Play Meter

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Jukeboxes -profit vs. sound systems
Th e recent move of so me locat ion
owners away from jukeboxes and
toward stereo sound systems is a grow·
ing problem in th e coi n·operated
phonograph industry today. But a
recent interview with a b ig city loca·
tion owner has indicated that perhaps
the move may not be a good one for
the profit of the location.
Play Meter conducted the in t erview
for a number of reasons : to f ind
exactly what advantages location own ·
ers feel they will get out of stereo
sound syst em s; to determ i ne the
obvious inco me advantages of juke'
boxes; and to solicit suggest ions from
a location owner as to how jukebox
operators and manufacturers and the
record industry can counteract the
move.
We chose a location owner who still
chooses a jukebox over the sound
system, and who competes in the same
market as other location owners w ho
have chosen, instead, to make t he
switch to sound systems.
H is candid remar k s, we feel, ad d
some insight into the nature of the
feelings of location owners who have
nixed jukeboxes - the reasons beh ind
their move, the revenue they h ave
forfe ited, and the amount of increased
business (drinks, food , etc.) that
would be necessary to simply "break
even" with th e new sound sy stems .
Play Meter feels these ideas may be
valuable to operators who are fac i ng
this problem on their ro ute s.
The location owner i nterv iewed at·
tracts mostly college·aged clientele. He
has four pingames, two foosball tables
and a jukebox in his lounge, where he
also serves short order food (ham,
burgers, etc.).
PLAY METER: How big a role do
your mach ines play in your business?
How much of your income do you
th ink comes from your machines?
LOCATION OWNER : Somewhere
between one· fifth and one-fourth of
my daily income comes from my
machines. We have several regulars
who are attracted to my lounge strict·
Iy because of the games machines,
especially afternoon traffic. Our juke'
box does very well, too. Some of my
competitors have gone to sound
systems and have n ixed their juke·
boxes, but I don't think I ever will at
my presen t location.
PLAY METER : Y es, but location
owners forfe it a lot of i ncome by
changing from jukeboxes to sound
syst ems. About how much of an i n·
vestment would you say it takes to
buy a really good sound system?
LOCATION OWNER : Other people
who have done i t have told me they
spent about $9,000 on their stereo
gear.
PLAY METER : How much revenue
does your jukebox produce each
week?
LOCATION OWNER : Our jukebox
has never ever done under $50 per
week . That's our base, lowest i ncome
after service charges. We have done
over $100 per week in many cases.
PLAY METER : So, at a bare
m inimu m, you make at least $2,500
per year on your jukebox . That means
it is probably costing your competitors
$9,000 in initial outlay for a sound
system plus $2,500 per year in lost
income.
LOCATION OWNER : We don't
have a sound system for that exact
reason. But there are other things, too ,
that I must consider as a businessman .
For instance, you have to pay some·
body to play the records. And then
there's the risk of something going
wrong w ith the stereo system . If some·
th ing goes wrong with the stereo
system, you have noth i ng to fall back
on - no service contract - nothing.
But if the jukebox breaks duri ng the
night I can call the operator and his ass
is on the line. The other way it would
be me. And the operator puts
jukeboxes in f irst priority, because
that is where both he and I make most
of our money.
That jukebox means at least $2,500
in my pocket every year. You know,
sometimes dur i ng the course of the
year even I think of the jukebox as
contributing only nickels and dimes to
my business. But over a year it adds
up. And over five years it really means
a lot of added revenue to my busi ness.
PLAY METER : Well, with all these
th i ngs i n mind, why do you think
some people are making the move
toward sound systems anyway?
LOCATION OWNER : They felt it
was the thing to do. They might have
gotten some static f rom their cus·
tomers about the kind of music they
couldn't supply with a jukebox , and
they decided that if they d idn't go to a
sound system they would lose some
type of business that they aimed for .
They thought that their market
Photos by
Paul Sylvester
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