Cedric Gore

Cédric Gore (born July 24, 1969) is a web developer, musician and early pioneer in the field of Enhanced CD & Interactive CD-ROM technologies. He has founded several software companies focusing on Internet-driven or Web-Connected CD & CD-ROM software products.
Javakitty Media, formed in Atlanta in 1999 with his brother James, developed and launched two key Enhanced CD technologies, Bandlink and BlinkCard. His research and development in this field has led to products and services that have been widely adopted by Fortune 500 companies as well as major and independent record labels for use on hundreds of commercial music releases.
Technological innovations
Bandlink's key innovation was to replace the extra content on Enhanced CDs with software that allowed the user to connect via the internet to exclusive content stored externally. This allieviated the problem of limited CD storage space, and allowed the additional content to be virtually unlimited in size and constantly updated, as required. Of Bandlink, Gore has stated that "the idea is to simulate the concept of going to a concert", later elaborating "Bandlink captures constantly changing data be it text, video or sound, limited only by the artist's creativity, all in real time... It releases the genie in the music CD".
In early 2002, Bandlink won a special Consumer Products Technology Award from the Atlanta-based Resource Forum, and Gore thereafter secured a license agreement with Arista Records to incorporate the software into new music releases by three artists, including TLC's 3D. The deal was later extended to seven more albums in 2004, including Carlos Santana's Shaman.
Benefits for the music consumer were reported to include:
a fully self-contained "insert and play" experience with no need for special codes or registration at web sites. Additionally, Bandlink's customizable interface which consists of standard browser, chat and player buttons allows fans to enjoy free access to original, exclusive content and the latest, dynamic information related to a music CD including bios, news, tour info, lyrics, photos, videos and mailing lists, as well as interactive features such as community chat, while online.
The LA Times nevertheless noted that "this kind of monitoring may unnerve some consumers",
The technology is also intended to reduce music piracy implicitly, by adding value back into physical ownership of the shop-bought CD.
Bandlink continues to be incorporated into growing numbers of major CD releases, including Norah Jones's Feels like Home, Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow and Thievery Corporation's Versions.
Current projects
Gore continues to do research and development in this space in search of what he terms, "The worlds most interactive "digital" music experiences!" Further, he suggests: Music has gotten easier to obtain but at the same time it has become such a limited tactile experience compared to the albums I grew up with. But, the Internet makes it possible to shatter the Album level music experience and that's what I want to do. I want kids to buy a record in a store or online and disappear in the full world of that artist for the duration of the record... we have done Live Chat's right from a CD, where a fan actually talks with the band in real time. I would loved to have chatted with my music heroes!
Currently, Cédric Gore is overseeing the development of technologies for multiple disc formats, online music services and portable music devices.

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