iTunes pub jukebox?
It may have been mentioned before, but I think Apple should do this one.
Basically, people pay 20p a play for songs on a pub jukebox. Apple have a library of millions of songs. The two concepts are just made for each other!
Apple should supply pub jukebox machines. They'd be a closed system - shove an internet connection on one end and shove it in the pub. I envisage a touchscreen interface, similar to itunes but fullscreen. User inserts money, and gets so many credits. The Buy Song button is replaced by Queue Song - each click takes one credit, and adds the song to the queue.
The machine should be smart, and cache songs on a local hard drive that are popular. It'd need broadband to work properly, but as it's catching on...
I imagine the pub landlords would get a bill for whatever songs were played, and then they get the actual coins out of the machine as their payment.
OK, it'll never happen. Too small a market, you'll all say. But such a device would be insanely great...
Amorya
Basically, people pay 20p a play for songs on a pub jukebox. Apple have a library of millions of songs. The two concepts are just made for each other!
Apple should supply pub jukebox machines. They'd be a closed system - shove an internet connection on one end and shove it in the pub. I envisage a touchscreen interface, similar to itunes but fullscreen. User inserts money, and gets so many credits. The Buy Song button is replaced by Queue Song - each click takes one credit, and adds the song to the queue.
The machine should be smart, and cache songs on a local hard drive that are popular. It'd need broadband to work properly, but as it's catching on...
I imagine the pub landlords would get a bill for whatever songs were played, and then they get the actual coins out of the machine as their payment.
OK, it'll never happen. Too small a market, you'll all say. But such a device would be insanely great...
Amorya
Comments
It would be great in malls, let the customers choose the playlist, it would be a great way to do away with the rubbish they play now.
Originally posted by apple_a_day
Sounds great, eccept all of the places that used to have juke boxes are doing away with them here in the USA, at least this part.
Curious, which part is that?
I've yet to notice them disappearing from bars, which comprise the bulk of their market.
Corporate chains are unlikely to have jukeboxes unless they are a 'themed' establishment. Given the trend toward national chains, I can see how jukeboxes are disappearing in some areas.
I currently live in Pittsburgh, a city with far fewer strip malls and chain stores, restaurants, and pubs than newer metropolitan areas. To give you an idea of the differences in urban structure... I live within walking distance of many dozens of restaurants and even more stores. However, to get fast-food or even to eat at a chain establishment, it is necessary to drive halfway across town.
All of the local pubs are independently owned and have jukeboxes.
Is independent vs. corporate ownership a good determinant of jukebox prevalence?
Originally posted by monkeyastronaut
Everyone will have iPods sooner or later it won't matter. Coinless-operated personal jukebox.
Yeah, but who listens to an ipod in the pub? It's kinda antisocial...
Amorya
Originally posted by cpenzone
Why not a stand-alone machine you could use to walk up and make your own CD on the fly or plug your iPod/MP3 player in and download some new tunes? It could be like a kiosk in the mall... maybe this will be part of the mini-store.
That's also be cool - although a different market, since they'd have to charge full price for the song.
Amorya
Originally posted by Eugene
dfiler, I haven't seen a jukebox outside of a themed diner in about a decade.
nearly every bar, pub, restaurante i go to has a jukebox and the majority are internet jukeboxes now which are very cool. I can lock up the machine for several hours with just 2 or 3 dollars by playing mountain jam, whipping post, elizabeth reed, and carry on off 4 way street
Originally posted by applenut
nearly every bar, pub, restaurante i go to has a jukebox and the majority are internet jukeboxes now which are very cool. I can lock up the machine for several hours with just 2 or 3 dollars by playing mountain jam, whipping post, elizabeth reed, and carry on off 4 way street
I didn't know internet jukeboxes existed. Are they pretty similar to the device I'm describing?
All the jukeboxes I've seen just contain a stack of CDs. They have the covers stuck in a little window, with code numbers scribbled on, and you key in the codes in order. Some are so old they make a really big deal about CD quality sound
Amorya
Originally posted by Amorya
All the jukeboxes I've seen just contain a stack of CDs. They have the covers stuck in a little window, with code numbers scribbled on, and you key in the codes in order. Some are so old they make a really big deal about CD quality sound
Amorya
These are the kind of boxes I see at the local pubs in my neck of the woods.
Originally posted by Amorya
I didn't know internet jukeboxes existed. Are they pretty similar to the device I'm describing?
All the jukeboxes I've seen just contain a stack of CDs. They have the covers stuck in a little window, with code numbers scribbled on, and you key in the codes in order. Some are so old they make a really big deal about CD quality sound
Amorya
oh, haha, yea, they are basically the same thing you are describing.
they have a set anount of albums stored locally with album art and all. those cost 1 credit (usually 25 or 50 cents around here). So, they have like 50-100 albums stored locally of popular artists. There is then an internet search option to search a catalog of over 100,000 songs. Each one of these offsite songs costs 2 credits (50 cents or $1). It then downloads that song and plays it nearly instantly but once played it's deleted from the local jukebox.
So, the idea has been done and it works really well
http://www.ecastinc.com/OOH/products/jukebox.html
etc....
Originally posted by applenut
oh, haha, yea, they are basically the same thing you are describing.
they have a set anount of albums stored locally with album art and all. those cost 1 credit (usually 25 or 50 cents around here). So, they have like 50-100 albums stored locally of popular artists. There is then an internet search option to search a catalog of over 100,000 songs. Each one of these offsite songs costs 2 credits (50 cents or $1). It then downloads that song and plays it nearly instantly but once played it's deleted from the local jukebox.
So, the idea has been done and it works really well
Darn it, they're one step ahead of me!
Hmmm - wish they had those things round here! I'm not that far in the back end of beyond, am I?
Amorya
Originally posted by cpenzone
Why not a stand-alone machine you could use to walk up and make your own CD on the fly or plug your iPod/MP3 player in and download some new tunes? It could be like a kiosk in the mall... maybe this will be part of the mini-store.
Honestly, I think that is actually a relatively good idea. A small kiosk at a mall can often be had for rather cheap. If I remember correctly, Fox Valley Mall, in Illinois, charges $200-$250 a month for the small stand-alone kiosks that you see people selling trinkets at. Such kiosks could be equipped with iPod docks or Firewire ports attached to inexpensive machines, perhaps eMacs. A good deal of people, like me, are still stuck with dialup due purely to location or cost, and this is the only reason, in my case, I haven't purchased an iPod, because it literally takes too long to download songs.
On the other hand, the iTMS could gain even more mindshare by branching into the jukebox market. It is quite common for bars to negotiate maintainance contracts for vending and entertainment equipment. Most modern jukeboxes are wired straight into the bar's sound system. This allows management to run canned music during peak hours but allow customer selections during slow periods. Many bars are also already paying large sums for commercial display of cable or satellite TV. The cost of a broadband connection would be relatively trivial in comparison to these other services.
While internet jukeboxes aren't new, it seems that Apple could capitalize on their brand recognition and immediately be successful in the market.