Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
OCTOBER 7,
1922
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Proper Methods of Developing
the Roll and Record Business
Comparatively Few Retailers Are Enjoying the Full Possibilities Offered Them
in the Player Roll and Record Field
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This very interesting paper by C. C.
Baker, of Columbus, O., was read be-
fore the second day's session of the
Music Merchants" Association of Ohio
at its annual convention held last week
in Toledo, and points out some of the
weaknesses which are all too prevalent
in the merchandising of rolls and rec-
ords, together with some valuable
suggestions for correcting the same.
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What is the fundamental part of your busi-
ness? What does your business depend upon
and what do most owners of business pay the
least attention to? Will automobiles run with-
out gas? Will a watch run without a main-
spring:' No. Owners of music stores will con-
tinue to go on indefinitely without the intelli-
gent merchandising of records for talking ma-
chines and music rolls for their player-pianos—
not all maybe—at least the majority will. How
many men here could go to their stores to-
morrow, take charge of records and rolls and
intelligently order the same to insure their
customers real service and at the same time
balance their stock where the turnover is a
profitable investment? Remember that you are
not the only one selling records and rolls. They
can be bought at many other places than in your
store, therefore, you are confronted from the
standpoint of your customer with service only.
The player-piano or the talking machine is no
more than a piece of furniture without music
rolls and records. Rolls and records are such
a fundamental part of the business that atten-
tion must be paid to the kind of rolls and rec-
ords if the interest in the player-piano and
talking machine is to be perpetuated. How
many automobiles would there be on the boule-
vard if watered gasoline were sold? Gasoline
that would not produce real efficiency of the
car is no good if the owner did not get power
out of it. There is not one of you that
would think of putting on a tuxedo coat and
going without your shoes polished. Yet you
will run a music store and turn the roll and
record department over to some one and know
little about it yourself. You are not in a posi-
tion to advise them because of the little knowl-
edge you have of it—because you have al-
ways found it a side issue and do not get into
it yourself. You must remember if you expect
to sell more player-pianos and talking machines
it is necessary for you to put more energy,
more hard work and real intellect back of your
record and roll department. I believe I am
making a correct statement when I say there
are more idle player-pianos and talking ma-
chines to-day than live ones. I mean, by this,
the owners of player-pianos and talking ma-
chines are not buying new records and better
records, thereby injuring your new business
to such an extent that it is alarming. Some
of us are merchandising a record or roll of an
inferior quality, thinking we are making a
little profit, but the boomerang from such mer-
chandising is doing more harm than any of
us realize.
Perpetuating Good Music
1 am going to ask all of you to reflect and
give a little thought to this statement.
For
the success and the future of our business we
must perpetuate the right kind of music so the
non-owner of a talking machine or player-piano
will be proud to be the possessor of one. I
had a customer ask me the other day why I
did not carry the cheap records. I said, yes, the
cheap records had the same tune, but I could
take him out to-day to a restaurant and get
two steaks, cut from the same rump, have them
cooked by two different cooks, one who knew
how to cook a steak and the other that just
cooks steaks. You are able to eat one and
the other you are not because it is badly pre-
pared. It does not necessarily mean because it
is the same tune you get the same music any
more than you might partake of the one steak
the cook has spoiled because he did not under-
stand how to cook it. Tf any music dealer who
is in the business for his own selfish gain will
go home and figure his overhead expense on
each cheap record which he sells he will find
there is no profit and the only thing he is doing
is injuring his own business along with the
rest of us.
Some Startling Experiences
This Summer I called on twenty-five music
stores of which 1 have a memorandum. Now,
get this. I walked into the store, went to the
record or roll department, usually both, and
asked this simple question: "What have you in
a good record? 1 " The results were that
twenty-three immediately suggested "Stum-
bling," "Nobody Lied" or a similar number.
Remember, T asked for a good record. Two
of them asked me my classification, what I
would like to hear. Both of these were in the
northern woods of Wisconsin, and T want to
tell you, gentlemen, that some of you in this
room may be owners of the very stores T called
on. What have you done? You have loaded
up the users of records and rolls with a bunch
of popular stuff. You have actually sold the
popular stuff instead of increasing the future
The Hardman Line comprises two distinct
grades of artistically dependable pianos to
meet the varying tastes and purses of every
community: The Hardman, official piano of
the Metropolitan Opera House; and the
Harrington and Hensel Pianos in which is
found that in-builtdurability that characterizes
all Hardman-made instruments. Also, the
wonderful Hardman Reproducing Pianos;
the Hardman Autotone (the perfect player-
piano); and the popular Playotone.
HARDMAN,
PECK & GO.
Eighty Years of Fine Piano Making
433 Fifth Avenue, New York
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of our business with better music. Some of
you think you made additional sales. Every
customer to whom you sold these records
would have bought them anyway and you are
out the profit you might have had if you had
sold better music, thereby being instrumental in
helping the advancement of better music. If
you carry a good line of records or rolls re-
gardless of make you will find that you have
but one thing to sell, and that is service. What
is service? Service covers a smile, a "thank
you" and many other little courtesies which arc
necessary to sell any line of merchandise suc-
cessfully. We must use this kind of service
to be successful and it must be embodied in
our every sales movement. In addition there
are two essential items that cover service in
the music business. First, to have the record
or roll which is asked for in the line you carry.
Second, the art of suggestion. There will be
times you may be out of the number that is
called for and a special order should be taken
and followed up, not put on a notebook and
put aside for a week or two, but should be
ordered immediately so your customers may be
telephoned or drop them a post card telling
them you have the merchandise they desired.
The amount invested to carry a complete line
will be repaid from the profits of your addi-
tional sales, also rendering a service to your
customer, and your store will soon be known
as a record and roll store in place of a store
to shop for records or rolls. What about the
art of suggestion? This, with a complete stock
of rolls or records, is your profit. The art of
suggestion means the worth of a dozen ordinary
salesmen.
This properly done means a greater volume
of business for you on the immediate sale and
also places in the homes of your customers the
right kind of music they will really enjoy and
be the means of selling more player-pianos and
talking machines.
Lessons From the Bicycle
Did any of you fellows ever ride a bicycle?
I was in the bicycle business. Possibly most
of you have ridden one, so there is no need of
me explaining a bicycle to you. All of us know
the motive power of a bicycle. There are two
sprockets, the front sprocket or drive sprocket.
Then there is the small sprocket which is fas-
tened to the rear wheel. This is driven by a
crank shaft propelled by pedals through the
agency of a chain connecting the two sprockets.
Did you ever see a trick rider on a vaudeville
stage where his feet kept going at terrific pace
and his bicycle moving slowly, but covering
little ground, wasting.a lot of energy to cover
a small mileage? In this trick bicycle the rear
sprocket is the same size as the front sprocket.
Now, the way to increase the speed of a bicycle
is to increase the size of the front sprocket by
adding teeth to it. To illustrate I am going to
call the rear sprocket the player-pianos and
talking machines, the front sprocket the rolls
and records. If you reflect there are very few
teeth can be added to the rear sprocket be-
cause player-pianos and talking machines cover
the entire field, but to your front sprocket you
can add as many teeth as your entire organiza-
tion is capable of putting into it and each tooth
increases the speed of the bicycle or the effi-
ciency of your business. We will start with the
first tooth as a complete stock of records, your
second tooth the art of suggestion and then
make many teeth—a smile, a "thank you" and
other courtesies, each will make a tooth'.
Good Window Displays
Window trims are important. Your windows
suggest the purchase of records or rolls. Add
to your records and rolls a color scheme. Use
ribbon, flowers, velvet, crepe paper and so
forth. Would you think of buying a piece of
candy in a store where the candies are placed
in the window in a very unattractive way?
Remember, each tooth on the sprocket increases
your efficiency and a color scheme is a tooth
on your business sprocket. Go over your last
year's sales and whenever your player-piano and
(Continued on page 10)