Music Rolls as the Sine qua Non of Automatic Music

I believe that paper music rolls and other paper/cardboard forms
of automatic music encoding are not the "sine qua non" of this field,
for a variety of reasons:

First, in terms of shear numbers, magnetic-media-controlled solenoid
player systems now far outnumber existing, _functional_ paper-music
roll players, reproducing or not;

Second, in terms of numbers of non-aficionados exposed to this domain
of automatic music, just the commercially-located solenoid players
daily entertain many more thousands of lay people than all of the
fully-restored pneumatic instruments in collections;

Third, the allegation that goodness of expression is ne plus ultra of
automatic music is, in my humble opinion, plain nonsense!  Ninety-nine
out of 100 casual listeners have absolutely no concept of goodness of
expression.  I daresay that more than a few of the movers and shakers
in the commercial solenoid player field have very little interest in
accuracy of expression.

From my own 23 years of commercial experience in the retrofittable
solenoid player business, I have _never_ had a commercial client
express disappointment in the lack of expression authenticity of a
player system.  What the commercial client _does_ want more than any
other factor (beyond commercial reliability) is the ability of the
automated piano to play _softly_!

There it is in print -- the sad truth!  It's plain from the previously
published opinions which are so different from the commercial sector's
requirements that there exists a large disconnect between the collector
& aficionado fraternity, and the hospitality industry's typical Food
and Beverage Director who's responsible for the operation of the
solenoid player system in the famous-name Japanese grand in the hotel's
lobby.

I hasten to emphasize that more non-enthusiasts are exposed to our
beloved field daily via magnetic-media-controlled pianos than via paper
music rolls or perforated cardboard books!  My customers could not care
less about the availability or non-availability of paper music rolls.
I will grudgingly admit that I have sold one or two multi-tune "A"
rolls in the past 23 years.  However, I've sold hundreds and hundreds
of cassettes and floppy disks.

Rest assured that Yamaha Music Corporation has not generated 25% of
its annual income from the sale of paper music rolls!  Rest assured
that the other major solenoid player system manufacturers could not
remain in business if they had to rely upon paper music rolls sales.
In my opinion, QRS Music Technologies, Inc.'s continuing to produce
paper music rolls is a major gift to all music roll aficionados

I know whereof I speak!  Anyone who takes the time to even casually
examine the trend of the piano business over the past 15 years will
find an inevitable truth: magnetic media are and will continue to be
the strength of this industry for the foreseeable future.

In days gone past, I, too, falsely believed that expression was the
most important element of a retrofittable player system's essence.
I now know better!  In terms of sales generation, profitability,
customer satisfaction and lay enthusiasm, magnetic media are the
heart of the modern automatic musical instrument industry.

Yours for more truthfulness, no matter how unpleasant it may be,

Bob Baker