Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1904 Vol. 39 N. 26

Page 8 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
manufacturers of musical instruments to make liberal appropria-
tions for general advertising. The advertising pages of the leading
trade publications reflect clearly the interest which the publishers
take in the products which they advertise.
P
EDWARD LYMAN DILL.
Editor and Proprietor.
J. B. SP1LLANE,
£41t*r.
EXECVTIVE STAFF:
THO*.
CAMFIELL-COFILAND,
E H I I T L. WAITT, 265 Washington St.
PHILADELPHIA OFFICB:
GBO. W. QUSBIPBX.
CHICAQO OFFICE:
BOSTON OFFICE:
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
EMILIB FBANCBS BAUSB,
GEO. B. KEIXSB,
A. J. Nicrmc,
W. MURDOCH LIND,
E. P. VAN HABLINGEN, SO La Salle S t
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL:
R. J. LEFEBVKE.
ST. LOU 15 OFFICE :
CHAE. N. VAN BUBEN.
IANO manufacturers have expended a considerable amount of
money in magazine advertising during the past two or three
years, and if the returns were commensurate with the outlay un-
doubtedly their appropriations would not only increase in number,
but in amounts as well. The facts are, the largest advertising
agencies have looked upon the piano industry with indifference, and
have not rendered the manufacturers intelligent service.
This is the age of specialism, and there is no article manufac-
tured that is treated of in detail as little as piano making. The
amourft of money involved in a single sale is large, therefore to in-
terest thousands of people in the particular claims made by the
many manufacturers it is necessary to treat the subject broadly and
exhaustively.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRED MSTZQER, 428-427 Front St.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SVBSCR'PTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $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.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
THE ARTISTS'
DEPARTMENT
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
"Artists'
Department" all the curret
current musical
Artist Department
ical news. This
T h s is effected
ih
i any way trespassing
i
h sire
i or service
i of
f the
h trade
d
without
in
on the
section of the paper. It has a special _ circulation, and therefore aug-
ments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
w
. ~ . . , . - T v . i D ~ V
.
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MANUFACTURERS
^he directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference for
dealers and others.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE—NVMBER 1745 GRAMERCY.
YORK, DEC. 24-. 1904.
EDITORIAL .
WRITER in Printers' Ink finds occasion to criticize what he
terms the barrenness of ideas in piano magazine advertising.
The basis of his criticism is made in the allegation that the variety
of makers claim superiority in all essentials but fail to go into
details of piano construction, and to show by means of illustration
the strength of their varied assertions.
There may be some ground for this criticism, but all of the
advertising of piano concerns is dratted and arranged by men who
are supposed to be past masters in the art of advertising, and who
are associated with the various advertising agencies. So the critic
in Printers' Ink really raps the alleged advertising experts over the
knuckles when he criticises piano magazine advertising.
A
T
HERE is no doubt that some of the general advertising is value
less, and it lacks directness, force and interesting details, and
our criticism would be that advertising men who seek business from
special industries, wherein individuality rules to the extent that it
does in piano making, should acquaint themselves with what is
colloquially termed talking points of the various instruments. An
advertising man who knows absolutely nothing about music, who
has no knowledge of the science underlying acoustical laws, could
not tell how many black or white keys there were in a piano, starts
out with some stereotyped phrase with which to adorn an illustration
which invariably includes a narrow-waisted girl seated at an ordi-
nary piano with a few listeners standing nearby, having a bored ex-
pression depicted upon their features, as if they were in a hurry to
get away.
T
HE advertising men should wake up, and they should acquaint
themselves with some of the intricacies of piano making. They
could write some clever, interesting, descriptive sentences which
would emphasize certain claims made by manufacturers as to tonal
strength and durability in such a way that the readers would be
interested. They should avoid glittering generalities and high-
sounding phrases and get down to some pleasant, entertaining facts.
The writer in Printers' Ink has awakened an interesting con-
troversy, and it is up to the special advertising men to deal more
intelligently with piano advertising if they expect to induce the
L
YON & HEALY propose to spend ten thousand dollars in ad-
vertising harps. Mr. B. H. Jefferson, head of the advertising
department of that concern, believes that advertising of the right sort
will create a demand for the modern harp, and that that demand
will steadily grow with the passing of the years. The easy payment
plan will be adopted for the instruments, which will help to over-
come the obstacles created by the high prices which it is necessary
to ask for harps.
To overcome the present inertia is the real problem of the Lyon
& Healy campaign, and they "have confidence in the instrument and
confidence that the advertising will bring about for it largely in-
creased demands.
The power of advertising is tremendous, no doubt of that. It
landed W. L. Douglas in the gubernatorial chair of Massachusetts,
the first man who has ever been elected governor of a great and
important State through newspaper and billboard advertising.
Thomas Lawson is past master in the art of advertising, and
through publicity has become one of the most-talked-about men of
our times.
A
PIANO traveler who has gone over a large area of country,
expressed astonishment while discussing business matters
with The Review, that trade should have been somewhat disappoint-
ing- in the Eastern States, and in the large cities, while in the
smaller towns, the agricultural districts it was most satisfactory.
He continued that in his travels through the Central West and the
newly developed regions of the Southwest, including Oklahoma
and the Indian Territory as well as the Dakotas, he was surprised to
find such a demand for pianos and other expensive home acces-
sories.
T
HE reasons are easy to explain, and if we spend a little time in
the perusal of a few paragraphs in the report of the Secretary
of Agriculture it will open one's eyes a bit as to the tremendous
agricultural resources of the country. There seems to have been a
gold mine on every farm and plantation outside New England in
1904. The corn crop foots up almost 2,500,000,000 bushels, afford-
ing a value big enough to pay the national debt, with something
left over. Cotton was another bumper crop. The Secretary esti-
mates the value of the lint and seed at $600,000,000. Hay and
wheat together represent a value of more than $1,000,000,000. It
is estimated that the rice crop amounts to 900,000,000 pounds, and
oats break all records except that of 1902. Mr. Wilson calculates
that the principal crops will bring $3,583,339,600 when they are all
marketed, an increase of more than $400,000,000 over 1903. There
is $1,136,940,289 worth of horses on the farms, and of mules $217,-
53 2 .832. The American hen has done a wonderful year's work, and
if all the roosters were to stand in line and crow their triumph the
salute would make a much greater volume of noise round the world
than England's drumbeat. Shoulder to shoulder the hens would
probably make an unbroken phalanx from Cape Cod to the Golden
Gate. They lay 1,666,000,000 eggs a year, and in the busy season
two weeks of their labor would pay a year's interest on the national
debt. And still it is sometimes a problem where to get a fresh egg,
and how to procure the money to buy it.
I
F the Secretary breaks into the following paean, who can blame
him?—certainly not the farmer: "An occupation that has pro-
duced such an unthinkable value as one aggregating nearly $5,000,-

Page 9 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE: MUSIC TRADE
v
000,000 within a year may be better measured by some comparisons.
All of the gold mines of the entire world have not produced since
Columbus discovered America a greater value of gold than the
farmers of this country have produced in wealth in two years; this
year's product is over six times the amount of the capital stock of
all national banks; it comes within three-fourths of a billion dollars
of equalling the value of the manufactures of 1900, less the cost of
materials used; it is twice the sum of our exports and imports for a
year; it is two and a half times the gross earnings from the opera-
tions of the railways; it is three and a half times the value of all
minerals produced in this country, including coal, iron ore, gold,
silver and quarried stone."
Is it any wonder that the farmer has become "it" in the largest
sense? That specially favored class refuse to be satisfied with any-
thing short of good pianos for their homes. Hardly.
REVIEW
9
A GOLD MEDAL AND DIPLOMA
WAS AWARDED
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
AT THE
ST. LOUIS EXPOSITION
strong, and our observations incline us to the belief that breadth
and strength lead to success. Let's have done with these "getting
square" ideas when the very encouragement of such feelings means a
lowering of the entire business. The escutcheon of the piano in-
OOD piano reputation cannot be acquired by retailing cheaply
dustry has been sadly tarnished by discolorations from these "getting
built pianos at prices which should entitle the purchaser to
square'" feuds. The powers of man had better be exhausted in
secure a medium or high-grade creation. Customers can be edu- striving to build and to expand business in a legitimate way, rather
cated to buy better pianos by showing them in a convincing form than to break down the edifice erected by a competitor.
that it pays better in the long run to buy reliable instruments.
The piano merchant too frequently loses sight of the fact that
N a recent able address before a trade press banquet John C.
in the end he is losing when he is selling regular merchandise at
Freund, editor of Music Trades, said regarding libel suits: "No
values which far exceed its actual worth. There is no reason why
jury will give exemplary damages where you are able to prove good
pianos should not be priced in just as fair and plain figures as
faith and the absence of any malicious intent whatever. That you
other lines of special products. The public has evinced a desire to
may have made a mistake, but that you have done nothing that was
gain more accurate information as to piano values, and the greater
incompatible with honest, straightforward journalism, even then
the knowledge the more natural it will be for piano purchasers to
you cannot avoid libel suits. Just so long as there are attorneys who
gravitate to stores which have acquired the reputation for straight-
like the notoriety of a libel suit—especially against a paper of some
forward dealing.
standing—just so long will there be libel suits to put the most care-
ful editor and publisher to loss of time and money."
MAN cannot sell a piano one day for $400 and a duplicate the
Mr. Freund has plainly expressed a truth which is obvious to
next day for $300, and another the next for $250 without
all newspaper men, and there should be some amendment to our
people learning of these facts, and the man who has paid $400 for
present law of libel, so that newspaper men may not be put to con-
a piano that his neighbor secured in duplicate for $250 is not apt
siderable expense and loss of valuable time, because some one may
to be over-friendly to the store which imposed so grossly on his con-
be nursing an alleged grievance. The libel laws of this State are
fidence. A lasting reputation cannot be made on cheap instruments,
unjust and notoriously unfair, and the members of no other pro-
or in having an elastic price reputation.
fession can be forced to such unnecessary expense as can the news-
One of the largest stores in the West has recently adopted
paper man. Fair criticism should not be confounded with abuse/
the one-price system, and has met with excellent results. The piano
and there are some who are as sensitive to criticism as a tubbed
man can do a satisfactory business in high-grade pianos, and
infant to the horny hand of a hired nurse.
popular-priced ones as well, but the lines of demarcation between the
two should be clear and distinct, and no good reason can be ad-
T would seem that there will be infinitesimal changes if any, made
vanced why from even the dollar standpoint piano men could not
in the tariff schedules in the near future. It is understood
gain by the adoption of rigid rules regarding not only price but
that
the
Secretary of the Treasury has been making inquiries among
quality.
the members of the Board of United States General Appraisers as to
their views on tariff revision.
NCE in a while we hear one of our piano men speaking of
From the trend of his inquiries those with whom he has talked
some engagement in which he has suffered at the hands of
his competitors say, "I'll get square with him if it takes me ten have gained the impression that Mr. Shaw's plan is for a piece-
meal revision of the tariff, beginning with those schedules which
years."
have caused the most dissatisfaction, and a revision of which will
Now what does "getting square" mean in many of these in-
cause the least disturbance of business conditions, and ending with
stances, and what does the piano man gain with this method of get-
them if possible.
ting square? Absolutely nothing. For when worked out, even to
a successful conclusion, it is always an empty victory. Piano repu-
The schedules about which he has sought the most information
tations are dragged in the mud and bespattered with the billingsgate
are used on hides, leather, wool, steel and iron. The administra-
of rival salesmen. Piano values are slaughtered, and the whole busi-
tion is of the opinion that the success of Mr. Douglas, in Massa-
ness, through a contemptuous kind of advertising is belittled in the
chusetts, was due largely to the dissatisfaction of the manufacturers
estimation of the reading public, who has become familiar with the
and working men of that commonwealth with the duty on hides and
flamboyant announcements and personal attacks of dealers upon
wool, which are the raw materials of the two largest industries.
each other.
They have not taken into account the fact that Douglas spent a
fortune in advertising, and his manager admits that that was the
HAT does it all amount to? If the piano man wants to get
impelling force that elected him, and not dissatisfaction with the
"square" with a competitor the best way is to bend every
present tariff schedule, as the Government authorities seem inclined
energy and intelligent effort to win trade in an honorable way, and
to believe.
not through the adoption of a system of abuse which would make a
London costermonger turn green with envy. We have always ob-
HE death of W. W. Kimball removes from the Western piano
served that an antagonism to a fellow creature, however great the
industry one of its most noted members. Mr. Kimball
provocation, reacts upon the one who gives birth to the desire to
possessed that indomitable energy and will power which would have
"get square." Better a mighty sight get busy in the legitimate
won for him success in any vocation that he elected to follow. He
channels of trade than to devote sleepless nights laying plans to
early saw the advantages of Chicago and kept his own industry as
"getting square" with a competitor.
far as development was concerned, in harmony with the phenomenal
growth of the West. He possessed that creative force which has
IFE is too short and too exacting to permit of any "getting
placed this country in the van of industrial progress. He was of the
square" indulgence. Time, strength and mentality are too type of men who do things—like Armour, Pullman, and other dis-
precious to waste on such an ignoble ambition. If a man has kind
tinguished Chicagoans, W. W. Kimball won a foremost position in
and healthy thoughts for humanity he is bound to grow broad and
American industrial development.
G
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