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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MARCH 13, 1920
61
CONDUCTED BY V. D. WALSH
COMPETING WITH THE
SYNDICATE STORE
Just Watch It Grow !
Retail Music Dealers Can Greatly Increase
Their Sales of Sheet Music by Pursuing
Modern and Progressive Sales Methods
From accurate reports from the music pub-
lishers, The Review finds that about 60 per cent
of the distribution of 30-cent sheet music of
the popular style is handled by the syndicate
stores. Why this should be so, when the legiti-
mate sheet music dealers far outnumber such
stores, is a question that the trade should be
bent upon solving. In articles appearing from
Words by
time to time in these columns, The Review has
WILLIAM LE BARON
urged the sheet music dealer to be on the alert
for the sales of the big successes in the popular
field, a majority of which are to-day retailing at
30 cents.
In time past, the dealer claimed that he was
unable to compete with the syndicate store, and of titles will be acquired from New York, Chi-
this was no doubt true when popular numbers cago and Western jobbers, as well as from re-
retailed at 10 cents. To-day there is only one ports of one of the largest syndicate stores.
After all, despite the large number of syndi-
large syndicate store featuring such 10-cent
cate
stores, their position does not make them
numbers, the balance concentrating their efforts
on higher priced works. That it is possible for impregnable. They cater only to a percentage
the dealer to compete with the syndicate stores of the population of this country, a percentage
when such stores uphold the retail price of 30 which does not justify their having 60 per cent
cents is hardly disputed. Why, then, should such of such business. However, if a legitimate sheet
large organizations do over 60 per cent of the music dealer was able to distribute fast selling
songs in his territory as efficiently as the syndi-
business in the field?
Many of the music dealers throughout the cate store does, there is no doubt that he would
country, as a matter of fact, are competing for take some of the sales now going into those
this business, and competing successfully. channels, and, in addition, there is-very little
Especially is this true with the song and melody doubt that the total sales of a number in the
shops, which seem to have found a method not • "hit" class would be increased by several hun-
only of getting their share of such business, but dred thousand.
The publishers to-day, of course, are willing
often making the music department of the syn-
dicate store in their territory run second. Here, to encourage the dealer in selling their goods.
then, seems to lie the answer regarding the They give hiiai co-operation, publicity, and they
methods to be used in order successfully to take exploit their works on a large scale, but they
do not seem to worry to a great extent who
a fair share of this business.
Both the syndicate store and the song shop gets the sales, the legitimate sheet music dealer
make a feature of displaying their wares. This or the syndicate store. But this, too, is the
to a great extent the sheet music dealer fails to publishers' problem, for if they can make it
do, and this he must do if he intends to compete possible for the sheet music dealer to use the
same merchandising methods that are used by
for the sales of these quick selling numbers.
It is very easy for the dealer to find out what the syndicate stores they will find that any
are the fastest selling numbers. His own calls territory where dealers are located will be cov-
will generally give him this information, but ered so thoroughly that the total sales of a
there are other methods also by which he can reigning success will be increased by about one-
judge those numbers that are meeting the pub- fifth. This sounds small, but when it is worked
out it runs, as above stated, into several hundred
lic's fancy.
In order to assist the dealer in making his thousand copies, an increase that every one in-
selections, and do his share in exploiting the terested in sheet music should try to achieve.
works having big sales, so that he may give his
utmost co-operation to the publishers of the "Dance-o-Mania" is a new instrumental num-
reigning hits, The Review intends frequently to ber by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Joe Cooper, which
print a list of the ten biggest sellers. This list is being published by Gilbert & Friedland, Inc.
On
Music by
VICTOR JACOBI
CHAPPELL & CO., LTD., New York, London, Toronto, Melbourne
SONQ WRITER DIES IN HOSPITAL
Christian Weigand a Victim of Heart Disease
in New York on March 7
Christian Weigand, a song writer, fifty-one
years old, died on March 7 at Bellevue Hospi-
tal, New York, from heart disease. He was
taken to the hospital from a rooming house at
141 East Forty-eighth street last February.
At the house Mrs. Carrie McKenzie, pro-'
prietor, said she knew nothing of the man, as
he had been a lodger there when she purchased
the place three months ago. Letters were found
in his room from Wylie, Tex., and from Kilian
Weigand, of Columbus, Ohio. There also were
a number of songs and song pamphlets copy-
righted in the name of the dead man.
THREE NUMBERS BY MORET
Daniels & Wilson Featuring Three Hits by
Popular Composer
Daniels & Wilson, Inc., well-known music
publishers, of New York and San Francisco, who
are the exclusive producers of all of Neil Moret's
compositions, announce a waltz, a one-step and
a fox-trot from that writer's pen. These are
"Indiana Moon," "Bow Wow" and "Sally, Shame
on You." "Sally" makes the third girl song that
Neil Moret has written in the last eighteen
months. His previous two successes were
"Micky" and "l'eggy."
Al Feldman has been made manager of the
Boston office of Gilbert & Friedland, Inc. He
is carrying out a big campaign on that firm's new
fox-trot, '"Afghanistan."
3 OF OUR BEST SELLERS 3
SONG ONE-STEP
OFTHE
A WALTZ OF RARE
.AND HAUNTING C
BETTER.TYTE
PRICE 18 CENTS
CRKHMOND PUBLISHER.
14«f WEST 4«J ST., NEW YORK CTTY •
GfclCHMOND PUBLISHER,
145 WEST 45T 1 ? ST.. NEWYORK CITV
RICHMOND PUBLISHER.
1 4 5 W E S T ^ ™ ST. NEW YORKCITY