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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Too Little Attention Has Been Given by Dealers to the Proper Merchan-
dising of Player Rolls, and until This Situation Is Remedied, the Music Roll
Department Will Not Show the Degree of Profit That It Logically Should
It is generally becoming understood that the
situation of music roll manufacturers with re-
gard to the cost of doing business is already se-
rious; and that something must soon be done
if the margin of profit is not altogether to be
wiped out. There are, in point of fact, just two
possible things to do. Prices must be raised
or dealers must be content with a smaller mar-
gin. Nobody will pretend that the music roll
department is the most profitable in a music
store; but at the same time there is no reason
why we should waste any sympathy on the trade
on this account. The truth is that the trade is
not giving, and never has given, to the music
roll, the sort of intelligent attention it is accus-
tomed to give to the selling of pianos and player-
pianos. Until something like the same amount
of intelligence is applied in the one case as in
the other, music roll selling will not become
profitable.
Not a Disaster
Suppose that it becomes necessary to put up
the prices of music rolls to the dealers and to
announce a general blanket rise in catalog fig-
ures! The retailers will protest, no doubt, but
what else will they do? Will they accept the
situation and sell still fewer music rolls than
before? Or will they have sense enough to
see that the most difficult of apparent situations
may always be turned to account and made into
opportunities?
We are frankly skeptical about the rise in
prices being disastrous, when it comes. We
thoroughly believe that it is a blessing in dis-
guise. And we further believe that it may be
turned to account in a manner that will agree-
ably surprise the concern wise enough to give
it a thorough trial.
We have, indeed, no patent remedies to pro-
pose, but we have the one sovereign remedy that
is free to all but that, usually, is least of all con-
sidered.
That remedy is the remedy called
Intelligence.
The Essential Roll
Begin at the beginning: The music roll, in
some form or other, is an absolute essential in
the player game. You can no more get along
without it than you can get along without
music wire in making pianos. Take away the
music roll and the player-piano becomes an ordi-
nary piano, no more and no less. Every player-
piano sold, therefore, should mean the sale of
ar indefinite number of music rolls.
Giving Them Away
Now why is it that people do not buy more
music rolls? Careful examination and investi-
gation undertaken by the writer of this article
reveals that apparently the average private roll-
stock of the individual player-piano owner does
not exceed thirty rolls. Of these it is safe to
say that nearly one-half are not regularly
hard one. If the rolls are offered to him for
reason for so peculiar a state of affairs. The
reason is not hard to seek. When a dozen music
rolls are given away with the purchase of a
player-piano, the thought is unconsciously sug-
gested that rolls have no specific money value,
hut are simply so many incidentals that go with
the instrument, like the brass trimmings or the
bench. Let such an idea penetrate into the
consciousness of the purchaser without contra-
diction and the job of persuading that purchaser
to invest in a large stock of rolls will be a
hard one. If the rolls are offered to him for
next to nothing, then he will buy, of course.
Equally, of course, there always will be a certain
number of people who buy anyway, because
and into homes where they will be played.
Some of them will bring to their owners the
very message of satisfaction and musical riches
they have been waiting for. Others will be as
pearls cast before swine.
But they will be
played; and as a result the sales of other and
high priced standard music will be stimulated
from that time onward.
If people will pay three dollars for a classical
talking machine record, they will pay one dollar
and a half for a classical piano reproducing roll;
Make Them*feuy!
Anything can be sold if it be rightly pushed that is, when they understand what is. being
and have no positively disagreeable features offered them. It no longer can be said that ex-
about it. The one and only remedy for de- pensive demonstrating must be done to sell
clining sales in the face of a rising cost mar- good rolls, for the modern reproducing system
ket is to be found in more intelligent presen- takes care of all that. The hand played roll
tation of the goods and more intelligent ex- cannot be played wholly badly and the com-
ploitation of their sales features. Over and over plete reproducing piano, now obtainable at mod-
again, the application of good selling methods erate prices, does all that the talking machine
has revolutionized a sales situation and saved does in reproducing piano music; and does it
much better. It is, therefore, intelligence in
the day.
Now there is no use in pretending that one exploitation and advertising, and not lower
can sell people what they don't want. You prices, that we need. People do not haggle
cannot sell classical music to a people who have over the price of what they want. They pay
no liking for it. But that is one thing; and to what they must pay for what they want; hut
be unable to sell enough of the music that peo- they will hardly pay at all for what they do not
ple do like is quite another thing. The reason want.
that music rolls are not sold profitably is mainly
Again we say that the music roll needs for its
that they are not sold in big enough quantities exploitation on a profitable basis, increased vol-
and that the retail merchants have never yet, ume of sales. This means that the untapped
generally speaking, devoted systematic atten- reservoirs of demand must be reached. The
tion to this phase of their business. The public greatest of these is the intelligent public. Reach
do not buy, because they are not made to buy. them; you can; but only by intelligence and
Advertising and exploitation are simply so persistence. Leave them alone and you will
many ways of making people buy. They can be have even more cause in the future than you
made to buy music rolls too.
have had in the past, to cry that the music roll
business is one of small profit.
The High Priced Roll
The idea that music rolls cannot be sold at
NEW VOCALSTYLE FOLDER
high prices is an idea that springs from the
giving away theory. Of course you cannot sell
CINCINNATI, OHIO, January 22.—The Vocalstyle
a roll at a dollar to a person who cares only Music Co. is sending out an attractive folder
for noise and can get just as much noise out to its dealers containing many suggestions which
of one at fifty cents. But the fact remains that
will be of benefit to them in stimulating the al-
the intelligent section of the public have been
ready wide demand for the song rolls manufac-
almost wholly overlooked in this respect.
tured by the concern. The folder states that the
There is an enormous stock of unsold and vir- concern is paying particular attention to qual-
tually unsalable music on the shelves of retail
ity, and is endeavoring not only to turn out
merchants, accumulated from overbuying of
rolls which contain quality music but which are
cheap popular hits, which have died as fast as
manufactured from the very best grade of paper.
they grew up and have left only these pale
The folder further points out the advantage of
ghosts behind them. That represents often a
the salesmen explaining to their customers the
real dead loss. But the classified roll is in a
few simple marks which are placed on the
different position.
It is not unsalable, be-
Vocalstyle rolls for the purpose of enabling
cause there does ijpt exist a public which will
anyone to sing correctly.
buy that sort of music if the proposition be
put up to them intelligently. Therefore when
we find rolls of good standard music lying
unsold on shelves of retailers, we know that no
intelligent effort is being made to sell them.
the}' are fiends on some class of music, good
or bad. Again, it is always true that some
special popular roll will sell largely and that
the manufacturers will have to hustle to keep
up with the demand. But will it seriously be
argued that the output of music rolls comes
anywhere near supplying what ought to be
the natural, healthy demand of a nation that
consumes a hundred thousand player-pianos a
year?
Move the Slow Movers
If a determined effort were now made to rid
the shelves of slow moving standard music, by
every retailer who is complaining of slack roll
business, the results would be surprising. They
would go far to dispel the prevalent and false
notion that the public cannot be instructed as
to what they ought to choose, but can only be
given what they demand.
Suppose that a sale were held of all the high
class rolls in a store, at attractive prices with
a real reduction in them. Suppose that this
were advertised as being done in anticipation of
an immediate rise in price and because a new
stock of rolls is wanted. Suppose you get these
rolls sold out—as you will—then, even though
the margin be very small, the fact remains that
you have got those rolls at last off your shelves
LANGDON
The Remarkable
:
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PLAYER-PIANO
||p:;DEALERSliif
If
Proposition on the
Market Today
LANGDON PIANO CO.
Piciyer-Pianps Exc
$2-88 Brown Place
New York