Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MU3IO TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Staff:
OBO. B. KBUUBB,
_ W. H. DTKBS,
A.
B. BBITTAIM WIUSON,
L. B. BOWKR8,
R. W. SIMMONS,
AUGUST J. TIM?B.
J. NlCKLIN,
BOSTON OFFICE:
BRNBST L. WAITT, 6© Bummer 8t.
CHICAGO OFFICE:
E3. P. VAN HABLINOUN, Room 806,156 Wabash Ave.
Telephone, Central 414.
MINNEAPOLIS a n d ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
PHILADELPHIA:
R. W. KAUFTMAN,
ADOLF EDSTBN.
CHAB. N. VAN BUKBN.
SAN FRANCISCO: S. II. GRAY, 88 Flrat Street.
CINCINNATI, O.:
BALTIMORE, MD.:
JACOB W. WALTBBB.
A. ROBERT FRENCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 69 Baslnghall S t , B. C.
W. LlONBL STUBDT, 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, f 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 BUI.
important feature of this publication Is a complete sec-
to the interests of music publishers and dealers.
Music Section. tion An devoted
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Brand Prim
Paris Bxposltlon, 1900
BUver Medal.Charleston Bxposltlon, 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Bxposltlon, 1901
Qold Mtdal... .St. Louis Bxposltlon, 1904
Qold Medal
Lewis-Clark Bxposltlon, 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable address: "Elblll, New York."
NEW
YORK, FEBRUARY 5, 1910
EDITORIAL
H
OW firms differ in the conduct of their collection depart-
ments !
We know of some houses that have such a perfect system that
but a small percentage of their accounts are permitted to fall in
arrears.
They impress upon their customers the necessity of meeting
their instalments precisely as agreed and there is no question but
that the more rigidly these rules are lived up to the better it will
be all around.
A good collection department is a business essential which
should not be overlooked.
How many dealers who have failed during the past ten years
have been good collectors?
Now, that's a point worth investigating.
As a matter of fact the men who have handled the estates of
defunct concerns have been amazed at the laxity existing in their
collection department.
Now, a man who is not a good collector is not good in meeting
his own obligations.
A man who does not intend that others shall live up to their
obligations with him is apt to be very careless in meeting his obli-
gations with the manufacturers and it goes still on further up the
line.
The manufacturers who do business in accordance with strict
business methods are the ones who have splendid discount facilities
at the banks with which they do business.
There is no question but that this industry, or at least certain
members of it, could improve their conditions very materially if
they would inaugurate an up-to-date system early in the year.
There is nothing more, save rank dishonesty, which discredits
a man with the people from whom he is seeking financial favors
than careless and lax methods.
The man who is careless in his dealings never knows how he
stands.
REVIEW
The man who puts in force a collection system which cpmpelsf
his customers to live up to their obligations is the man whom the 1
traveling men are anxious to sell.
They arc the kind of men the manufacturers want to see op
their books, and why should they not?
They represent a safe business class.
B
USINESS men who are successful understand the necessity
and the value of advertising. Probably no advertising is
entirely devoid of material gain.
' ?}.
As the Kentuckian said of the whiskey: there is no poor
whiskey, but some is decidedly better than others.
Now, there is no absolutely worthless advertising, but some,
is infinitely more profitable than others.
Every man, therefore, is anxious to get the best possible re-
turns from his expenditures, and yet how is he going to do it?
Eirst, he must have something worth advertising.
If a man puts forth a piano without merit all the advertising,
in the world can only bolster it up temporarily and people after 1
a while will find out its true worth, and after they have befe'ni
"stung" they are not liable to get in the danger line again and'
they arc quite apt to influence their friends.
An article must possess merit and it must be sold at a price
which is reasonable for the values incorporated within it.
Having settled that, the next point is to attract the attention of
the people.
- -
Now, having interested the people in a way, it is useless tcj
suppose that the demand will go on increasing without advertising.'
It will not.
Spasmodic advertising is about the most unprofitable kind, and
the advertiser who figures that he can put a page in a magazine
now and then and carry a little card in a trade paper, with a page
occasionally, and win out in a business sense against the men who
have a perfect system in their advertising department is reckoning
entirely without reason.
It is steady advertising that pays and the advertisers who fol-
low up publicity in public and trade mediums in season and out
are the ones who it is safe to say are invariably in the lead.
They arc the ones who keep everlastingly at it.
They realize that spasmodic efforts only bring spasmodic re-
turns and it is the regular business in season and out that counts.
T
HEN the advertiser must put forth good arguments. He
must have something that will stand out in sharp contrast
to other advertising matter.
Illustrations and striking set ups must force people to notice
ads. He must bear in mind that he is only one of many and that
which appears to be striking and attractive by itself may attract little
or no attention when it appears among dozens or a hundred other
advertisements.
You can make your ad. so attractive that people will look at
it again and again.
It is not necessarily the largest ad. that is the most attractive,
but the advertisement must appeal to a man's sense of humor—his
human or artistic sensibilities—his admiration for beauty.
Impress upon him the utility and splendid quality of your
wares—the superiority of your products—some special points of
your pianos.
And. Heaven knows, most of the piano advertising of to-day
can just as well be applied to sewing machines or wash boilers or
anything else, because there is unquestionably a mass of unattrac-
tive—non-alluring—advertising put forth exploiting pianos.
Two or three advertisers have recently asked our opinion con-
cerning magazine advertising.
By direct questioning we found that they expected to expend
a few thousand dollars and had figured on using quite a number
of magazines.
Tommyrot, absolutely!
It would amount to nothing or precious near nothing.
They had very much better expend the money in local news-
papers and trade publications.
If they cannot advertise sufficiently strong to attract attention
in the magazines they had better get out of the game altogether and
husband their resources until such time as they can go in laro-e
enough to create an impression.
We do not believe that frequent changes of advertising benefit