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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
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NEW
YORK,
MAY 9, 1908
EDITORIAL
A
PIANO merchant of national standing recently remarked to
The Review: "What we need most in this industry is, not
more associations, or more subjects discussed, but concerted, intelli-
gent and sincere action upon one of the many vital questions which
interest the trade. We are inclined to scatter too much. We are
inclined to say considerable, all of which we do not actually mean.
We have gotten into a kind of trade rut from which we should
extricate ourselves, and, I believe, now that the association gather-
ings are coming on, it might be well to centralize the whole
association proposition so far as the dealers are concerned. " In
other words, take up, say, one subject of vital interest to the trade,
and handle it in such a manner that dealers everywhere would be
interested. Then when one thing is accomplished successfully
move on to the next. In this way we might be able to accomplish
considerable in a few years which would have the effect to build up
the trade to the position which it should occupy among the legiti-
mate mercantile professions in this country."
G
UR friend, whose utterance we quote above, has used the
word insincere in connection with his statement which in a
degree reflects upon certain members of the trade. When he said
insincerity exists, that surely is a strong charge to bring against
members of any trade, and does it apply truthfully to the piano
industry? But if men denounce "special brand" pianos at associa-
tion gatherings, and lend their energies to selling them when they
are at home, is their association attitude a sincere one? And that
leads up to the subject: What do resolutions amount to when there
is no spirit back of them which compels their general adoption?
Absolutely meaningless and their discussion absorbs time which
business men can ill afford to give to trade discussion, nor should
the trade newspapers be asked to print them unless there is sincerity
and earnestness of purpose back of the resolutions. Associations may
pass resolutions that would extend from Halifax to Hades, and yet
they would accomplish nothing unless men honestly worked for their
general establishment and adoption. That is one reason advanced
why some members of the Manufacturers and Dealers Associations
have grown a trifle lukewarm in their interests in association mat-
REVIEW
ters, and a number of them have not hesitated to state to The
Review that unless there was a growing desire to accomplish things,
associations would never reach the point which they should attain
in trade politics.
I
T would seem from present indications that there is going to be
some fairly lively expressions of opinion regarding a lot of
topics when the trade clans get together in New York next month.
William Lincoln Bush, like the great Lincoln, who said that a
nation could not exist half slaves and half free, believes that a
trade cannot exist half "special brand" and half one name pianos.
Mr. Bush said to The Review this week: "If the association, as
an association, believes that it has no right to interfere, and that
it is not formed for the purpose of regulating, or controlling the
individual in any sense of the word as far as the observance of the
ethics of trade is concerned, I think it would be well for the asso-
ciation to resent all previous action and proceed to admit the legiti-
macy of the 'special brand' piano, or as a trade factor, endorse it,
and accept it as the bulwark of our industry. But whatever action
is taken it ought to be final, and the question ought to be disposed
of for once and all at the coming convention." Mr. Bush said
further: "I do not believe that there is a member of the trade
who does not recognize the fact that the special brand piano is
used for the purpose of fraudulent misrepresentation and to the
injury of legitimate high and medium grade instruments."
The convention meetings will, no doubt, be worth the price
of admission, because all things point now to some highly flavored
discussions along several lines. Meanwhile the conventions and
piano men generally are receiving considerable publicity through-
out the country through the cleverness of Chairman Woolley, of
the press committee. Mr. Woolley has made it a special aim that
the local newspapers should receive plenty of information relating
to the dealers' convention, which is now being used as news matter
all over the country, thus attracting the attention of thousands of
readers to the gatherings of the piano men, and, of course, they are
incidentally reminded of pianos. Excellent!
PERUSAL of a number of advertisements put forth by re-
tail piano establishments in various sections of the Union
causes one to believe that the advertising writers have been im-
pressed with the fact that it pays to cultivate the idea of cheapness
in piano buying. Now, is cheapness really a good belief to en-
courage? Why not educate people up instead of down? Why not
tell in a convincing manner of the beauty and attractiveness of high
grade instruments? Why not emphasize quality instead of price?
There are many piano merchants who, to our minds, make a colossal
mistake in impressing readers of advertisements with the principle
of cheapness. Now, to our minds, the wise merchant—from a
purely selfish viewpoint, if you will—should continually strive to
lead his clientage toward a better appreciation of quality and style
values, and get away from the blind worship of mere cheapness.
In this way he will constantly educate the people of his community
toward a belief in pianos and musical merchandise of better quality
and higher price. His policy will prove an advantageous one, for
it is merchandise of character which yields in the end the more
satisfactory profit. If a cheap piano is sold at a cheap price, it
does not necessarily follow that the dealer has cleaned up the large
profit which appears at the first blush, for subsequent and unlooked
for expenses cut down the profit. Customers may be induced to
buy higher priced pianos in place of lower priced, hence it is well
to constantly impress upon salesmen the desirability of sizing up
each customer and hammering day in and day out, from one month's
end to another, the value of quality. If this plan is followed, after
a while salesmen themselves will become enthusiastic supporters of
the quality standard. Every intelligent man, without exception,"
knows that a higher priced article, if honestly priced, will give
better satisfaction and thus make the customer's trade a permanent
one, because a man's influence among his friends is considerable,
and the effects of a piano sale, if the customer is pleased, hardly
ever ceases. Then there are always small sales in the way of
merchandise, music, players, small goods, which follow along as a
natural sequence, and, to quote the old saying: "She will remem-
ber the quality long after the price has been forgotten."
A
Progressive merchants appreciate the fact that when they are
building on a quality basis they are standing on an enduring plat-
form, and it should be also remembered by some of the music trade