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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
UruterTHE
W
ITH the appearance of Vladimir de Pachmann, who was
heard through the medium of the Baldwin grand in recital
in Toronto on September 27, the musical season of 1911-12 may be
said to be open. De Pachmann will make his New York appear-
ance on October 20 on his farewell visit after thirty years of public
life, and he will be soon followed by other artists eminent as piano
virtuosi, playing the pianos of our leading makers. The season so
far outlined, and the bookings by the leading managers, indicate a
very successful musical season. And this brings to mind an old
topic, namely, the indifference of many dealers to the value of these
recitals as business and prestige creators. A celebrated pianist may
play a famous piano in their city, and yet no extraordinary efforts
are made in the way of publicity to inform the public that the
artist is playing a piano which this dealer has handled for many
years. Surely there is no better way of concentrating public at-
tention on a dealer's house, and on the instrument which he repre-
sents, than the recitals which will soon be in full swing throughout
the country. The fact that an artist of international reputation is
using the piano which a dealer sells in his town or city should be
helpful to him in developing sales, provided, of course, the dealer is
alive to the necessity of using printer's ink—using it intelligently and
forcefully, and in a style in sympathy with the high character of
the instruments which he represents. In this way the dealer can
aid and recompense the manufacturer Nn a measure for his labors
and efforts in bringing to a larger public notice the merits of the
pianos which the dealer represents. Nowadays dealers place too
much dependence upon the manufacturers doing all the advertising,
without realizing that it is the dealer's duty to do his share, par-
ticularly when he can benefit locally by such effective work as is
done during the recital or concert season. The list of pianists who
will be heard this year includes many of those eminent in the world
of music, and the dealers should be alive to the opportunities pre-
sented.
*? *t *.
O
CCASIONALLY a piano dealer is found selling or advertis-
ing a piano under a special brand that is suspiciously similar
to the name of some well-known piano of unquestioned high stand-
ing and reputation for quality. Such methods are naturally decried
by the upright members of the trade and there is much said against
the practice of trading upon the name and reputation of an estab-
lished manufacturer.
* H •*
T
HERE is another side of the story, however, and that concerns
the dealer who secures the agency of a high grade line of
national reputation, in his territory, ostensibly as a leader, and then
uses that line simply as bait to attract purchasers for special pianos
sold under his own name. The writer knows of a dealer in an
eastern city of twenty thousand or more population, who has and
advertises the agency for a large line of high-grade and popular
pianos. A special piano offered under his own name is never fea-
tured strongly in the advertisements and yet the prospective pur-
chaser upon a visit to the warerooms has the special thrust upon
him at every turn. The high grade line has answered its purpose
and is practically forgotten in the selling talk unless the prospect
desires a fine grand. The special can be sold at a lower figure than
the cheapest piano in the advertised line and yet show a greater
profit than would the sale of a really expensive piano of a standard
make.
« M *.
T is safe to say that nine out of ten prospects buy one of the
special pianos and the tenth only secures a piano of standard
make through strong insistence. Owing to the generous profit on
the special, the dealer can offer terms that cannot be approached by
either of his two competitors. What chance have those competitors
got when they are acting as agents for standard lines of. pianos ?
In the manufacturer's case, he has a live territory tied up and is
getting only a small proportion of the attention for his line that
I
TALL TOWER.
is due it under the agency agreement. Being figured as a "leader"
doesn't add much to the prestige of a piano unless the leadership
brings sales. In one way the advertising of the dealer referred tQ
is misleading and is on a par with that of the fellow who gets hold
of 'a second-hand piano of a well-known make and advertises it at,
a ridiculously low price for the purpose of catching "suckers."
:
HE problem of disposing of square pianos taken in exchange as
part payment for new instruments is growing less constantly,
as the number of square pianos grows smaller, but nevertheless the
solution of the problem even as it exists, at present, requires some
thought on the part of the dealer if he is to come out even without
losing money. In disposing of squares to advantage a number of
piano houses, notably Heppe, of Philadelphia, and Goetz, of Brook-
lyn, have arranged for their distribution to various public institu-
tions and even to private individuals too poor to purchase an up-
right, and have figured out that the advertising value of the general
distribution has been in excess of the profit that could possibly have
been made on the instruments had they been put in salable con-
dition and disposed of as used pianos. Some houses have made a
practice of destroying the old squares. Both that plan and the gen-
eral distribution scheme have the advantage that they remove the
square piano from the open field permanently while when the pianos
are sold they are very liable to turn up again in the course of trade
and their disposal again become a matter of the moment.
T
WESTERN dealer, E. C. Shardlovv, of Marshall, Minn., has
devised a new plan for utilizing squares for advertising pur-
poses which will no doubt interest other dealers. He has taken an
old Chickering square and mounted it on four high posts in a field
adjoining the most traveled road into Marshall. The piano is
covered with outdoor varnish to withstand the weather and the
posts, which are twelve feet high, are painted white. On the music
rack a piece of galvanized iron is placed to represent the music and
bears the words, "We Sell Sheet Music." On the case itself appears
the words, "Shardlow, the Piano Man" and the slogan, which is
strikingly illustrated by the display itself, "We Give You a Square
Deal and Treat You White." A number of square pianos thus
utilized in various parts of the country would have an advertising
value far in excess of any amount that could be obtained for them
through sale and no one could pass such signs without a second
glance at least.
A
'"T^HE question of Federal control of industrial and commercial
A
enterprises doing an interstate business will be among the
many matters to come up for serious consideration when Congress
assembles on December 4. Senator Newlands, of Nevada, has
given notice that he will at the coming session, push his bill for the
creation of an Interstate Trade Commission of five members, to con-
trol industrial corporations, just as the Interstate Commerce Com*
mission does the railroads. The Newlands bill was introduced at the
extra session and received the commendation of leaders both in the
House and in the Senate, Republicans as well as Democrats. Senator
Clapp, chairman of the Interstate Commerce Committee, to which
the bill was referred, is known to strongly favor such legislation,
and it is considered as probable that the measure will be favorably
reported some time during the coming session. The Bureau of
Corporations, which has for a number of years been investigating
industrial corporations throughout the United States, is by this bill
separated from the Department of Commerce and Labor and merged
in the commission of interstate trade. The Commissioner of Cor-
porations is made a member of the proposed commission.
Y
OU cannot expect people to buy yottr wares unless they ard
shown why they should buy thenf.^ *"'