GnuMusiq/jukebox

Jukeboxes were once common in restaurants and bars, and provided a means for people to share the music they enjoyed most -- but the selection was extremely limited, due to mechanical constraints (most jukeboxes could only hold a few dozen vinyl 7" 45 RPM records), difficult to update, and difficult to maintain. As a result, they tended to feature primarily Top 40 singles.

There were some varieties of jukebox which featured input terminals ("wallboxes") at each table, so that patrons could request plays without getting up -- but these had only a one-way connection with the central player; you had to go to the player if you wanted to see the name and artist of a currently-playing track... and some models of jukebox made this very difficult to determine. In general, you had to determine the selection code (typically a letter and number -- "D-17"), then look up that code on the "menu" (a physical array of small pieces of paper listing the artist and title corresponding to each selection code); this was not something one could do at a glance.

The choices (and sound quality) improved somewhat in the 1980s when compact disc jukeboxes were introduced -- they offered several dozen CDs, each with a dozen or more songs, but for some reason they never really caught on. The selection was still effectively limited by the nature of the most popular CDs, which tended to feature one or two big hits and a lot of filler material... and of course the number of different artists available on any given jukebox was about the same as before.

In other words, none of these technologies did much of anything to allow fans to expose others to music that wasn't already popular. This, if anything, only reinforced the centralized, paid-promotion-driven nature of the music business.

Digital audio and the internet make it possible to do jukeboxes right. Consider the following:

• Cheap data storage negates limits on library size -- that is, the constraint is no longer how many tracks will fit, but how many tracks one can legally obtain and offer to play in a commercial context.
• Players could easily be built for under $500, probably under $200.
  • There would be no need for any custom machinery; the only mechanical equipment would be the hard drive (~$60).
  • Touchscreens could be used for entry, negating the need for mechanical buttons and further reducing the cost.
• Updating the library with new tracks can be done automatically and instantly, over the internet.
• Artist and title can be displayed clearly and attractively on a relatively large color screen at far less cost than that of mechanical record-changer equipment.
• "Wallboxes" can use wireless technology for two-way communication with the player, greatly reducing installation costs and allowing patrons not only to search the entire library, but to see what is currently playing and a history of recent plays.
• Selections of public domain or CC-BY (not-NC) works could be played for free.
• Tracks or albums could be offered for on-the-spot download to smartphones.
• Tracks could be priced differently (all the way down to "free"), to encourage playing undiscovered material.
• A "tip jar" could be offered when playing free or low-priced tracks by living artists.

Many other possibilities suggest themselves.