Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL~I-H
Editor and Proprietor
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
~
3 East 14th St., New York
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States,
Mexico and Canada, fajao per year ; all other countries,
$300.
ADVERTISEflENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special dis-
count is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite read-
ing matter $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should
be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Clans Matter.
NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1899.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-EiaHTEENTH STREET.
THE KEYNOTE.
The first week of each month, The Review will
contain a supplement embodying the literary
and musical features which have heretofore
appeared in The Keynote. This amalgamation
will be effected without in any way trespassing
on our regular news service. The Review will
continue to remain, as before, essentially a
trade paper.
FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW.
THRUSTS are being formed daily on every
hand. Time and time again the trust
tide has reached the piano trade ever to
recede before it overswept the trade itself.
There have been no less than four deter-
mined attempts to form the piano making
industry into a trust combination, each one
of which thus far has met with total de-
feat.
In some instances there was no
chance of the trust winning because one of
its promoters was a notorious trade editor,
whose war cry of pelf and plunder has
been heard in every department of the
trade for years.
But other elements have been at work.
Men who are nothing else but straight,
cold-blooded promoters who are looking
for fat commissions, have been endeavoring
to win over the manufacturers of this in-
dustry to the trust idea. Thus far their
efforts have proved abortive.
One manufacturer while discussing the
trust matter with The Review, recently,
said: "I have listened carefully to the
propositions. In fact I am always open to
a consideration of any business proposition
whatsoever that I consider will materially
better my present organization. Thus far
I have only heard arguments which possess
some allurements, it is true, but not enough
to hand my business over to a corporation
and receive in exchange therefor a small
percentage of cash, and a lot of paper
which may be valueless in two years, save
as cigar lighters."
mercial world is for that matter, and I am
rather inclined to the belief that the new
'industrials' will receive a tremendous set-
back in the near future. As far as the
piano trade is concerned, it occurs to me
that the men who are the strongest finan-
cially are not the ones who are clamoring
for this trust. I am of the opinion, as well
as others in this business, that there is a
desire on the part of some of the weaker
ones to come in on a trust basis. Now I,
for one, do not believe that my assets,
which are real, should go to lift the assets
of some others, which I consider are large-
ly on paper."
was an output of five hundred pianos from
these stores during the, holidays.
It is our duty to keep the trade directly
informed as to the progress of the depart-
ment store move. This we shall do. And
thus far there has not been an appreciable
output of pianos from the various depart-
ment stores of this city. We may say, too,
that in one week, fifteen pianos were re-
turned to one department store, which has
advertised the lowest prices of pianos of
any house in the city. These instruments
came back in wretched condition, and in
every case an enemy was made, rather than
a friend, in the original purchaser.
Another manufacturer said : "We have
a business to-day that we know precisely
what it is worth. It is true we have to meet
competition which I consider unbusiness-
like. We have to meet a competition
which, in the main, comes from men who
are forced to raise money by placing their
goods out at ridiculous terms so tha\ they
can get some paper on which to conduct
their affairs. It seems to me that they are
hungry for paper with a name attached,
no matter whether the name is valueless or
not. That cuts no figure, or at least
seems not with them. Now, I am of the
opinion that that competition will die out.
It must succumb, and the competition of
the future will be on a healthier basis. As
The Review remarked some weeks ago,
the time to form a trust will be when some
six or eight men absolutely control the en-
tire output, and those men have their af-
fairs on a clean, healthy basis."
We have in mind an instance where two
of the owners of the largest dress-making
establishments in this city purchased pianos
from this department store. They had
been doing an enormous business with this
concern for years, and they took advantage
of the cheap price of pianos. The instru-
ments did not prove what they were rep-
resented and they returned them. The
department store men would give them no
satisfaction, but simply said as far as they
were concerned, the transaction had closed.
That ended it, the trade of these establish-
ments was transferred to another concern.
So it goes.
At another store where The Review
called this week, the pianos were adver-
tised from $123.39 to $149.60. Of course,
unless the odd cents were thrown into the
advertisement, it wouldn't be a department
store. These instruments were in charge
of a young lady who assured The Review
The trust promoter always gets his pay as she unlocked each instrument that "they
in good, solid, non-depreciative dollars. were just as good as could be purchased at
That's his stock, and some of these men the regular store for double the money."
reap enough out of one deal to live like We may say that the instruments were
princes the rest of their lives.
They terribly out of tune, and that the varnish
haven't a thought or a care as to what be- was in leprous spots on the pianos.
comes of the manufacturers whom they
A rather unique point came out in con-
won by their eloquent persuasive powers. nection with the investigation. The young
The Review has carefully looked over lady finally admitted that they might not
the manufacturing field, and is of the be perhaps as good as some others, and
opinion to-day that a trust is not a proba- here she named a medium priced instru-
bility in the near future. The men who ment, adding, "I am sure you could get
are financially sound in this trade to-day— pleased if you go there. Their pianos are
who have built up good substantial enter- just too good for anything, and if you will
prises, refuse to part with their business only mention my name to Mr.——," nam-
unless they receive as an equivalent, dol- ing the manager, " I know he will make
lars, and not stock in an enterprise, the you big concessions. My people bought
management of which may be ceded to a $400 piano from them last week. I know
others, and the value of which may be you will like them. Their tone is just like
tremendously depreciated within a com- a grand piano."
paratively short time.
It is rather odd that this saleslady should
T H E REVIEW has a watchful eye on the
Another manufacturer who is eminent in
output of pianos from the department
trade circles, and whose commercial credit stores of New York. We have denounced
is of the highest, remarked: "Of course I as a baseless lie the statement published
am interested in trusts. The whole com- by a bombastic contemporary that there
be talking the wares of a regular manu-
facturer while drawing a salary from a de-
partment store. It is a pretty shrewd
move on the part of the manufacturer, and
he can well afford to pay the young lady a
commission. She added further in con-