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THE
MUSIC TRADE
MEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPELLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Staff:
GBo. B. KELUEH,
W. H . DYKES,
F. H. THOMPSON.
EMI_IE FRANCES BAURR,
L. E. BOWERS, B. BBITTAIN WILSON, WM. B. WHITE, L. J. CHAMBEELIN, A. J. NICKLIN.
BOSTON OFFICE:
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Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
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____„.
Directory ol Piano
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
'
~ ~
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
Minulicturtri
f o l . dealers and others.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1000
Silver Medal.Charleston Exposition 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal.. .St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal. ...Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 1745 and 1761 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable address: "Elbtll New York."
NEW
YORK, AUGUST 31, 1907
EDITORIAL
A LREADY piano representatives are out on the trail for fall
1~\
trade. There is to-day more activity in the wholesale de-
partment of the music trade industry than is usually in evidence
at this season of the year. One thing is noticeable, too, that the
travelers are mainly heading for the Middle and Far West; there-
fore, during the next two or three weeks trade will be worked with
considerable vigor throughout the Middle West and the Rocky
Mountain region as well, for the itinerary of many traveling men
includes a visit to the Pacific Coast before their return.
New England and the East is not considered at the present
time fertile soil for the development of wholesale trade. The
drought and the decline in stocks has unquestionably affected busi-
ness in this region, and just how long the depressing conditions will
affect retail trade is a matter of conjecture.
T
H E R E is much ground for encouragement in the recent gov-
ernment crop reports. As a whole conditions are much bet-
ter than those reported at the beginning of last month, for although
,the report shows a decline in the condition of spring wheat the
deficiency thereby created is more than made up by the improve-
ment that winter wheat has undergone since the compilation of the
July report.
Corn shows a gain of 88,000,000 bushels over the July out-
look, the estimated crop being 2,648,673,000 bushels. The corn
harvest of 1906 amounted to 2,927,416,000 bushels, while the winter
wheat harvest of last year was 492,888,000 bushels and that of
spring wheat 242,372,966, making a total wheat yield of 735,260,-
966, so that the probable decreases are 278,743,000 bushels on corn
and 96,910,966 bushels on wheat.
The corn harvest, however, should be in excess of that of 1904
(2,467,480,000 bushels) and but slightly below that of 1905 (2,707,-
993,000), while the wheat crop while falling below that of 1905
(692,980,000 bushels) should greatly exceed that of 1904 (552,-
399,000) and should about equal that of 1903.
Owing to the lateness of the corn crop, there is a possibility
REVIEW
of its being injured to some extent by early frosts. Nevertheless
the report indicates a full average corn harvest, with a wheat crop
of medium extent. And since prices rule high, the returns to the
farmers, and therefore to the country at large, are likely to be of
a verv satisfactory nature.
W
E may add, advices to The Review from special representa-
tives in all sections of the country bear out the government
statements. Everywhere merchants seem to be optimistic'and with
very few exceptions they report good crops. This state of affairs
certainly should encourage piano men to redouble their efforts to
secure trade, and to start in right now. The man who sits back
and is afraid to go out and hustle for business is the fellow who
will be left.
Trade in the piano industry has shown,a falling off up to the
present time of from ten to fifteen per cent, from the record of
1906. Now the next four months must not only make good the
deficit, but they will have to be pretty active to bring up the year's
record to that of 1906, which was the banner year in the music
trade industry. Plenty of business will be done, but the men who
secure it in goodly slices will be those who arc out hunting for it
and not those who sit around filled with fear and apprehension as
to the business future.
R
EPORTS which we have received during the past ten days
from scores of cities throughout the country indicate that
the stock now on hand at the retail warerooms does not exceed that
of a year ago. Dealers as a whole did not place large orders for
spring business and trade has not been of a very buoyant kind.
It has been sufficiently good, however, to have succeeded in re-
ducing the average wareroom stocks to a position approximating
that of a year ago, therefore we start in upon the fall season just
about the same, as far as the number of instruments on the retail
floors are concerned, as in September, 1906.
There has been, too, a disposition on the part of retailers to
emphasize quality sales rather than quantity sales. The head of
one of the largest Pacific Coast houses recently remarked to The
Review that he had instructed all of his salesmen over a year ago
to exercise care to sell pianos only to desirable persons. In other
words, to weigh the responsibility of each person approached for
salesmaking, and not to sell to persons whose resources showed,
after investigation, that they were not sufficient to meet deferred
payments on pianos.
To secure quality sales is a splendid system to adopt particu-
larly just now when conservatism seems to be the dormant principle
in the handling of any business enterprise.
A
SUBSCRIBER to The Review remarks in a communication:
"I have been much interested in your one price editorials,
and I hope you will keep the good work up. Continue to make
your slogan one price, and that by the manufacturer; it will cer-
tainly do the trade good and keep interest aroused at all times. A
while ago you made the point that a dealer might conduct a one
price business and handle a certain make of piano in a most pro-
gressive manner, and thus work up a splendid reputation for his
instruments to which he would hold to the one price rigidly. In
the territory directly adjoining another dealer might have the
agency for the same piano and treat it in a somewhat indifferent
manner, marking the price down considerably lower than the
progressive man who is spending considerable money in advertising.
Number 2 might be one price, and still the progressive dealer would
suffer, because people could come over from the adjoining territory
and purchase the same instrument for less money. I had a case
the other day exactly as you instanced in your article, and I have
taken the matter up with the manufacturers, urging them to estab-
lish a standard price. It is the only way to hold a business where
it belongs."
The nationalization of piano prices must go steadily on, and
year by year the manufacturers will swing in under the true one
price banner. There is quite a list to-day who advertise broadly
one price to all people in every part of the country for the various
styles of instruments which they produce.
W
HEN such concerns as Steinway, Sohmer, the John Church
Co.. and others advertise in plain figures the retail prices
of their instruments, it must have an effect upon the general trade.