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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
47
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In tne World of Music Publishing >i*
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PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR.
of some kind, but the various employes find
pleasure and happiness in giving one another
tokens, to commemorate the gladsome Christmas
tide. The staff at Chicago and 'Frisco sent their
packages and the New York contingent dis-
patched a case of parcels westward. I. Waldman
Teschner and William H. Penn received hand-
some gifts from their principal, the former being
presented with a solid silver Tiffany loving cup,
measuring seven inches in diameter, in conjunc-
tion with a "cara sposa" which accompanied the
cup; the latter received an exquisitely designed
fish set in solid silver, comprising three heavy
pieces. Miss Harriet Hayden Foley, the head of
the accounting department, was given a hand-
some pearl inlaid pair of opera glasses, and
Miss Adele Morgenstern, a diamond dragon. At
all events, it can be said, that no one of the Sol.
Bloom staff was forgotten, from the general man-
ager to the humblest music wrapper or the ma-
jor domo of the building to the scrubwoman.
Publishers Are Now Preparing to Take Up
Future Developments—Business for the Year
Now Closing Ahead in Volume, but Not as
Satisfactory as Desired—Department Store
Situation Most Annoying.
Publishers are simply waiting for the holiday
season to pass before discussing their plans for
the future. While Christmastide is a period of
thankfulness as well as a presumable era of good
feeling, the gentlemen engaged in the publishing
business are wont to fear its arrival, and are
always relieved when the new year puts in its
appearance. Perhaps for an entire month trade
is slow, and it is nearly the middle of January
before a change for the better is in evidence.
Stock-taking is in full swing about the first,
though a few houses commenced closing their
books and going over their line this week. The
same is true of the dealers, and publishers ex-
pect few orders of any size, excepting such as
are needed to fill in, until the stock has been
gone over, and the dead wood is sorted out from
the good sellers.
It is generally agreed that 1904 was ahead of
the preceding year in so far as the volume of
business transacted is concerned. In fact, the
total approximate sales was phenomenal, but the
margin has been less satisfactory. The expense
of conducting an up-to-date publishing house
seems to increase at a rate which those engaged
therein declare is most astonishing. Every inno-
vation introduced for marketing and promoting
publications has a tendency to increase the cost,
and when many features of selling are consid-
ered the profits melt like snow in a rainstorm.
This condition is bitterly complained of, but no
remedies are suggested beyond the one, that is
as old as the everlasting hills, namely, when
goods are sold at cost a margin is out of the
question.
The department store selection in New York
and elsewhere is not so acute but the improve-
ment is so slight as to be hardly noticeable. Re-
ferring to this exasperating phase of the trade,
the manager of one of the largest and best
known houses in the country said to The Re-
view early in the week: "The department store
nuisance is as yet unabated. To be sure, New
York and vicinity are the greatest sufferers, and
dealers and jobbers have been made to feel this
unholy competition severely. Now, then, I can
say, that as a general proposition, dealing with
the department stores is not only unsatisfactory
but the business is far from desirable. Every-
body knows what a department buyer is—the
worst that ever happened, and in saying this
I mean unless you meet their figures—which
means little, if any profit—you can make no
sales.. All self-respecting publishers with a busi-
ness of any magnitude are giving the department
store as wide a berth as possible. If they pay
the price, well and good; if the holdup tactics
are pursued, the order is turned down. That :s
the way we feel, and others are coming around
to our way of thinking."
The above is a very good picture of Miss Eliza-
beth Brinsmade, the celebrated contralto, who is
one of the best known vocalists on the concert
stage to-day. In every city where she has ap-
peared she has succeeded in interesting large
audiences, and the press are unanimous in their
praise of her vocal abilities. Some time during
the first part of next month Miss Brinsmade
will give a series of concerts throughout the
South, visiting the principal cities of Louisiana,
Texas and Tennessee. Preparations are now go-
ing on for this tour, and the noted singer has
been most painstaking in her choice of songs
with which to captivate her listeners of the
sunny South, where she is a great favorite. In
her repertoire will be the following well-known
songs: "Resignation" and "There, Little Girl,
Don't Cry," by Roma; "Where Thou Art," by
Mascheroni; "In Winter," by Purdon Robinson;
"A Lily of the Valley," "Could I Love Thee
More," by Reed Miller; "Daddy and I" and "A
Little Dutch Garden," by Loomis. All of these
songs, which are published by M. Witmark &
Sons, are certainly well chosen, for they bring
out the rare qualities of Miss Brinsmade's voice
to the best possible advantage. It is predicted
by those who ought to know that her trip to the
South will be a most remarkable one from both
an artistic and financial standpoint.
CHRISTMAS AT SOL BLOOM'S.
At the publishing house of Sol. Bloom last
week, a scene was enacted which, for the time
being, was an hour of joy and jollification. Not
only does the head of the firm endow each and
every one of the sixty odd employes with a gift
THE
Isadore Witmark and Edwin S. Cragin Talk
Interestingly With The Review on the Trade
of the Past Year and the Prospects for the
New—Future Welfare of Publishing Busi
ness Depends on the Adoption of Legitimate
Recognized Business Methods—Indications
Point to an Excellent Trade for 1905.
With the publishing trade business during the
past year has been of a mixed character. The
volume of sales has equaled, if not exceeded that
of 1903, but the margin of profit has been smaller
and greater efforts have been required to mar-
ket the output. For the new year prospects are
bright, so far as the future may be gauged by
current conditions and alluring promises. A ma-
jority of the publishers whose opinions are
worthy of being quoted are loth to speak rf
"past performances" until their books have been
closed; and of what is in store as long as the
present unsatisfactory situation continues, al-
though no spirit of pessimism or unwarranted
optimism tincture their carefully weighed re-
marks.
For example, Edward S. Cragin, manager of
Chas. H. Ditson & Co., speaking for the publish-
ers of standard and the highest grade music, said
to The Review: "So far as we can gauge our
business, and without referring to the books, it
has been on a par with 1903, and possibly better.
We do not feel the effect of the price-slashing,
for our lines are not in the class over which so
much turmoil and demoralization have been cre-
ated by a species of competition that is certainly
discreditable to the trade, to say the least. No-
vember represented the largest sales on record,
and just preceding the holidays business was
eteady and strong. The new year looks inviting,
I/ATEST
"IT HAPPENED IN NORDLAND."
Book and Lyrics by GLEN MacDONOUGH
Willard Poster, the well-known vocalist with
the Van Dyke & Easton Co., is making a great
hit with "Sweet Adeline" and "Somebody's
Waiting 'neath Southern Skies," which are given
as "picture numbers." They have proved, they
say, to be the most successful illustrated songs
that have been seen for many months. "Good
Night, Beloved," is a song that is destined to
become famous not only throughout the United
States, but in other countries, for it possesses
certain elements that make it popular in all
places where good music is appreciated. Profes-
sional vocalists say it is a song that grows on
the public.
TRADE PROSPECTS DISCUSSED.
ELIZABETH BRINSMADE.
Absinthe Frappe
The Matinee Maid
A Knot of Blue
• •
Beatrice Barefacts •
Selection
March
Music by VICTOR HERBERT
50 I Brought Them Home to Mother
50 The Coon Banshee
50
50 The Jack 0'Lantern Girl
Waltzes
75
1.00
Lanciers
• • •• 50
50
Al Fresco-Intermezzo
50
50
50
50
M. WITMARK & SONS, New Yotk
CHICAGO
LONDON