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THE
fflJSIC TIRADE
V O L . X L V . N o . 8.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bifl at 1 Madison Avc, New York, August 24, 1907
AMERICAN MUSICAL INDUSTRIES.
A Report Issued by the Bureau of Commerce
and Labor Showing the Development of
Music Trade Affairs—According to the Re-
ports New York's Supremacy Is Clearly Es-
tablished—Some Interesting Figures Pro-
duced by the Government Experts.
J
Some of the government reports which have
been issued regarding special trades are full of
inaccuracies, and when they make their appear-
ance some of them seem like reading ancient
history; but they are interesting because sent
forth by the Federal Government.
In a special bulletin issued this week by the
Department of Commerce and Labor, the devel-
opment of the manufacture of musical instru-
ments is treated in a statistical form. The bul-
letin covers a period of five years, ending in
1905. In this bulletin the figures show aston-
ishing development, and some interesting facts
are presented regarding the value of products
and the number of wage earners employed. Ac-
cording to statistics New York's lead in the mak-
ing of musical instruments is clearly emphasized.
The official bulletin shows that there were 625
establishments engaged in this industry in 1905.
They employed 35,220 wage-earners, reported an
aggregate capital of $72,225,379, and manufac-
tured products to the value of $69,574,340. Five
years before, when the census of 1900 was taken,
the number of establishments reported for this
industry was .619; total number of wage-earners,
23,714; the aggregate capital, $47,706,582, and
the value of products, $44,418,978.
Comparison of the figures for these two cen-
suses shows that there was an increase in the
five-year interval of $25,155,362, or 56.6 per cent.,
in the value of products; $24,518,797, or 51.4 per
cent^ in the amount of capital employed, and
11,506, or 48.5 per cent., in the number of wage-
earners. The establishments in the meantime
increased by only six, or about 1 per cent. This
comparatively small increase in the number of
establishments, the report of the Census Bureau
says, is more or less characteristic of all lines
of industry in recent years, being indicative of
the tendency toward production on a large
scale.
Comparative figures given out by the Census
Bureau show that this industry made much
greater progress in the five years between 1900
and 1905 than it did in the ten years between
1890 and 1900. The value of the products fur-
nishes perhaps the best indication of growth.
This item shows an advance from $36,868,169 In
1890 to $44,418,978 in 1900, which was an in-
crease of only $7,550,809, or 20.5 per cent., as
compared with the remarkable increase of over
$25,000,000, or 56.6 per cent., in the five years
between 1900 and 1905.
The leading state in production of musical in-
struments is New York, which reported products
to the value of $24,277,927, representing more
than one-third of the total product of the United
States. The state ranking next in importance
as regards this industry was Illinois, of which
the aggregate product was $13,997,728. Next
comes Massachusetts, with a product of $8,538,-
073; then Connecticut, with a product of $5,279,-
085. New York has been a leader in this indus-
try for more than 25 years. Massachusetts was
the second state in importance in 1880 and again
in 1890, but in 1900 was outranked by Illinois,
in which state the recent development of the in-
dustry has been rapid.
The manufacture of pianos is largely central-
ized in New York City, which reported a produc-
tion of 82,532 upright pianos in 1905, represent-
ing almost one-third of the total number pro-
duced in the United States. The number pro-
duced in Chicago was 42,933. Boston produced
12,989.
In presenting the statistics of this industry the
Census Bureau classified the establishments with
respect to their principal product under four
main heads, namely, pianos, organs, piano and
organ materials, and instruments and materials
not specified. There were 249 piano establish-
ments, 94 organ establishments, 101 establish-
ments producing principally piano and organ
materials, and 181 establishments manufacturing
instruments and materials not specified. The
value of products for these four classes of estab-
lishments was, respectively, $46,922,471, $6,041,-
844, $13,128,315, and $3,481,710.
The manufacture of piano and organ ma-
terials has in recent years attained considerable
importance as a distinct branch of the industry,
and the value of such materials is shown sepa-
rately for the first time at this census. The fig-
ures do not include the value of the materials
produced and used by the manufacturers of the
instruments. The aggregate value of the piano
and organ materials manufactured for sale was
$13,128,315. Nearly one-third of the total prod-
uct was reported for the City of New York.
ADVERTISING AS A SCIENCE.
Method Counts—Businesslike Advertising Wins
—Care Should be Shown in the Preparation
of Matter.
Scientific advertising follows the laws of
psychology. The successful advertiser, either
personally or through his advertising depart-
ment, must carefully study psychology.
He
must understand how the human mind acts, says
George J. Bailey in Printer's Ink. He must
know what repels and what attracts. He must
know what will create an interest and what will
fall flat. The study of successful advertising
throws considerable light on this difficult prob-
lem. In order to accomplish the highest in ad-
vertising the manufacturer and wholesaler
should have a carefully organized method. Here
are some of the things that a scientific advertis-
ing department demands:
First—A competent, progressive, systematic,
businesslike advertising manager. Ten years
ago such a position was scarcely known. To-day
the advertising manager stands at the head of
the firm. He is the most necessary and often
the ablest individual. His position is one which
requires brains, scholarship, tact. It is neces-
sary for the advertising manager to be in close
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
contact with every department. He must know
the goods and understand the peculiarities of
the business he is advertising. He must know
intimately the sal#smen; must be able to under-
stand their reports, sympathize with their diffi-
culties and adjust the advertising department to
their needs. In other words, the advertising
manager of a large manufacturing or wholesale
house is the most all-round man in the business
world. Upon him depends the success of the
house. He must be thoroughly acquainted with
the advertising proposition. He must be a spec-
ialist as well as a man of general knowledge.
He must be a judge of art, a writer or at least
a good judge of copy. He must understand type
effects. He must be a student of human nature,
and he must know the laws of the* human mind.
Much of his education in advertising is secured
through the study of the great advertising suc-
cesses. From these examples he must learn
what kind of advertising brings business and
how the successful advertising is produced. The
advertising man of to-day must have executive
ability. He jnust be able to put his own plans
into operation. In securing an advertising man-
ager the business man makes one of two mis-
takes: "He either selects a man who is able to
do his advertising successfully, and then refuses
to let him do it, or he selects a man who is
incompetent and gives him the entire responsi-
bility."
Second—A complete and up-to-date mailing
list of possible buyers of your goods.
Third—The preparation of an adequate, attrac-
tive, and effective line of advertising matter,
which will be sent to the mailing list at proper
seasons, representing seasonable merchandise.
Fourth—The use of proper trade papers that
reach your customers, present and prospective.
Fifth—Systematic co-operation with your sales-
men, opening the way for their calls and keep-
ing in touch, with the retailer between calls by
personal letters and convincing literature.
Sixth—Systematic co-operation with the sales
department in following up inquiries and turn-
ing them into orders.
Seventh—A careful and complete record of all
advertising work done, literature sent out, and
results received therefrom. The scientific ad-
vertiser soon learns just what part of his adver-
tising pays and what does not pay. Always bear
in mind that you advance your interests by
being truly helpful to the retailer. An adver-
tising department intelligently operated will put
the jobber in personal touch with the trade.
A NEW PITTSBTJRG FAD.
Pittsburg, that city of millionaires, serious
and giddy, has a brand-new fad that should in-
terest the piano trade. The fad is for electrk
lighted pianos, many who already own handsome
instruments having electric fittings attached,
while those contemplating purchasing are look-
ing for pianos with such additions. The new
lighting greatly enhances the beauty of the
pianos, and the Lechner & Schoenberger Co. at-
tracted much attention to their window by show-
ing several of the latest style Starr pianos with
electric fittings.