Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
TWENTY-SECOND YEAR.
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EDITOR AMD PROPRIETOR.
J . B. S P I L L A N E , MANAGING EDITOR.
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
Executive Staff:
Every Satnrflay at 3 East 14th Street, New Yoit
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage). United States, Mexico
and Canada, $2.00 per year; another countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEriENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
Insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount
is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite reading matter,
$75.00.
REfilTTANCES, in other than currency form, should be
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter
NEW YORK. JULY 27, 1901.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-EIQHTEENTH STREET.
THE
On the first Saturday of each
ARTISTS 1
month The Review contains in its
DEPARTMENT " Artists'Department" all the cur-
rent musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or ser-
vice of the trade section of the paper. It has a
special circulation, and therefore augments mater-
ially the value of The Review to advertisers.
DIRECTORY OF
u^nr.rTinr..
The directory of piano manu-
facturing firms and corporations
MANUFACTURERS
f
d
Q n p a g e
J g w i n b e Qf
value as a reference for dealers and others.
DIRECTORY OF
A directory of all advertisers
in
ADVERTISERS
The Review will be found on
Page 5.
EDITORIAL
DOES SUMMER ADVERTISING PAY?
A subject w h i c h
"THE average piano
should interest every
piano merchant—The
retail summer adver-
tising of prominent
houses—The plan fol-
lowed in various lo-
calities.
merchant does not
believe in making large
advertising expenditures
during the summer
months. His energies are also slackened,
and, consequently, summer stagnation reigns
in most of the piano warerooms throughout
the country.
There are many exceptions, of course, to
the general rule, and houses in New Eng-
land, for illustration, like Steinert's, maintain
a constant exploitation of their wares in the
columns of the papers throughout the entire
New England States. Recently they have
been making a special feature in their ad-
vertisement of the fact that they control "thir-
ty branches in New England."
The Steinerts are business people and,
if advertising in the summer did not pay,
they would surely discontinue it. That
Steinerts find that summer advertising pays,
there is no doubt; should not their example
stimulate others?
In the West, too, there are a number of
concerns which evidently believe in summer
advertising, for they keep everlastingly at it.
Presumably they obtain good results or they
would not continue large expenditures ad-
vertiseward.
New York is not noted for the activity
of its warerooms in piano quarters during
the summer months, There are some of our
local piano men, however, who continue to which we have received, touching upon this
give publicity to their instruments in the pub- subject of trade interest, there have been but
lic print even during the. summer, when few expressions of opinions questioning the
most of us are seeking places "swept by benefit to the trade of having one price
It would seem, that
ocean breezes." John Wanamaker is one universally adopted.
O'f the believers in mid-summer piano adver- with an almost universal belief in favor of
tising. He has recently devoted much space having one price that it should be brought
in our great dailies to the exploitation of his about without any great exertion on the part
piano department. "He advertises "stirring of piano men.
concessions in price on pianos that have been
It is interesting to note the views of deal-
used some time." His list of special bar- ers upon this important trade topic, tending,
gains is extensive—likewise alluring.
as they all do, towards a common end.
In San Francisco we find that some of the Many are unreservedly in favor of the one-
leading houses of that city show no material price system, and state unhesitatingly that
slackening in their business efforts during they believe it would be a very great bene-
the summer months. They believe that all fit it it were possible to establish it generally ;
seasons are good in the piano.line in the others claim that they have practised it with
metropolis of the (Pacific Slope.
success for more than a decade, and that
In New Orleans, the announcements of while they have missed some sales which
the local piano men occupy but small space they could have made by other methods,
in the papers of that city during the summer. they are confident that those losses are more
Everything there is at a standstill, and the than balanced by the fact that it is generally
piano merchants of that city do not seek to known that they hold exclusively to one
transact much business during the heated price, and that while some dealers have a
reputation for juggling prices, their institu-
term.
In the Northwestern cities there is com- tion is known to be absolutely reliable in the
paratively little publicity given to piano news way of prices and that a child can buy of
them as cheaply as an expert.
during the summer months.
As a rule, in every community, the most
There are some who consider that theo-i
progn ssive people are good advertisers— retically the one price is the proper thing, but
in season and out—and while it cannot be practically it is impossible to carry it out
said that all advertising is successful, yet owing to existent conditions.
it is a fact that most business men who have
There is one thing which must be evident
achieved pronounced success have been lib- to all and that is, that The Review has been
eral users of printers' ink. It is an encour- enabled to draw out the only national dis-
agement to business men of enterprise as cussion pianowards ever inaugurated upon
well as determination, that there is no trade the one-price system. Almost everyone ad-
so settled that a vigorous competitor cannot mits that if it were possible to establish an
take it away by advertising when the estab- absolute rigidity of price, it would be the
lished concerns neglect the best methods of best possible occurrence that could happen
to the retail department of the industry.
publicity.
Then,
if they believe this honestly and sin-
Summer advertising pays, of course—as
long as the shutters are not closed it pays to cerely, why do they not take some personal
let the public know what specialties a mer- interest in organization work, either local
or national, which is obviously tending to-
chant carries that will interest.
INTEREST IN ONE-PRICE SYSTEM. wards creating a better understanding
T"" 1 HE first topic in our among piano men than has hitherto existed?
Opinions from many
prize contest as
It was not very many years ago, as one
dealers upon the ben-
efit of the one-price
dealer
remarked to The Review, when it
to whether the depart-
system — All believe
that trade conditions
ment stores would be- would have been quite the thing for a cus-
warrant the move.
come permanent and tomer to have offered a.clothing merchant
greater piano distributing factors, created half the price he asked for a suit of clothes
to have secured it; in other words, there was
widespread comment, and essays upon this
but little security that could be placed in the
topic were received from many parts of the
original retail price upon garments. Now
country.
all that has changed. Most clothing stores
The second subject, however, far sur- are run upon absolutely one price. To be
passed the first in point of interest. From sure many bargains are offered in the self-
all over America hundreds of opinions have same institutions, but the bargain offers are
reached us, bearing upon the possible bene- extended to all customers alike, and if the
fits which would be derived from the one piano dealer has anything which he is par-
price system, if it were universally adopted ticularly desirous of getting rid of, then let
him cut the price, but have the reduction
in the retailing of pianos.
hold good to one and all upon the advertised
It is worth while to state in this connec-
date.
tion, that put of the vast correspondence