http://www.propellerheads.se

Since 1994 when this company was founded, Propellerhead Software has rapidly grown from a background technology resource into one of the leading forces in music and audio software. The background - Young as a company, old in the business. Propellerhead Software and its founders have, even prior to 'the beginning' in 1994, provided background technology - as well as complete products - to other major players in the music software and hardware industry. In its first year, the company released ReCycle!, a product which got an exceptionally positive reception, was hailed by the music press (it won an Electronic Musician award in 1995) and has since become the de facto industry standard for editing drum loops and grooves - and we are proud to count several world-famous artists such as Chemical Brothers to the ever-growing ReCycle! userbase. Our second release, ReBirth RB-338, catapulted Propellerhead to a whole new level of popularity and recognition. ReBirth has become one of those rare products with a life of its own; It was released on May 23rd, 1997 and it didn't take long before it grew into an entire Internet 'cult' in a way that no other professional music application has done before - or after. ReBirth has received overwhelmingly positive press reviews as well as numerous awards, including Future Music's Reader's Choice award, 'Software of the year' (1997). Our development team has a vast and solid collective experience in DSP and product development. One might say that under this roof, there are well over 100 years in the business.

We all grew up with synthesizers and computers, and we all come from diverse backgrounds in the music-, media-, computer- and software world, ranging from music store clerk via hardware engineer to music technology journalist. Furthermore, we're all musicians in one way or other, be it former, active, passive or 'pending'. We do what we do out of sheer fun and devotion, and the lion's share of our profits is fed right back in the development machinery.

The commitment - Four solid cornerstones.

This company is committed to putting previously expensive audio hardware technology within the reach of every musician. This commitment rests on four solid cornerstones:

• State of the art digital audio signal processing.
• Well designed and attractive user interfaces.
• Solid, effective and flawless code implementations.
• IT-based sales, marketing, distribution and support.

Two-way communication. We provide webspace and bandwidth for the sole purpose of letting our users share and show off their creative efforts, by collecting and distributing their musical pieces, designs and product add-ons across the Internet. Furthermore, we strive hard to maintain our policy of answering all e-mails within 48 hours, and we run a public Message Board where we participate in an active discussion about our products. In these times it's a common practice to keep PC and Macintosh application development separated. As a result, Mac users will often have to wait months or even years before they can catch up with the PC users - and vice versa. We don't believe in such 'segregation', and therefore we have chosen to synchronize the product development for each platform to an extent where builds of both versions are compiled only minutes apart. Naturally, portions of the code are Mac or PC native, but the core of the code is shared. We don't port - we develop cross-platform. When you purchase ReBirth RB-338, you purchase a license for the application, and you get a CD-ROM which contains both versions! Solid, bug-free releases. This shouldn't even have to be said - but in a world where end-users are often more or less exploited as beta testers of works in progress, we make a difference.

Propellerhead Software takes every measure to ensure that the final release versions of our products are thoroughly tested and that any and all bugs are ironed out. We have an unprecedented track record of this and we intend to keep it that way. Simple, effective and dedicated tools. We believe in programs that do one thing really well. Many applications out there suffer from the developers' attempts to cram the entire world and then some more into one program. Well, 'braggy' specifications may be an excellent marketing concept, but we all know how it works in reality: The more options and possibilities you have, the less you feel confident, focused and in control. As co-founder and head of the development team Marcus Zetterquist put it: "Why make a program that works like a Swiss Army Knife, when you can make one that works like a machete". Internet sales and marketing - WWWe believe in the Web. We take full advantage of modern information technology in everything we do. We started out with modest marketing resources - but thanks to the immense power of the World Wide Web and our utmost dedication, the Propellerhead team has managed not only to reach literally every corner of the world but also to establish an active and open two-way communication with the user base. Other examples of the advantages of IT-based business are: Faster updating. When a new version of a product is ready, it can be made available to the customer in minutes! ReBirth RB-338 version 1.5 was our first product to be released over the Web, on October 23 1997, and many customers could enjoy the new version mere hours after the release version had been finalized.

Our support is handled by the very same people who create the products, which ensures the highest possible level of technical knowledge and insight. Better feedback. The Internet is the fastest and most effective way for our customers to communicate their opinions and suggestions. Many enhancements of our current products is a direct result of end-user feedback.