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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Who Will Bear the Burden of Increased Prices?
Representative Piano Manufacturers Discuss This Important Question, and Offer
Some Suggestions as to the Proper Manner in Which the Problem Can Be Solved.
Who is going to bear the burden of the increase will not pay the price.' What would happen?
in the cost of materials which now enter into the There would not be any of these supplies, because
construction of pianos and player-pianos? This is they are compelled to pay the price. They must
the all-important question which the piano manu- either pay the market price or they don't get the
facturers and piano merchants are now seeking to goods.
answer.
"Piano manufacturers and piano merchants de-
The facts which have been brought out by lead- sire to maintain the "quality of their instruments,
ing supply men recently in the columns of The and the piano manufacturers are maintaining the
Review regarding the increase in the cost of ma- quality of their instruments to-day. When a piano
terials clearly show that those piano manufacturers manufacturer goes to a dealer and tells him that it
who have already raised the prices of their instru- costs so much more to produce an instrument, and
ments have not done it in order to seek greater that the price must be raised accordingly, the man-
profits, but simply because they have been com- ufacturer's request should be considered and the
dealer should realize that the manufacturer is work-
pelled to.
The manufacturer naturally expects the dealer ing for his interests, instead of trying to lower the
to pay more for pianos because of the increased quality of the instrument so the dealer can get it at
cost of production. Therefore, is it not up to the the old price.
dealer to look to the consumer to make up this
"Some dealers seem to have the idea that the
extra expense to him?
piano manufacturers are taking advantage of the
Complains Prices Have Not Been Raised.
situation, but this is absolutely not the case, and
A leading manufacturer, when asked for his the trade well knows that with the prevailing com-
opinion on this subject by a representative of The petition in pianos and player-pianos the margin of
Review, said:
profit is entirely too small for piano manufacturers
"I have seen the recent discussions in The Re- to pay the extra price for material and then make
view on the increase in the cost of pianos, but a legitimate profit. Realizing this, it is evident
upon investigation I have found, through my road that the dealer should co-operate in every way pos-
men, that the prices of instruments have not been sible with the manufacturers."
The Need of Co-operation.
much increased.
A well-known piano dealer recently said, when
"In spite of this, the raw materials which are
used in the construction of one piano have in- asked to talk on the increase in prices: "Why
creased in cost more than $5. Besides, there should I help the piano manufacturers? Let them
are certain materials which are scarce, the supply pull their own chestnuts out of the fire." This can-
of which has had to be conserved to the greatest not be called co-operation in the least, and really is
extent, or other articles would of necessity have not a fair spirit when everybody in the trade is
facing the same crisis.
been substituted long before this.
Commenting on the, advantage of handling one
"The dealer demands the same quality in the
instrument that he has always been accustomed to. line continuously, inrtead of changing frequently
He calls for the same quality back, sounding board, from one make to another, a local manufacturer
string.;, pedals, tuning pins, and the same quality said :
"The dealer who has handled a line of pianos
in the finish ; but when the manufacturer states to
him that it will cost so much more to furnish him for many years has enjoyed the prestige built up
with exactly the same instrument, he throws up his by the house which manufactures these instru-
hands in holy horror and says, 'Well, if that's the ments. Is it fair when that manufacturer, com-
case, I'll have to try somebody else.' And then pelled by circumstances, tells his agent that such-
what happens? He sends for some other manufac- and-such a style will cost him more, for the agent
turer—perhaps two or three—and in the group he to turn down his old house and take on a new line,
finds one who tells him very blandly that he has merely for the sake of five or ten dollars which he
ju.-t produced a new style instrument which is can get out of his old trade without any trouble?
very attractive and has many advantages, and be-
"Of course, if the dealer has not had much suc-
fore he is through with that manufacturer perhaps cess with that line, it is an entirely different matter ;
he is paying the same price that he paid the other
manufacturer. But is he getting the same quality?"
This is the most vital question that piano mer-
chants are facing to-day. The dealers want the
quality, but they do not want to pay the price.
What is the solution?
A Possible Solution.
Many manufacturers believe the solution consists
in raising the wholesale price and having the
dealer raise the retail price accordingly. A man-
ufacturer of national repute, outlining this idea,
said:
"How hard will it be for the piano merchant to
get, as an illustration, $15 more for his pianos? A
man can get $3
$350. This seems to be the most logical solution
of the whole situation. Let- the piano merchant
make up his mind to get a little more for his in-
struments and he will have no trouble in getting
from the manufacturer the same high standard of
quality in the pianos and player-pianos he has
always handled. It will not be necessary for him
to change his agency. It will not be necessary for
him to dicker with other manufacturers, and it will
not be necessary for him to explain to his cus-
tomers why he changed from one line to another.
"The dealer should realize that when a piano
manufacturer gets out a new style he spends a
vast amount of money doing it, and that if he does
not charge more for the new style than he did for
the old something must be very radically wrong.
"Suppose, for instance, the supply men, the man-
ufacturers of piano actions, player actions, hard-
ware, backs, cases, and the like, should say, 'We
but if he has, he has gained a certain amount of
prestige for himself through the name and charac-
ter of the product, and he is really betraying the
trust of the old firm he has been doing business
with for years for the sake of a few paltry dollars.
"Can there not be co-operation in the piano in-
dustry? There has been in other industries, and it
cannot seem possible that the personnel of this
great industry can be so different from others.
Wonderful Opportunity Confronts Trade.
"The piano industry to-day has the greatest op-
portunity it has ever had to put itself on a much
more profitable basis than it has ever experienced.
"During the dull season which prevailed last year
there was a general housecleaning. Dealers cleaned
out a lot of dead stock, they repossessed many
pianos, and consequently the credit of each indi-
vidual merchant was greatly improved. The evil
of over-production was brought to an end, whole-
sale credits became more stable, and the entire in-
dustry was really brought down to rock bottom.
"For years we piano manufacturers have talked
small profits, claiming that the piano business had
been cut to pieces, saying, 'We do not make enough
profit to pay us,' etc.
"To-day, with prices of materials high, stocks
low, and the country in a most prosperous condi-
tion and money more plentiful than it has been in
some time, the entire piano industry has its greatest
opportunity to firmly establish itself on a perma-
nent basis. If this were done universally, and the
piano manufacturers would get together on a
forceful co-operative advertising campaign, pianos
would be greatly popularized, more people would
think pianos than ever before, factories would be
running full time, piano merchants would have all
the business they could handle, and the entire in-
dustry would be strengthened so powerfully that
all talk of automobile and talking machine competi-
tion would gradually disappear, and the present
grumbling regarding small profits and poor credits
would be heard no more."
DEATH OF VETERAN ORGAN TUNER.
Daniel C. Weston, of Arlington, Mass., a veteran
organ tuner, is dead. He was born in Woburn,
Mass., and had been a tuner for over thirty years.
He died at the age of sixty-six, and is survived by
a married daughter.
Practical Facts About
STRAUCH BROS. Piano Actions
DESIGN
These actions are designed with the object of giving the
piano manufacturer, merchant and musician the best results
in touch, power, repetition and durability.
The design of the
Strauch Bros. Piano Actions
was also planned to assist the finishers and regulators to
attain the greatest accuracy with the least expenditure of
time and labor and so obtain the most effective results.
STRAUCH BROS.,
20-30 Tenth Avenue
NEW YORK