THE
4
MUSIC
TRADE
(Registered in the U. S. Patent Office)
PUBUSHED 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, p. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors
WM. H. McCLEARY, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorial Staff
E. B. MUNCH, V. D. WALSH, EDWARO VAN HARLINGEN, LEE ROD'IKSON,
THOS. W. BRESNAHAN. E. J. NEALY. C. R. TIGHE, FREDERICK B. DIEHL, A. J . NICKLIN,
A. FREDERICK CARTER, FRED ERICK G. SANDBLOM
WESTERN DIVISION:
BOSTON OFFICE:
ARTHUR NEALY, Representative
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 ·' Vashington St.
Republic Bldg., 209 So. State St.• Chicago
Telephone. Main 6950
Telephone. Wabash 5242·5243.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham 13uildings. Basinghall St., D. C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WE 1<] liLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AJlIERICA
Published Every Saturday at 383 Madison 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.
SlTBSCRIPTION, United States and Mexico . $2.00 per year; Canarla. $3.50 ; all other
countries. $5.00.
ADVERTISEJlIENTS, rates on request.
REMITTANCES, should be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill, Inc.
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
TELEPHONES-V ANDERBILT 2642-2643-2644-2645-2647-2648
Cable Address: "ElblJl, New York"
Vol. LXXVII
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 10, 1923
I ABANDONMENT
No. 19
OF DEPRECIATION SCHEDULE
I
HE disappointing feature of the meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce la st
week was the decision of that body to abandon its attempt to formu
late a depreciation schedule of used piano values for the guidance
of the retail trade. It is natural, of course, that, in the face of
the difficulties met with in the efforts to create such a schedule
the lack of co-operation on the part of the manufacturers and lack
of interest among dealers--due in a large measure to a general
misu~derstanding of the schedule and its purpose--would dis
courage those who had put forth long and earnest thought and effort
in the development of the plan.
For years there has been wide talk in the trade of the need for
some guide to used piano values. Makeshift schedules adopted by
local associations were received with acclaim, and yet the national
movement has failed. Too many retailers, and some manufacturers
for that matter, felt that the schedule was going to limit their free
dom in the matter of making allowances, and would have to be ob
served to the letter. As a matter of fact, it was simply to be a
guide, leaving the dealer free to enjoy the protection of its obser
vance or to take his own chances of non-observance. The trade
as a whole is the loser through the decision to abandon the project.
T
PROSPECTS FOR NATIONAL MUSIC WEEK
B
OSTON is the latest city to announce its intention to participate
in National Music Week which will be held next May. Practi
cally all sides of the city's life, as well as the municipal authorities,
will take an active part in making this event a succes~.
The way in which the id ea of National Music Week is taking
hold of the country's imagination is a remarkable demonstration of
what concerted and co-operative action can accomplish. There is
probably no industry to-day which has so wide an outside partici
pation in its propaganda as has that of music. This, of course, is
due primarily to the wide appeal of the commodity, speaking com
mercially, that it sells. But in accomplishing it no little part has
been played by the effective way in which the music industry has
made its appeal.
REVIEW
NOVEMBER
10, 1923
Music, of course, is a cultural and edu cation al medium of the
highest. degree. Despite this universa ll y admitted fact, for years
there have been any number of forces trying to widen the interest
of the American people ill it, but with littl e success because they
failed to realize that spasmodic efforts din:cted at cross purposes
could ach ieve but little. It \\"as not until a focus was provided to
concentrate these efforts and to direct them into channels where
they would reach th<.: great mas s of the people that appreciable re
sults began to be had.
National Music \Veek is but one side of this "'orle If it be
successful, and there seems every prospect th at it will, the con - .
centration of interest which it wi ll bring about shou ld yi eld re
markable returns. Never have the ,\merican people taken a greater
interes t in musi c than they do to-day and never has the field been
so well prepared for still further advance- . an advance wh ich must
necessarily yield ret~trns to all those engaged in the music indu stry.
This is the primary reason why the indust ry, as represented by the
individual manufacturer and merchant, shou ld give th<.: movement
every co-op<.:ration wi thit; its power.
THE DEMAND FOR THE GRAND PIANO
most remarkable phenomena of the piano trade dur
O :K ing E of the the present
Fall has been the steady increase in th<.: popu
larity of the grand piano, whatever its grade may be. When this
move first became apparent in the industry a number of years ago,
there were many well-informed piano men who considered it largel y
a transitory one that might last a few years and then would (lis
appear probably more suddenly than it came. Events, however,
have effectually confounded these forecasts, for to-day the demand
for the grand bears every evidence of being a permanent one, one
that is much more likely to increase than to diminish.
Those men who have played a leading part in developing the
production of medium-priced grands to meet this demand are
worthy of considerable gratitude from the industry. They had
not only difficult problems of distribution to solve, but in problems
of production they were confronted with obstacles which many
piano production men considered impossible of solution . The way
in which these were met and conquered has been a real demonstra
tion of what brains and ingenuity can accomplish when they are
applied to a condition for which there existed no precedent and
for which the means of meeting it had to be entirely original. That
they have succeed ed as well as they have is a remarkable tribute
to the ability of the men which the industry contains within its
ranks.
It is not so many years ago when the grand type of piano wa'
largely a luxury --· lux ury for the person who bought it through
the comparatively high price at which it was held, and lux ury for
the average piano manufa cturer who probably produced a few in
struments of this type annually for whatever prestige it might bring
hi s name value. \i\·ith the exception of a few of the high-grade
manufacturers, this was the average manufactur<.:r's attitude
toward s the grand. The success which the production of th(;
medium-priced grand ha s achieved, however, has changed this com
pletely, and to-day there exists a large number of manufacturers
a goodly proportion of whos e production con sists of the grand type.
It is without question a permanent development in the trade and
one that bids fair to contin ue to increase with each year.
STANDARDIZED CREDIT APPLICATION FORM
T
HE action of the associated credit men in New York in adopt
ing a standardized form of blank for use by those seeking to
obtain credit will go a long way towards checking sLlch applicat ion s
when they are based on false. and fraudulent statements. \Vhen
the form is issued, and this will be within a short time, it will be
well worthy of adoption throughout the cOLlntry as it has been drawn
by competent legal authority and should eff<.:ctually check those
who in the past have succeeded in obtain ing extens ion of credit
through the presentation of false information.
The man who makes false statements in his financial report
which he submits to the manufacturer from whom he purchases his
goods has been a growing source of loss. So clever have been
his methods in many cases th at he has completely placed himsel f
beyond prosecution, and all that the manufacturer who has been
deceived is able to do is pocket his loss and consider it so much
experience gained .
r..