Photo booths are an enigma as your correctly point out. I think part of why there are so many is that they were purchased and paid for years ago before we all had cameras on our phones. But how many new ones sell today? I do not know, but the majority of the ones I do see look to be many years old.
As far as locations, who do you think owns the machines that you see in malls and and bars? Operators. Operators who typically pay 50% of what the device makes back to the bar, movie theater. or mall. What is the payback at $5 a play when $1 (a guess) would have to go to the song's owner, and $2 to the location? The blank CD or DVD costs money too.
The operator would then end up with 40% of the earnings. Even at $30k annually (which I highly doubt would be common), that would leave $12k for the operator. That does not count the cost of collecting the money, refilling the machine with blank DVDs, and maintenance. What is the ROI for an operator considering those factors?
The manufacturer would make good margins, and with such a small market cap, just a few sales would have a big impact. But without music licensing, they would be illegal to operate.
