> Bowers' "Encyclopedia", on page 482, mentions that about 80 percent
> of the Link pianos and orchestrions were purchased originally by
> route operators rather than business owners.  Why?

Dear MMDers,  I am no expert and I don't have any specific knowledge
of companies from the 'teens, 'twenties and 'thirties who placed
coin operated pianos on sites and then supported them.  However, route
operators have existed for a long time continue to do so today.

Many, if not most, vending machines that we see in public places are
not owned by the location but rather by a vending machine company or
"route operator" -- candy, cigarette, soft drinks and many other
products are vended by coin operated machines.  These machines are
serviced by a technician who travels a "route" and makes adjustments
and repairs, refills the machine and empties the coin boxes.

While I am not familiar with any specific contracts, I suspect that
the location owner allows the machine to be placed on their site in
exchange for a percentage of the take.

I'm quite sure that the coin operated music business worked in
essentially the same way.  While many major property owners might
purchase their own machine, the smaller businesses would take advantage
of a route operator to supply and support a machine, removing the
burden and expense from the business's responsibility.

Regarding Link, I know only what is in the Bowers' Encyclopedia except
that I think that one of these operators in the Midwest worked out of
the Edmund Gram Music Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I once had a Link
AX that I obtained in Cleveland, Ohio, and it had the Edmund Gram name
decal on one side of the fallboard (the Link decal was in the center).

Many people are also familiar with Harvey and Marion Roehl's 1950s find
of a hoard of coin pianos in a barn in Rhode Island.  These pianos were
older machines that had once been in service by a route operator and
removed from service when they became outdated or unserviceable in some
way.

I think I have heard that Mills Violanos were also placed on locations
by route operators especially in the western states, but again I only
know what I have read in various literature.

I'll be glad to hear some more enlightened opinions on this type of
operation from some of the experts out there.

Kindest regards,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, Florida