Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1922 Vol. 74 N. 18

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUJIC TIRADE
VOL.
LXXIV. No. 18
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
May 6, 1922
A School for Piano Salesmen
O
NE of the topics that have come to the front recently in the retail piano trade has been the question of
the advisability of establishing a school, or perhaps several schools, of piano salesmanship, under
proper auspices and operating through the co-operation of the trade at large, in order to build up
efficient selling organizations that will help to move the goods that are now inclined to remain too
long on the wareroom Moors.
For some years the question of vocational training received considerable attention from manufacturers,
especially when labor was scarce, and that question still persists to a certain degree although the majority of
factories manage to get most of the skilled workers they require under existing conditions.
The problem right now is not so much one of production as it is one of distribution, and from this
angle the selling question naturally stands uppermost. During the past few months several retail managers
have voiced their opinions concerning some sort of school, or series of schools, to take young men just start-
ing in the business world, or those at present employed in other fields and desiring to make a change, and to
train them to a point where they will be familiar with piano construction, with the practices of the trade and
with logical selling arguments, so that retailers may make use of their services without any great personal
training expense.
There are in the trade, of course, managers and salesmen of the old school who stick to the idea that
piano salesmen are born and not made—that they come close to representing a distinct race of their own, and
that the ordinary individual cannot hope to attain any great measure of success in the field. Such an idea is
naturally archaic, for piano dealers before now have taken men from other fields and developed them success-
fully to a point where they were real piano sales producers, earning incomes that compare favorably with sell-
ing rewards in other lines of business.
"
' *
Only recently an aggressive retail manager in the East advertised for salesmen, offering a very mod-
erate salary, even for normal times, but holding out commissions on sales as bait. The response to the adver-
tisement was surprising, coming from men of education and in many cases successful selling experience, who
appeared to be interested in entering a new field and who were impressed not so much by the amount of
money that was offered them as salary as by the opportunities offered for making substantial commissions as
a result of earnest effort.
Naturally, these new men must have some sort of training, and there is no question but that if there
were a selling school it would enable them to receive the benefit of the experience of several successful
piano merchandisers rather than the advice of only one man, no matter how good he might be. There could
be some good, permanent work done to the advantage of the industry as a whole.
There is nothing unique about salesmanship schools, for such schools have brought thousands of real
dollars into the coffers of talking machine dealers; have proven successful with the cash register people, and
have been put over in fields too numerous to mention. It is not a question, as some seem to suppose, of drill-
ing the salesman in a set speech to be delivered directly to the prospect, but rather of acquainting him with the
details of piano construction, of the factors that make for quality, and of the arguments with which he is most
likely to be confronted.
The question of some organized method of training in piano salesmanship will very likely come up at
the conventions in June. There are going to be many who will favor the move, and many more who, for one
reason or another, will oppose it; but before the idea is sidetracked entirely, however, there should be offered
for consideration some other definite plan that will mean more piano sales. That is the goal, regardless of what
steps may be taken for its accomplishment.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
REVIEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President and Trouurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President,
J. B. Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Second Vice-President, Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth Ave.. New York; Secretary, Edward Lyman Bill, 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 Reportorlal Stall
EDWAXD VAN HAEUNGBN, V. D. WALSH, £. B. MUNCH, LEE ROBINSON, C. R- TIGHE,
EDWABD LYHAN BILL, SCOTT KINGWILL, THOS. W. BEESNAHAN, A. J. NICKLIN
WESTERN DIVISIONi
BOSTON OFFICE:
Republic Bid*., 209 So. State St., Chicago.
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
Telephone, Wabash 5242 5243.
Telephone, Main 6950.
LONDON. ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., D. C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
MAY
6, 1922
Music Memory Contest, and in cases where several thousand children
are enlisted in such a move the actual sales run into considerable
figures, to say nothing of the cumulative effect of the advertising
that is realized through the contest itself.
The talking machine companies have given, full recognition to the
possibilities of the Music Memory Contests and credit to C. M.
Tremaine, director of the National Bureau for the Advancement of
Music, for originating the plan. They have issued booklets contain-
ing suggestions regarding the conduct of Music Memory Contests,
together with lists of records most suitable for use in such contests,
Although the player roll manufacturers have not gone into the mat-
ter so systematically dealers in rolls have taken full advantage of
the opportunity when presented and have profited thereby.
Despite the broadening interest in music itself there are hun-
dreds of thousands, if not millions, of our citizens who evince no
desire to play the music of Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Saint-Saens,
etc., as such. When the beauties of some of the selections by these
great composers are brought home through the medium of the Music
Memory Contests it invariably opens the field for music appre-
ciation. It serves to wean the public away from the idea that
music by a noted composer is of necessity heavy and "high brow"
and difficult to understand and appreciate.
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
Entered as second-class matter September 10, 1892, at the post office at New York, N. Y.,
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50; all other countries, $5.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $6.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
early contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising pages, $150.
.EMITTANCE8, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
5
Pi o n A anil
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
'I lallU aUU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
l A n o o l m A n f o regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
leCnDlCai UeparilUeniS a r e d e a i t with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
whicn will be cheerfully given upon request.
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 0982-^5983 MADISON 8Q.
Connecting all Departments
Cable Address: "Elbill, New York"
Vol. LXXIV
(NEW YORK, MAY 6, 1922
No. 18
THE COMING CONVENTIONS
T
HE preliminary program for the national conventions in June,
as announced last week, indicates that the great number of trade
members who are expected to attend the meetings at the Commo-
dore are in for a very busy week, for not only are there numerous
business sessions planned for the first three days of the week, but the
arrangements for entertainment are unusually elaborate and will
carry through almost the entire week.
The plans for work and play are so arranged that the one will
not interfere with the other, and yet everything is calculated to
send the convention delegates back to their home towns not only
satisfied with the practical results of the meetings, but enthusiastic
over the brand of hospitality that can be shown by New Yorkers.
In many ways the convention at the Drake in Chicago last year set
a new high mark for such functions and the members of the
industry in the East have their work cut out for them in endeavoring
to surpass, or even equal, Chicago's record. But the attempt is to
be made and trade members here are giving and promising their
earnest co-operation.
It is understood that the program for the business sessions
of the various associations will be distinctly unusual in character
and calculated to give to the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the
retailer something concrete and practical to take back with them
to their business establishments for the purpose of increasing sales.
MUSIC MEMORY CONTESTS
ROM being a novel means for interesting school children in music
and making them familiar with the standard compositions and the
great composers the Music Memory Contest has developed to a point
where it is recognized by members of the trade as an ideal method
for getting talking machine records and player-piano rolls into the
home, and moving stocks of standard rolls and records that might
otherwise prove shelf warmers for a considerable period.
It has been proven conclusively in numerous instances that both
rolls and records are indispensable to the successful conduct of a
F
THE VALUE OF TRADE PAPERS
T
HE Steger & Sons Piano Mfg. Co., Chicago, ranks among the
big advertisers of the trade, particularly in the matter of national
publicity, and has had sufficient experience in the advertising field to
be able to speak with authority regarding the value of various
mediums. When, therefore, Chas. E. Byrne, secretary-treasurer of
the company, and for a number of years its advertising manager,
takes occasion, in a special article, to emphasize the importance of
trade and business journals in the development of distribution, he is
in a position to know whereof he speaks.
In the course of the article Mr. Byrne says: "Though the
powerful Steger publicity addressed to piano and phonograph mer-
chants includes direct-mail pieces and other effective forms of ad-
vertising, the trade paper announcements are really the backbone
of the entire campaign.
"So satisfactory have been the results from the latter that, where
a choice is to be made between trade journal advertising as against
all other forms of publicity, from the standpoint of interesting
dealers, I would recommend the business papers. * * *
"Were I to handle the publicity for any other sales organi-
zation in any other line of activity, to reach the dealers, my first
step would be to plan a campaign to run in the trade publications
peculiar to that field."
This practical commendation of the value of trade publications
as advertising mediums, coming from a man whose experience
has rendered him fully competent to speak on the subject, is worth
the careful consideration of those who, through a mistaken idea of
economy, do not give proper consideration to the merits of trade
paper advertising when arranging their advertising appropriations.
It is significant that the believers in, and persistent users of,
advertising, including trade paper publicity, have the least cause to
complain about poor business. The reason is that their advertising
policies serve to build up and stimulate business.
THE COMPULSORY LICENSE BILL
H E R E is developing much organized opposition to the Stanley
Bill (S. 3410) providing for the compulsory license of patents
on the part of inventors, manufacturers and others, who see in the
measure a direct menace to inventors and those who acquire rights
to patents. It is the claim of the opponents that, whereas one patent
may be bought up and pigeonholed to protect a monopoly, there will
be thousands that, while not being used for one reason or another,
nevertheless play an important part in the protection of inventors and
manufacturers. It is claimed, too, that the law of competition will
play an important part in keeping the patent situation clear with-
out any compulsory license law. Authorities who have investigated
the matter declare that a compulsory license law will serve to create
the very monopolies which it is designed to prevent. Meanwhile
there are numerous phases of the matter that are worthy of the at-
tention of those who are interested in any way in patents and patent
law.
T

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