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10
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
RENEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President and Treasurer, C. L. Kill, 37i Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President,
J. B. Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave, New York; Second Vice-President, Raymond Kill, 373
Fourth Ave., New York;- Secretary, Edward Lyman Dill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York;
Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAY BILL, B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors
WILSON D. BUSH, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorial Staff
EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, V. D. WALSH, E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD, LEE ROBINSON,
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, ScQtT KINGWILL, T.HOS. W. BRESNAHAN, A. J. NICKLIN.
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N E W S SERVICE IS S U P P L I E D WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN T H E LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
Entered at tecond-clatt
matter September 10, 1892, at the post office at New York, N. Y.,
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
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REMITTANCES, in other than currency iorms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
are dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Player-Piano and
Technical Departments
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medal.. .Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma,. ..Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal—Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
LONG
DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 6982—6983 MADISON
Connecting all Departments
Cable address: "Elbtll, New York"
Vol. LXXII
NEW YORK, APRIL 30, 1921
APRIL 30,
1921
orders. Piano merchants should realize and capitalize the fact that
the demand for musical merchandise is very active even though the
sales of pianos may have declined somewhat.
Why is this so? The price, for one thing; the steadily growing
market, for another. A small goods sale does not as a general rule
represent a large sum of money, which means a great deal considering
the present state of mind of the buying public. The market for small
instruments has been greatly broadened during the past few years.
The movies have meant more and larger orchestras; industrial mu-
sical organizations have multiplied many-fold; the popularity of the
saxophone and the music of the talking machine have stimulated
kome use of orchestral instruments. It is to be hoped that the piano
merchants at the convention will consider the avenue of profit open
to them in small goods.
A SUGGESTION T O MUSIC CRITICS
I
N suggesting that music critics in their reviews of concerts and
comments on musical subjects generally use language under-
standable to the public at large rather than to the musically educated
few, R. K. Paynter has brought forth a question that is deserving
of special attention in view of the work that is being done in and
out of the trade for the advancement of music and of music appre-
ciation.
Just as the public taste must be elevated by degrees to a jx)int
where there is a real appreciation of the classics, so must the edu-
cation of the public in musical matters, carried on through the
medium of the printed word, be gradual. The individual, even
though he seeks musical education, cannot be expected to maintain
interest in a mass of terms of which he has no comprehension.
It might be well for numerous music critics .to sacrifice their
desire to display their own particular vocabularies to an effort to
express themselves and their opinions in words quite as effective and
more generally understandable. It can be done, even though it may
mean a little extra work for such writers to get away from the habit
of using their own particular sort of language.
SQ.
T H E QUESTION OF INTEREST
No. 18
T H E P R E - C O N V E N T I O N ISSUE
NCE again the annual Pre-Conventibn Issue of The Review
makes its appearance for the purpose of conveying to its readers
complete and detailed information regarding the programs of the
national conventions to be held at the Drake Hotel, Chicago, during
the week of May 9. The Review is distinctly the pioneer in originat-
ing and carrying out the idea of presenting concrete advance informa-
tion regarding convention plans in a special issue prior to the
meeting, thus giving to the trade at one time and in one volume the
programs for the convention proceedings.
This work of The Review has been highly commented upon
by members of the trade in the past, who have realized the effort put
forth in having the information as accurate and complete as possible.
A liberal supply of the PrerConvention Number will be available
at the conventions for the use of those who desire to keep in touch
with what is going on not .only in the matter of the conventions
themselves,^ but- also, in the matter of social affairs, exhibits, etc.
The great importance of the convention sessions this year makes
the advance information of what is going to happen of particular
value.
O
MUSICAL M E R C H A N D I S E IN D E M A N D
T
REVIEW
H E R E is a saying in the musical merchandise division of the
music industry that business is best when times are hardest. No
matter what general business conditions may be the demand for small
instruments goes on steadily and often improves. It is worth the
earnest consideration of the piano dealers assembled in convention
that the present general depression finds the small goods field prac-
tically untouched, with wholesale and retail orders coming in merrily.
Some idea of the importance of musical merchandise may be
giained from the report last month of a band instrument manufacturer
whose books showed nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in
unfilled orders. It is also significant that some of the large New
York wholesalers of musical merchandise are forced to remain open
until ten o'clock at night in an effort to clear away the steady pile of
T
H E decision of the piano merchants of Philadelphia to cancel
their agreement regarding the charging of interest on instal-
ment sales is to be particularly regretted at this time when the general
financial situation is such that the merchant needs greater protec-
tion on the money he has outstanding to keep the balance on the
right side of his ledger.
That one or two concerns were moving to ignore the interest
agreement and to advertise long terms without interest to the public
naturally had the effect of undermining the confidence of competing
dealers in the wisdom of sticking to the interest plan, but it would
seem that with the majority of the reputable houses of the city
insisting upon interest the actual loss of business through such a
demand would have been insignificant.
Of the wisdom, and, in fact, actual necessity, of establishing some
sort of interest charge, open or concealed, on instalment accounts
there is no question, and it is to be hoped that even with the formal
agreement abrogated the majority of Philadelphia merchants will see
fit to continue the charging of interest for their own protection.
OUR
EXPORT
TRADE
OR a number of months we have heard most discouraging re-
ports regarding the falling off of American export business.
We have been told, and quite frequently with truth, that the foreign
demand for American goods, due to difference in exchange and other
reasons, has dropped to an embarrassing degree, and that the music
trade was affected among many other industries. Yet in the face
of all this the Government reports covering domestic exports of
musical instruments during the month of February show some sur-
prising figures. Spain, for instance, took American musical in-
struments to the value of $38,654 during the month, of which $21,-
452 represented player-pianos. During the same month Canada took
$138,000 worth of our musical goods; Mexico, $95,700; Cuba, $59.-
500; Peru, $37,000; Japan, $73,000. and Australia, $237,619, all in
one month, the shortest month in the year.
This grand total of nearly $700,000 worth of musical instru-
ments sent abroad from this country less than two months ago is
impressive and significant and forms a mighty solid foundation on
which to build for the future.
F