Audio Network wins DTI Award at Internet World

Audio Network, the new high quality music and sound effects catalogue, has become the unofficial 'best Internet start-up business in the UK' after winning the DTI's Beyond Bricks Elevator Pitch competition final at Internet World 2002.

The final, held as part of the industry's showcase event at Earl's Court, London, brought together nine finalists from over 200 entrants throughout the UK regions from Edinburgh to Bristol.

Audio Network (www.audiolicense.net) was awarded the top prize of £10,000, comprising £5,000 cash and £5,000 worth of coaching and mentoring services. A team of elite judges from the Internet and new media community nominated their site as the best from a range including e-tailers, content providers and B2B specialists.

Conceived for the benefit of professionals in film, TV and other media, Audio Network's music and sound effects catalogue is designed to bypass the bureaucracy associated with the traditionally complex process of licensing of content. Their composers come from all around the World include names such as Evelyn Glennie, Stewart Copeland, John Dankworth and Tim Renwick.

The company was founded by Robert Hurst & Andrew Sunnucks (the former CFO and Media Director from the international music publishers Boosey & Hawkes) as a joint venture with Soundstorm Inc (Hollywood's premier sound editorial house).

Andrew Sunnucks says: "Audio Network is a unique concept which operates like a club for production professionals. For a small annual fee, members can use as much music as they want in productions, and all the music is automatically cleared for the world in perpetuity. Because Audio Network own all the rights in the music and sound recording there are no restrictions for the user on the company's content."

Audio Network is the first such company to market a quality catalogue covering every genre of music which can be licensed direct to production companies under a simple subscription model, saving customers both time and money in the sourcing of quality content.

Sunnucks said: "I'm delighted to have won the Beyond Bricks competition.

The standard of entries was extraordinarily high and it's great to see some real government help for entrepreneurs. We've been able to talk to other e-businessmen and exchange information with a wide range of new internet companies, thanks to Beyond Bricks."

Neil Howlin, judging the final on behalf of Beyond Bricks said: "It's a real boost for the Internet start-up world to see so many top class digital entrepreneurs in the same room together. Audio Network is a fantastic concept - the idea represents a well-spotted and well-considered opportunity to capture a significant customer-base by developing a contemporary approach to an entrenched market."

Beyond Bricks (www.beyondbricks.com) - the DTI-backed definitive portal for Internet entrepreneurs - was launched by then Minister for e-Commerce and Competitiveness Douglas Alexander in September 2001. The project has toured the UK for the last twelve months, holding a series of regional heats of the competition.

Photographs and further information: