Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1908 Vol. 46 N. 21

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
W. II. DYKES,
P. II. THOMPSON,
J. HA YDEN CLARENDON,
B. BRITTAIN WILSON,
L. J. CHAMBERLIN,
A. J. NICKLIN.
GEO. B. KELLER,
L. B. BOWERS,
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE
EKNEST L. WAITT, 100 Boylston St. E. I". VAN HABLINGEN, Itoom 806, 156 Wabash Ave.
PHILADELPHIA:
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
R. \V. KAUFFSIAN.
ADOLF EDSTKN.
ST. LOUIS:
CHAS. N. VAN BUBBN.
SAN FRANCISCO: S. II. GRAY, 2407 Sacramento St.
CINCINNATI, O.: BERNARD C. HOWES.
BALTIMORE, MD.: A. IIOBEUT FRENCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 69 Basinghall St., E. C.
W. LIONEL STURDY, Manager.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION, (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50 ; 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, $60.00; opposite
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES, In other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Music Publishers*
An interesting feature of this publication is a special depart-
Department V V ment devoted exclusively to the world of music publishing.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal.Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diplomo.Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal. ...St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal. . . .Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable a d d r e s s : "Elblll, N e w York."
NEW
YORK,
M A Y 23, 1 9 0 8
EDITORIAL
I
NDICATIONS now point to an unusually large attendance at
both of the coming- music trade conventions. A good many
dealers have signified their intention of visiting New York during
the clan gathering period, and all indications point to a huge aggre-
gation of music trade people in this city when the conventions occur
here next month. The members of the Chicago trade will be here
in goodly numbers, and New York will be the Mecca of music trade
people during the second week of June. Old Father Knickerbocker
will bid the guests a hearty welcome, and the members of the New
York trade will leave nothing undone to make their tarry a pleasant
one. No matter how great the crowd there will be no inconvenience
on account of lack of hotel facilities, because New York with its
hostelries for the housing of a floating population of seven hundred
thousand daily is able to lodge more transients comfortably than
any city on earth.
As a matter of fact great conventions should never be held out-
side of cities where there are excellent hotel facilities. It does not
add to the pleasure of a convention if men have to put up with all
sorts of unpleasant accommodations in cramped hotel quarters and
dining equipment not to their liking. It would be a good plan to
have the gatherings alternate between the East and the West, select-
ing only such cities as have adequate accommodations to house
without discomfort large aggregations of humanity.
S
OME of the subjects which are presented by the Executive Com-
mittee of the National Piano Manufacturers Association for
discussion at the business sessions of the convention next month
may certainly be termed "live wires." Whether anyone may be
shocked by treading too hard upon them is a question.
The first subject relating to the player piano and its future in-
fluence on the piano industry affords opportunities for the flight of
imagination to altitudinous points. One thing is certain, we do not
have to dip into the future to recognize the influence of the player
piano, for its influence is obvious to-day. Just what part it will play
in years to come is more or less problematical. One thing is cer-
tain, with the unmistakable tendency toward reduction and simplifi-
cation in player mechanism, it will be easy for anyone who owns a
REVIEW
piano to have player mechanism incorporated therein at a moderate
expense, and as a selling force it is admittedly great.
T
HE second topic on the list, querying the necessity of a written
guarantee, to our minds would be answered by the majority
of the trade in the negative. As a matter of fact, guarantees, re-
sembling beautifully engraved stock certificates, may impress some
purchasers. They may make the people who purchase pianos think
that they form a rock-ribbed protection, which will secure them
against fire, cyclones, earthquakes and other ills which cause man-
kind to tremble at times. But, after all, guarantees, as they are
written to-day, mean nothing, unless there is the desire back of the
guarantee to protect the purchaser. Every reputable piano manu-
facturer will stand back of his product, but he will not stand for
abuse on the part of the retail purchaser. He is not going to make
good the ignorance and wanton negligence on the part of the owner
of the piano, because if he did he would be more out of pocket than
he is now, and the Lord knows that piano manufacturers have to
stand enough in the way of unjust demands upon them as it now
stands. There are some people who will move a piano near a red
hot stove and will open a window where the fog and rain would
pour in upon the instrument, and then wonder why the strings rust
and the varnish cracks.
The subject whether the association should adopt a monogram,
or trademark, is a question to our minds which purely interests the
association, and is not open to criticism of outsiders.
T
HE fifth query as to whether the actual retail price of pianos
should be cast in plain figures on the plate is a question of
general trade interest.
We have taken the position for some time past that the manu-
facturers themselves held the key to a very vexatious problem. If
they would advertise the exact prices at which their instruments
could be purchased at retail they would settle the real status of the
special brand piano once and for all, provided, of course, that they
place the correct selling price on their instruments and not exag-
gerate the figures such as was formerly in vogue in cataloging
pianos, so that the dealer could say, when pointing to the catalog
pricing, here's a $500 piano, when in reality it would only be worth
about half that sum. There is a question, however, whether it
would be good taste to have the price of a piano cast in conspicuous
figures on the plate.
We are rather inclined to think that the majority of the members
will reject this proposition. However, the question will be brought
up, and no doubt there will be considerable discussion, because this
subject will reach immediately into the by-paths, which are intensely
interesting and have an important bearing upon the manufacturers
and their relations and obligations to the public. An addition to
the by-laws has been presented to W. L. Bush, whereby every
member shall, not later than January i, cast in all piano plates
names which clearly indicate the origin of the instruments. In
other words, Mr. Bush's proposition is that all pianos should have a
definite origin, so that anyone entering a wareroom and examining
different instruments can immediately trace their ancestry to a defi-
nite source. Without doubt the presentation of this proposed change
in the by-laws will precipitate the warmest kind of discussion, be-
cause there are a number of men who do not believe that any trade
association can formulate rules and regulations which conflict with
the ordinary business policy of some of its members without the
withdrawal of some from the membership roll of the association.
As we view it, the real warmth of association oratory will center
upon Mr. Bush's proposition to amend the by-laws.
Mr. Bush has not hesitated to express his personal views in the
most emphatic manner and he proposes to make the association go
on record defining its attitude toward the special brand piano.
HE advantage of price restriction to merchants and manufac-
turers has never been better illustrated than in the talking
machine industry during the past few months. It is well known
that talking machines are sold under certain restrictions that pre-
vent price cutting and no jobber or dealer can cut prices to retail
purchasers, and as a result the trade has stood up amazingly well
during the hard strain which has been placed upon it since last
October.
There is no doubt but that many dealers would have been in-
clined, had the restrictions been removed, to have offered machines
T
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
at cut rate prices simply to turn their stock into cash when there
was particularly strong financial pressure upon them. This, how-
ever, they were unable to do, and while there has been naturally a
diminished demand for talking machines there has been no de-
preciation in stock values and there has been no demoralization of
the settled conditions in that industry.
We question if any industry is safeguarded in so many ways
as is the talking machine trade against price slaughtering and con-
sequent unsettling of trade conditions. Restricted prices are cer-
tainly great peace producers in the internal affairs of any industry.
REVIEW
IN LIGHTER VEIN
It never pays to lose your temper.
Ignorance of values is like ignorance of location.
Be careful whom you choose for shining examples.
Patience is to salesmanship what oil is to an axle.
There is no substitute for honesty—nothing "just as good."
O
NE of the most important economic moves of the day about
which the general public has learned little is the concerted
action of the owners of timber in the various parts of the country
in the organization of an association to protect their holdings from
fire.
One well-known lumber merchant—an authority—stated that
fires in this country have destroyed more timber than the lumber
men have cut. When timber was abundant the waste passed almost
unnoticed, but now that we are threatened by a scarcity amounting
to an actual wood famine the owners of forest lands are waking up
and taking action to save what is left. With the enormous con-
sumption of lumber in all lines it is estimated that within a very
short time we will be face to face with an actual timber famine, and
as the scarcity of lumber grows naturally its price will continue on
an upward trend. In time it will naturally affect the cost of pianos.
T
H E R E are some men who are overfond of saying that the
world owes them a living. Isn't it a peculiar statement to
•make when you come to analyze it? To think that success is any-
one's by divine right without effort to produce success. Success
comes by hard work and nothing can be achieved without hard
work. The world owes no man anything in excess of the exact
equivalent of the service which he performs. When you hear a
man say that the world owes him a living it" is pretty safe to say
that that man has failed to size up the situation rightly. It requires
eternal hustle to achieve success, more now than ever before, and
if we meet our obligations to the world the world will be good
enough to cancel any debt which it owes us.
E
VERY piano salesman should acquaint himself with not only
the advertising policy of his house, but with the statements
made in advertisements which are daily and weekly put forth. It
is a fact that some salesmen to-day persist in regarding advertising
as encroaching on their domain. They do not realize its helpful
power and some of the few unprogressive salesmen look upon pub-
licity with jealousy.
One advertising manager for a big piano concern recently
stated that several men on the sales force were not aware of the
tremendous work put forth for the development of business. Such
salesmen should remember that not less than a hundred millions of
dollars was spent in general and mail order advertising last year
and fully sixty per cent, of this business was placed by advertisers
who have been running campaigns for years with results that have
been greater every year. It is safe to say that if advertising on the
whole did not pay it would never have attained its present develop-
ment. Advertising is nothing if not a form of salesmanship and a
refusal to admit it is to forever remain ignorant of a vast fund of
information, a knowledge of which would materially help the sales-
man in his work.
N
OWADAYS one must not overlook any force which may be
helpful in securing trade, and a man who does not realize
the strength of publicity in a business campaign shoots over the
mark.
In piano selling there is much to learn, for it is a science, and
an experienced piano salesman has a keen and thorough knowledge
of his business. He knows precisely on what grounds his competi-
tor bases his claim that his pianos are better than his own. The
up-to-date salesman posts himself as to the merits of particular
instruments and strong talking points come under his personal
observation. The best posted salesman is familiar with the piano
which he sells, and with such knowledge he can impress a customer
in a more convincing manner than if he possesses a purely super-
ficial knowledge of the instrument.
No detail is too small to be inconsequential in salesmanship.
The best sales are sometimes won or lost by some trivial Incident.
The only way you can get a reputation for honesty is by being honest.
The public has confidence in the man who has confidence in himself.
If you are not enthusiastic about work, how can you expect to suc-
ceed at it?
A salesman should never approach a customer with his breath smell-
ing of liquor.
Don't attempt to build up a reputation by telling what you are going
to do. Let your deeds speak for themselves.
Be mighty careful how you joke with a customer. It is difficult to
tell always which people are lacking in a sense of humor.
Mrs. Bronson—Your husband kissed your cook.
Mrs. Woodson—I told him to. The cook thinks she is getting ahead
of me, and will never leave.
Little girl of four (standing entranced before the window of a toy
shop)—Oh, mother, if you was my little girl, wouldn't I take you in
and buy you some of these lovely things.
Auctioneer—Going! Going! Gone! Here, sir, it's yours. Great bar-
gain, sir. The frame alone is worth the price.
Connoisseur (ripping out the picture)—The frame was what I wanted.
Nervous Old Lady (on seventh floor of hotel)—Do you know what
precautions the proprietor of the hotel has taken against fire?
Porter—Yes, mum; he has the place inshoored for twice wot it's
worth.
Employe—I promptly cast aside all business cares when I leave the
factory at six o'clock.
Employer—That's all right, but I wish you could cast them on as
promptly in the morning.
Patient—Why, doctor, if I take an ice-cold bath with this cold I'd
surely get pneumonia.
Dr. Killum Wright—I know; and that's my great disease. I've never
lost a patient yet who had pneumonia.
Lady Gushington (to great tenor)—You sang that last song beauti-
fully. I was in the supper room, but I heard every word. You have
improved; you have, really.
The Great Tenor—But—I have not sung; I am next!
Bridget and Pat were sitting in an armchair, reading an article on
The Law of Compensation. "Accordin' to this, whin a mon loses wan uv
his sinses another gits more developed; for instance, a bloind man gits
more sinse uv hearin', touch, an
"
"Sure, an' it's quite true," exclaimed Pat. "O'ive noticed it myself.
Whin a mon has wan leg shorter than the other, begorra the other's
longer."
The burglar was cautiously descending the stairs toward the door
with his spoil when an electric globe flashed into light and the master of
the house suddenly confronted him.
But his amazement at the unexpected vision was as nothing com-
pared with his surprise at what he heard.
"Don't be alarmed," said the householder; "just oblige me by posting
this letter. It's the claim which I'm sending to the burglary insurance
company."
Wife—Have you any secrets you keep from me, dearest?
Husband—None, darling.
Wife—Then I am determined I will have none from you, either.
Husband—Have you secrets, then?
Wife—Only one, and I am resolved to make a clean breast of it.
Husband (hoarsely)—Go on!
Wife—For several days I have had a secret—a secret longing for a
new dress, with hat to match, for my birthday.
That fetched him.

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