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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
JULY 9, 1921
CONDUCTED BY V. D. WALSH
SYNDICATE STORES SEEK TO REVIVE TEN-CENT MUSIC
SONGS THAT SELL
Beginning of Strong Campaign to Force Ten-cent Numbers Back on the Market Seen in Letter
Issued by S. H. Kress & Co.—Dealers Must Co-operate to Protect Their Interests
There has bten trouble brewing for some time cents the smaller publishers will be forced to
between various syndicate stores and the popu- sell at ten cents and even less because they
lar publishers regarding the wholesale and are now from two to three cents less per copy
retail prices of sheet music. That the matter than the large publishers and this cannot but
is fast being brought to a head is evidenced by ultimately mean that in the end music may be
a letter reproduced below, from S. H. Kress & fifteen cents or even less at retail."
Co., who operate numerous chain stores, most
From the dealers' standpoint there has been
of them in Southern territory.
some agitation for a hundred per cent profit on
While this is not the first letter from syndi- sales. This they can now readily see cannot
cate stores on the matter of price reduction, it be accomplished and if they decide to hold
is the first in which they have asked for the what they have their salvation is to line up
return of ten-cent sheet music and it will, no with those who intend to continue the present
doubt, be supplemented by other letters, not price arrangements.
only from the organization in question but from
The publishers, of course, are in no condi-
other syndicates.
tion to control the retail selling price of their
That there will be a concerted drive for the product as has been pointed out. If this could
return of ten-cent music is now made plain be done legally the situation could be solved
and if the popular publishers and the legitimate and solved quickly.
sheet music dealers do not stand together in
The publishers are in favor of a thirty-cent
this trying period the drive will succeed.
price on popular music rather than twenty-five
If the syndicates win it means the doom of the cents as the cost of promoting and exploita-
sale of popular music by the legitimate dealer tion makes it necessary for them to favor that
who has been cashing in on such goods dur- figure.
ing the past eighteen months. It also means
There are, of course, many opinions regard-
the return of dictatorial methods on the part ing present day prices, both wholesale and
of syndicate stores.
retail, but no matter how well based they are
The main thing now is for the popular pub- now is not the time to bring them forward.
lishers and the legitimate sheet music dealers The thing to do right now is to fight for
to stick together. The quibbling over percent- the continuance of present prices, giving the
age of profits, overhead, etc., should be dropped. publishers the utmost co-operation and settle
The fight is on and in order to be won the ut- any differences, if there be such, at a later period.
most co-operation should be given the pub- To those dealers who have found the han-
lishers by the dealers to uphold the present dling of popular music a source of good profit
prices. This is important because after all it and want to continue as active sellers of such
is the legitimate sheet music dealer's fight as numbers, the way to do so is to feature them
much as the publisher's. It is a fight for the now and make up any loss the publishers may
protection of his interests, for the protection of feel from other channels.
his present profit, and for the protection of
The S. H. Kress & Co. letter appears below:
sales that are legitimately his.
"Back to normal. We hear it on all sides.
It has been seen for some time, by those who This seems to be the slogan adopted by the
have had vision, that any attempt to reduce general public. We are fast approaching it
prices would only develop ultimately in the re- in the majority of lines. A fair percentage of
turn of ten or fifteen-cent music.
prices to-day on various commodities are at
As one publisher recently stated: "It seems or near a pre-war basis, with the exception of
to 'be a well-established fact that if the dealers sheet music.
sell music at twenty-five cents and purchase it
"Phonograph records and player rolls can be
at 125^2 cents, as they urge, the syndicate stores purchased to-day at about 50 per cent less than
would be entitled to the same price and that pre-war prices.
means that instead of selling it at twenty-
"Why should sheet music be 25 per cent
five cents they would sell it at twenty cents higher than in pre-war times?
because they are perfectly satisfied with the
"If the overhead expense causes these high
profit, which is approximately 60 per cent on prices then the overhead is too high. Rail-
the cost. If the large publishers sell at \2Y 2 roads and manufacturing concerns all over the
My Mammy
Rosle
(Make It Rosy for Me)
Home Again Blues
I Like It
I Wonder Where
My Sweet, Sweet Daddy's Gone
D r o w s y Head
Who'll Dry Your Tears
Shore
The Last Little Mile
Oh, My Sweet Hortense
Someone Else
The Passion Flower
Beautiful Faces
Irving Berlin's Latest
Overnight Hit
All by Mysell
IRVING BERLIN, Inc.
1587 Broadway, New York
country are meeting the present conditions by
cutting their overhead. They are eliminating
unnecessary offices and help, thus reducing the
cost of production, and the public is deriving
the benefit. .
"Something must be done to stimulate enthu-
siasm in the music business. The buying pub-
lic have lost their interest in sheet music.
There was a time when it may have seemed
necessary to sell sheet music at twenty-five
cents for ten-cent music. Publishers have prac-
tically 'killed the goose that laid the golden
egg' by publishing nearly every number as a
USINESS is good with the dealer who carries stock that is called for
Order a supply of these today from us or your jobber.
'HESE SONGS
, THE PUBLIC
WAN!"
n cr" Song and Piano Solo
^£5
For nil Talking Machines and Player-Pianos
Song—A Wonderful Seller—For all
Player-Pianos and Talking Machines
This is the
f avorite
waltz
°f
all prominent orchestra leaders
Published by
o.
1015 Walnut Street
Kansas City, Mo.