Continued from part 1
NSM Jukeboxes

NSM were late arrivals to the jukebox manufacturing scene but that didn’t handicap them.

NSM Music have been trading for six decades and released an on-line digital ICON jukebox in 2008. In 1999 they patented the harbinger of digital technology and seemed to be ahead of their time as people couldn’t turn away from CD jukeboxes.

They have recently released a Welsh Language Platform Jukebox which is showing an attentive attitude to the demands of the consumer. They are watching growth areas such as the rise in popularity of welsh music and designing a product that will compliment and bolster the welsh music community.

For classic NSM jukeboxes nsmjukebox.co.uk are a UK supplier and service centre. They claim to have the largest stock of 50’s and 60’s jukeboxes in Europe so definitely worth a look. For a new NSM Jukebox head to www.nsmmusic.com

As per my previous post, Gibson have taken over Wurlitzer and their online museum is a sight to behold. Wulitzer has 150 years of jukebox manufacturing behind them.

A truly great peice of information was the list of the top ten all time jukebox hits. Here it is in all their glory.

1. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
2. Crazy, Patsy Cline
3. Old Time Rock & Roll, Bob Seger
4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
5. Don’t Be Cruel, Elvis Presley
6. Rock Around The Clock, Bill Haley & His Comets
7. Hey Jude, The Beatles
8. The Dock Of The Bay, Otis Redding
9. Lady, Kenny Rogers
10. Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White, Perez Prado

A review by Audioholics (the online A/V magazine) of the Gibson Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox in 2007 and said “From advanced digital amplification to Klipsch loudspeaker design, the wulitzer Digital Jukebox utilizes exclusive technologies to deliver a satisfying music experience.

Their systems recognise the album art, artist name and song names when you insert a CD. Also with a bonus of access to Wurlitzer Music Service and a music library store for instant purchase and download. However, its not all that to look at unfortunately.

Gracenote is a the software company that works with Gibson Wurlitzer has designed a system MediaVOCS which allows user to control their music library using their voice. We’ve all talked to our jukeboxes, now they’ll finally understand us!

People will always want to hear music in pubs, clubs, restaurants, diners, private homes and, of course, parties. The popularity of jukeboxes in commercial venues is on the rise. Punters are turning away from soulless DJs and enjoy paying for what they want to hear and what they want everyone else to  hear. According to the Times Newspaper, Jukeboxes are becoming the centre of attention in bars across the country.

Celebrity bar owners place great importance on a jukebox containing quality music because it is their reputation at stake.  Shane MacGowan’s bar, The Boogaloo in London, boasts a jukebox containing 100 albums that must be older than 10 years and Shane picks ten of the albums himself.

Amy Winehouse was known to visit her local pub in Camden, choose her songs and turn the volume up to maximum in the middle of the afternoon much to the owner’s amusement.

People want to share their musical tastes and share the unusual in their collection instead of coming together to listen to the same thing. Perhaps people need venues to accommodate their varied tastes and not just play it safe. I know I’d like to head to Corbieres, Half Moon Street in Manchester, UK. Devotees claim it’s the best in the world.

A person’s favourite Jukebox playlist is a very personal and telling piece of information.
John Lennon owned a Swiss made KB Discomatic jukebox and was used while he was touring. There were 40 vinyl singles on it. Some of the artists included on the jukebox are Wilson Picket, Smokey Robinson and Otis Reading.

Leonard Cohen’s album named “Leonard Cohen’s Jukebox, The songs that inspired the man” has 25  tracks on it including: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin. The album gives an insight into the songs he held closest to his heart. The auction of John Lennon’s Jukebox did the same.

A quality jukebox will draw in the crowds but a poor quality jukebox with a lot of trickery being employed to con the customer is not doing the industry any favours. It can be the equivalent of unwelcoming staff or being short changed because they think you’ve had one too many to notice.

A Jukebox Charter  has been formulated to address the frustrating side of modern commercial jukeboxes and has seven rules including:

-”The Jukeboxes should play the songs as faithfully as possible…the jukebox should not fade in and fade out at the beginning and end of songs”.
-”There should be an explanation on the jukebox of how to get a refund in cases where someone cancels a selection”

So the workings of a jukebox can be an emotive topic and generate a lot of frustration if the user is not given the control he expects such as the recent story of the American man who stabbed a bar owner who refused to turn up the volume of the jukebox. Perhaps this might not have happened if there was an explanation on the jukebox of how to get a refund!