4
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
(Reai.tered in tbe U. S. Patent Office)
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL. Inc.
President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill 383 Madison Ave. New York; Vice· President,
J. B. Spillane, 383 Madison Ave., New York; Second Vice.President, Raymond Bill, 383
Madison Ave., New York; Secretary, Edward Lyman Bill, 383 Madison Ave., New York;
Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE. Editor
RAY BILL. B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE. Associate Editors
WM. H. McCLEARY. Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE. Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS. C~rCUlation Manager
Executive and Reportorial Stall
E. B. MUNCH, V. D. WALSH, EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, LEE ROBINSON,
THOI. W. BnlJUHAN, E. J. NllALY, C. R. TIGHE, FREDERICK B. DIEHL, A. J. NICKLIN
A. }'UDERICK CARTER, FREDERICK G. SANDBLOloI
WESTERN DIVISION:
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NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LO()ATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA
Published Every Saturday at 383 Madison Avenue, New York
Ent."d
/U
ucond·c/ass maltu September 10, 1892, at the post office at N"v York, N. Y.,
.... der the Act of March 3, 1879.
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ADVERTISEMENTS. rate. on requelt.
REMITTANCES, sbould be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill, Inc.
ExpositIon Honors Won by The RevIew
Grand Pru........ • Pari. Expo.ition, 1900
Silver Medal.. • Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma ... • Pan·American Expolition, 1901
Gold Medal. .. .. St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal·-Lewis·Clark Exposition, 1905
TELEPHONES-VANDERBILT 2642-264S-264~-!646-264'J-2648
Cable Addre.. : "Elblll, New York"
Vol. LXXVII
NEW YORK. SEPTEMBER 29. 1923
No. 13
WHAT IS THE OVERHEAD EXPENSE LIMIT?
N The Review this week appears the first of a series of articles
on "vVhat Is the Overh ead Expense Limit?" They are devoted
to a detailed analysis of th e increasingly important question of de
termining accurately th e costs of retail distribution of musical in
s truments with a view to providing for an adequate net profit.
The articl es are ba sed on the information gleaned fr om ques
tionnaires sent to several hundred of the representative and suc
cessful music merchant s o f the country and the figures offered
are in many caSeS little short of ~tartling. It is ~ ignificant that of
th<: hundred or so questi onnaires returned filled in with most com
plete data came from tho:;e concerns recognized as among the
kaders of the industry. It is also interesting to learn by their own
confessions that a goodly number of retailers either have no idea
o,f "vhat their ov erhead really is or, at best, were pos sessed of only
general figur(;~ and had no idea as to whether the individual depart
ments were making or losing money.
Thi s series of articles on overhead promises to be the most
interesting and important that have been offered to the industry
in many years and , ba sed , as they are, upon facts rather than con
jectures, should offer an excellent and acceptable guide to those
merchants who are ambitious to realize from their bu sinesses some
thing more th an bank interest.
I
MAKING THE REPAIR DEPARTMENT AN ASSET
T
HE next time one of you gentlemen in th e retail music trade
gets a bill from your local garage for the repair of your motor
car analyze it to see if the service station has done the work at
cost, or less, in order to retain your good -will. For those who
have paid repair bills on automobiles no furth er comment is neces
~ary , for it is known that the repairs are charged for at the retail
price and that a liberal charge on an hourly basis for th e mechanic's
time in replacing the part is always included . In fact, the car
owner frequentl y has a hard task in figuring just wh y it took three
mechanics four hour" to remove and replace a dozen bolts.
Go into the average piano repair department and inquire re
garding the putting in shape of your in strument. In nine times
out of ten replacement parts are offered at cost and no definite
figure is set for the time required by the mechanic for installa
REVIEW
SEPTEMBER
29, 1923
ti on. The question seems to be to quote a charge so low that the
cu stomer cannot complain even though the hous e loses money on
th e deal, and then to hargain over that charge, if necessary, rather
than cause ill- feeling.
In The Review last week there was printed an article hy Harry
R Va lentine, vice president of the Dreher Piano Co., Cleveland ,
in ""'hich he told how a repair department should be maintained ();~
a profitable basis. He sounded the keyn ote of his argument when
lie said that the primary requisite was an accurate knowledge of
costs. A knowledge of costs does not mean simply those of the
actual material and labor charges of one particular job. It includes
on the contrary a charge for the space used by the repair depart
ment, the wages of everyone conn ected with that department
whether the customer sees him or not; the cost of securing and
stocking parts, and every other factor th.at represents a charge
against it. vVith this knowl edge at hand there must be added th -:
cost of parts and services required for the particular job and a
profit must be figured in with that cost.
.\nother interesting angle of Mr. Valentine 's argument is that
the repair department can be made 'profitable by soliciting repair
and refinishing jobs and selling them to the customer as it were
in stead of waiting for the latter to reach a point where he fee],;
such work is necessary. In fact, a properly conducted repair de
partment can build business for itself as well as for the other
departments of the store.
Vie find garage men entering the automobile repair bu siness
because, properly conducted, there is a very substantial profit in
the work and the car owner does not argue against providing that
profit, accepting it as one of the penalties of automobile ownership.
The reason is that a proper charge is made for all work. Follow
ing the same system the piano merchant can make his repai r de
partment an asset rather than a liability to his store.
NATIONAL MUSIC WEEK DEFINITELY ANNOUNCED
I
HE decision of the National Music Week Committee to hold
the country-wide celebration of this event during the week of
May 4 to May 10 gives those who intend to participate in it, ano
music merchants have long been among the most enthusia::;ti c
supporters of the movement, sufficient time to mature their plan s
so as to take an active part in its promotion. The mu sic indu stri es
take a particular interest in the rapid development of thi s event,
since it was due to their initiative that the first music week wa s
held, and it has been through their organized activity, fun ctioning
through the Bureau of the Advancement of Music, th a t mu ch of
the promotional work necessary before the nation-wide week could
become a reality has been carried on.
The fact that more than ISO cities have already held annual
music weeks, that representative men and women in every walk
of life have lent their co-operation by accepting membership on
the general committee, that the Governors of thirty-four S tates
have officially indorsed the movement, alI tend to show the wide
spread popular interest and go far towards insuring its permanency
in the future. .\nd now, that National Mu sic 'VI 'eek ha s becom e
a reality, congratulations are due to C. .M. Tremaine, who conceived
and carried out the first music week in New York and who se ef
forts have been tireless since that pioneer attempt to spread the
idea throughout the country.
T
WHAT THE NEWSPAPER STRIKE HAS TAUGHT r
HOSE who have any doubt regarding th e absolute necessity of
adverti sing in handling modern business might do well to get
in touch with merchants in New York with a view to learning of
their experiences during the strike of the newspaper pressmen
which began last week and tied up practically every daily news
paper of importance in the city. Even when the newspapers man
combining th eir resources, they did not attempt to handle the ad
vertising of department stores and others, and the resultant falling
off in business was apparent even to the most casual observer.
Particularly in the department stores wa~ the lack of the ad
vertising appeal emphasized. \\"here ordinarily hordes of women
and many men crowd into the stores to patronize special sales and
remain to make extensive purchases in every departm ent at regu
lar prices, only comparatively few shoppers were in evidence. Other
lines of business, depending on the adverti sing appeal to attract
patronage, suffered in proportion.
T