incur losses in the future.
While we were profitable for the seven years
prior to fiscal 2012, we incurred losses from operations in fiscal 2012 and may incur such losses in the future. In order to continue to develop our business and planned product and service offerings, we will be required to continue to devote
capital to, among other things, marketing and development efforts. There can be no assurance that we will operate profitably or provide an economic return to investors.
We face intense competition.
While competition for SmartMusic is relatively limited, there can be no assurance that others, such as large electronic and musical instrument manufacturers, will not
enter this market. Competition in the notation line of business could also potentially adversely impact future sales levels. Our ability to continue to compete effectively will be substantially dependent upon our ability to continue to improve our
product offerings and our sales and marketing initiatives. If such improvements and development efforts do not materialize as intended, we may lose our ability to differentiate our products from those of our competitors. In addition, increasing
competition in the music software market could cause prices to fall and the volume of transactions to decline, either of which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Rapid technological changes and obsolescence may adversely affect our business.
We operate in an industry greatly affected by
technological changes. Continued advancements in computer software, hardware, operating systems and network designs and formats may impact our ability to effectively maintain our Internet-based sales efforts in a workable and user-friendly format.
The proprietary technology we use to protect access to our licensed files may be effective for only a limited period by reason of technological change. We must, therefore, devote new resources to improve or modify this security system, which is a
critical aspect of our ability to establish and maintain relationships with music publishers. While we currently believe that we have sufficient resources to address technological changes that may affect our business, there can be no assurance that
any such technological changes will not prove too much for us to overcome in a cost-effective manner.
The success of our
web-based products and services is dependent upon our ability to protect user information and comply with data protection laws and regulations.
In connection with the use of our web-based products, users provide us with certain personal
information. The collection, use, disclosure or security of personal information or other privacy-related matters are regulated by applicable data protection laws. While we strive to comply with all applicable data protection laws and regulations,
as well as our own posted privacy policies, any failure or perceived failure to comply may result in proceedings or actions against us by government entities, individuals or others, which could potentially have an adverse effect on our business.
Further, federal, state, and international regulations regarding privacy and data protection may become more stringent in the future, which could increase our cost of compliance.
In addition, as our SmartMusic Gradebook product is web-based, the amount of data we store for our users on our servers and in the cloud
(including personal information) has been increasing. Any systems failure or compromise of our security that results in the release of our users data could seriously limit the adoption of our products as well as harm our reputation and brand
and, therefore, our business. We may also need to expend significant resources to protect against system failure or security breaches. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand the
number of subscribers to our products.
We are dependent upon key personnel.
Our performance is closely linked to the
performance of our management and key personnel. Recently, we have made significant changes among our executives and key personnel. Such changes, and the time and costs associated with locating and integrating replacements, could affect our ability
to execute our strategic plans.
We are dependent upon proprietary technology and cannot assure protection of such
technology.
There can be no assurance that our proprietary technology will provide us with significant competitive advantages, that other companies will not develop substantially equivalent technology, or that we will be able to protect our
technologies. We could incur substantial costs in seeking enforcement of our patents or in defending ourselves against patent infringement claims by others. Further, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain patent
protection in the markets in which we intend to offer products.
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International development plans are subject to numerous risks.
There can be no
guarantee that our international expansion efforts will be successful or that we will be able to offset the cost of the resources allocated to such efforts. Moreover, we could be faced with the risks inherent in any international development, such
as unpredictable changes in export restrictions, barriers, and customs rates; currency risks; the difficulty of managing foreign operations; the differences in technological standards, payment terms and labor laws and practices among countries;
collection problems; political instabilities; seasonal reductions in business; and unforeseen taxes. Such risk factors could harm our international operations and, therefore, our business, operating results, and financial condition.
The market price of our stock may experience volatility.
We cannot speculate as to the future market price of our
common stock. Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, significant price volatility due to a number of factors, including fluctuations in operating results, changes in market perspectives for our products, developments in
our industry, and general market conditions that may be unrelated to our performance.
We will be exposed to risks relating
to evaluations of controls required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and related regulations implemented by the SEC, are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time consuming. We will continue to
evaluate our internal controls systems to allow management to report on our internal controls. We have performed the system and process evaluation and testing (and any necessary remediation) required to comply with the management certification
requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we fail to maintain effective controls and procedures, we may be unable to provide the required financial information in a timely and reliable manner. Further, if we acquire any business
in the future, we may incur substantial additional costs to bring the acquired business systems into compliance with Section 404.
Significant management judgment is required for certain financial statement entries.
As explained in more detail in Item 7 below under the heading Critical Accounting Estimates,
the preparation of our financial statements requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and
expenses during the periods presented. For example, during 2009, based upon our operating results in recent years and through December 31, 2009 as well as an assessment of our expected future results of operations, we determined that it had
become more likely than not that we would realize a portion of our net deferred tax assets. As a result, during the fourth quarter of 2009, we released $2,564,000 of our valuation allowance. If managements assumptions were inaccurate or
managements judgment was otherwise erroneous, we may be required to adjust the valuation allowance in subsequent financial reporting periods.
We may be unable to realize all of our net deferred tax assets in the future.
As of December 31, 2012, we had cumulative federal net operating loss carry-forwards of approximately $16,031,000
million, which may be utilized in certain circumstances to offset future U.S. taxable income. However, future utilization of NOL carry-forwards is subject to certain limitations, and our ability to use NOLs in the future will be
substantially limited if we experience an ownership change as defined by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Our Board of Directors has adopted a Tax Asset Protection Plan (the Plan) in order to reduce the
likelihood that we experience an ownership change that would limit the use of NOL carry-forwards, but there can be no assurance that the Plan will be effective in preventing an ownership change. In addition, while the Plan is in effect, it could
discourage or prevent a merger, tender offer or proxy contest that shareholders may view as favorable, as well as discourage or prevent the accumulation of substantial blocks of shares for which some shareholders might receive a premium above market
value. It could also affect the liquidity of the market and the price for our common stock. Further, we may incur significant general and administrative expenses if the Plan is triggered. For additional information regarding the Plan, please refer
to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2012, together with the exhibits attached thereto.
If
our acquisition by LaunchEquity is not completed as expected, our stock price, business and results of operations may suffer.
On March 13, 2013, it was announced that LaunchEquity and two of its affiliates, Parent and Purchaser, entered into the
Merger Agreement with us whereby Parent will acquire us. The acquisition will be carried out in two steps. The first step is the tender offer by Purchaser to purchase all of our outstanding shares of common stock at a price of $4.85 per
share in cash (the Offer). The Offer is expected to commence in late March and is subject to customary conditions.
Following the successful completion of the Offer, Purchaser will, as the second step, merge with MakeMusic, and all shares of our common stock not purchased in the Offer (other than shares held by
Purchaser or Parent and shares for which appraisal rights are perfected under applicable law) will be converted into the right to receive $4.85 in cash per share (the Merger). In addition, under the terms of the Merger Agreement,
Purchaser is granted an option to acquire up to one share more than 90% of our issued and outstanding common stock if necessary to allow this second step, back-end merger to be conducted as a short-form merger under Minnesota law, which
would not require a shareholder vote. The Merger is subject to customary conditions.
The Offer or the Merger may not be
consummated in a timely manner or at all if, among other things, an insufficient number of shares are tendered in the Offer, the Offer or the Merger is prevented or delayed by litigation, or closing conditions are not satisfied. If the Offer or the
Merger are not consummated, we could suffer a number of consequences that may adversely affect our business, results of operations and stock price, including:
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activities related to the proposed transactions and related uncertainties may lead to a loss of revenue and market position that we may not be able to
regain if the proposed transaction does not occur;
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the market price of our common stock could decline following an announcement that the proposed transaction had been abandoned or delayed; and
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we would remain liable for our costs related to the proposed transaction, including substantial legal, accounting and investment banking expenses.
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