[ Ref. 050925 MMDigest, Seek MIDI System for Mexican Organilleros ]

Organ builder Jean-Paul Erman of Meyrin, Switzerland (near Geneve),
makes various barrel organs using "smart cards" to store the music.
The sound is very good and the tempo is proportional to the rotation 
speed of the crank.  His website (in French) is http://www.erman.ch/

J-P Jouandet
Bordeaux

 [ The music storage device of the "orgue à puce" (memory chip organ)
 [ is the same "smart card" or "prepaid card" that is issued by a bank
 [ or a vendor such as a telephone company).  The data stored on the
 [ card cannot be copied or altered except by the issuing firm.  Thus,
 [ upon receipt of a modest license fee, a license agency (which might
 [ be the organ builder) who serves the music arranger could lease the
 [ prepaid card to the organ owner to perform the songs 100 times,
 [ for example, without fear that his arrangements might be copied
 [ illicitly.  (Does this ever happen?!)
 [
 [ The most popular song would be the first to expire.  When this occurs 
 [ the card could be sent back to the license agent and the remaining
 [ song time applied as a credit toward a replacement card.  The noteur
 [ would be rewarded for his artistry by a payment for each time that
 [ a song is played.  This license system resembles the way that the
 [ Broadcast Music agency (BMI) collects radio performance fees on
 [ behalf of the performers and composers and arrangers.  -- Robbie