Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1923 Vol. 77 N. 21

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, B. 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. EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, LEE ROBINSON,
THOS. \V. BRESNAHAN. E. J. NEALY, C. R. TIGHE, FREDERICK B. DIEHL, A. J. NICKLIN,
A . FREDERICK CARTER,
WESTERN DIVISION:
FREDERlCK
G.
SANDBLOM
BOSTON OFFICE:
ARTHUR NEALY, Repyesentative
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Exposition Honors Won by The Review
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TELEPHONES-V ANDERBILT '2642-2648-2644-2645-2647-2648
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Vol. LXXVII
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 24, 1923
No. 21
ANTICIPATING GOOD HOLIDAY DEMAND
reports fr om most sections of the country
P RELIlVIIN}\RY
show that practically all music mnchants are antIClpating a
heavy holiday demand. Information furni shed to The Review cor­
respondents has a note of pessimism conspicuously lacking. Un­
questionably general conditions warrant them in this <.!,ttitude, borne
out as it is by r eports from practically all other 11nes of retail mer­
chandising.
High-grade instruments thus far seem to hold a dominating
position in this demand. The reproducing piano especially is promi­
nent, a condition, no doubt, due to the fact that the heavy exploita­
tion which this in strument has received during the past several
years is beginning to show cumulative results. Grands, of course,
are strongly in demand· in fact, 1923 will probably go down in the
hi story of the piano indu stry as predominantly a grand year. The
foot-powe r player, however, has by no means lost its popularity. In
fact, reports from several of the larger cities state that thi s type
of in str ument is moving faster than any other. The upright, while
little is heard of it generally, is showing a fair movement.
It is not too late to point out, however, that the present condi­
tion of the public mind is one that requires intensive selling work
on the part of the merchant and the salesman. The public is willing
to be convinced, but it is not btlying spontaneously. Furthermore,
holiday competition is always strenuous·not competition between
various mu sic merchants, hut competition between the piano trade
and other lines of holiday merchandi se. There is no reason why
any music merchant should not roll up a good volume of holiday
sales, except that he eases off in his selling drive and permits his
organization to do the same.
THE TAX SITUATION AND BUSINESS
LTHOUGH the question of Federal tax reduction beginning
with the coming year as proposed by Secretary of the Treas­
ury Mellon has been developed to a point where it has taken on a
distinctly political color, that fact should not tend to cause business
men generally to forget that the cabinet member, whose word is
most authoritative on the subject, declares there has been created
A
REVIEW
NOVEMBER
24, 1923
a surplus of c.;·ovemment funds and that it is possible to effect a
reduction in taxes amounting to something over $300,000,000, or an
average of $50 per head for the actual tax-paying minority of th e
population.
The question of wartime taxation is a national one and should
not be made to be a catspaw of politics. As fast as the wartime tax
burden can be reduced so much soooer can the business of the
country, and for that matter the nation in general, be brought back
to a basis of normalcy. With conditions more or less prosperous
taxes do not weigh so heavily, but during a period of depression
they are likely to prove disastrous to the concern that is ill equipped
in the matter of funds. In addition to the saving to industry
brought about through tax reduction there is also the fact to be
considered that such a move will be calculated to throw some hun­
dreds of millions of dollars into circulation and increase by that
much the spending power of the nation.
The organized business men of the country should keep in close
contact with the whole tax situation and make every effort to see
to it that it is not side-tracked under a political smoke screen for the
purpose of clearing the way for vott getting through a soldier bonus
promIse.
A STIMULANT TO THE MUSIC TRADE
to the estimate of the Chief of the Automotive
A CCORDING
Division of the Commerce Department there are at the present
time in use in the United States 14,000,000 motor cars and trucks,
or over 82 per cent of the entire number of such vehicles in use
throughout the world. It is, likewise, estimated that there is at
present one motor vehicle to every eight of the entire population,
a proportion that is staggering.
The interesting fact, from the angle of the music trade, is that
14,000,000 individuals and concerns have found enough money
somewhere to buy motor cars. Such being the case, a distinctly
large proportion of the population is financially able to buy a piano
or talking machine of good quality. It givts some idea of the pur­
chasing power of the nation and of the opportunities that are open
for the sale of articles outside th e limits of food, clothing and
shelter.
If piano dealers , for instance, can find ways and means for
placing an in strument in the possession of only one in every forty
of the population the volume of business resulting therefrom would
be beyond the realms of imagination. In other words, something
lik e 3,000,000 pianos would be required to meet the order, for, it is
estimated, close to 2,000,000 instruments are now in use throughout
the entire country..
The idea i.s not to bewail the possible effect of the automobile
c1emand upon the music trade, an effect created by diverting for the
purchase of motor cars money that might find its way into the
music field, but rather in recognizing the situation as a stimulant
and devising ways and means of reaching the pocketbooks of the
nation just as have the automobile men.
Admitting that large I1lJlTIbers of motor cars have purely com­
mercial uses, the fact remains that a very substantial proportion
are used for pleasure, and between two articles designed to pro­
vide pleasure and entertainment good salesmanship should playa
part.
THE NEW VOSE & SONS FACTORY
HE new s that the Vose & Sons Piano Co. has finally occupied
its elaborate new plant in Boston is a matter of congratulation
not only to this old house, but to the piano industry in general, in
which it has always played a prominent part in maintaining those
standards of both quality and business policy which have created
the stability of the industry.
The House of Vose is one of those old line names which have
consistently stood for all that is best in the development of the
American piano. The history of the firm is one of steady progress,
the sort of advance which has contributed not only to the institu­
tion itself, but to the industry in general as well. In its new plant,
where it possesses unexcelled facilities for production, and which
embodies the latest development in factory management and organ­
ization, it will possess all the necessities for further expansion- one
that is based upon the ideals which have always guided it s policies
to success.
T
NOVEMBER
24, 1923
TIlE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
5
•
Demonstration as a Factor In Sales
Why Not Give the Player-Piano an Opportunity to Speak tor Itself and Do Its Own Sales Work-The
Salesman Who Is More Intent on Selling Himself Than the Instrument Which He Is Trying
to Sell-Put the Prospect on the Player Bench Right From the Start
Why on earth do men try to sell player­
pianos? Why don't they Jet till' pla yer-pianos
sel l themselv(;s?
He re is something to annoy some rea and to st imulate others. The lluestions arc not
to find t h eoreti cal puzzles with wh ich to twi st
the brains of aspirin g salc smc n. In very truth,
lhe question s are aske d in a ll sinc erity. Vv'hy
do men tr y to sC'1l player -pianos when they
would be much better off le ttin g the player­
pianos se ll themselves ?
We are all ac c l1 s tom ed, of cour se, to h earin g
that pla yer -pianos are sold by demonqration,
an d the statement is preci sely true. But it ju s t
happens that everythin g in the case dep e nd s
upon just what is me a nt by d e mon s tration. If
the wo rd is held to mea n copiou s con versa tion
by the sa lesman and a g r eat deal of ,how in g off
by him at the in s tru ment, then, in place of the
word "demo nstr a ti on " it would usually be better
to use th e word "ex hibition ." For the di s pla y
in these cases is us ually far 1110 re of th e sales­
man than of the play e r-piano. Now the sa les­
man, in this particular instan ce , is not e ngage d
in se lling hi mse lf. Th e re a re cases, as when
one is lookin g for a j ob, or somethin;.:: of that
sort, when th e selling- one is doing is the selling
of se lL B ut the se cases arc not now undl'r
rev iew. \>Vhat w,' are ta lk in g about is the sale
of player-pianos, an d we sa y once mor e that we
do not sec that th e busine ss of the saleslllan is
to sell him se lf. I t is to se ll pl aye r- pian os and
nOlhing else.
Don't Sell Yourself
Very go od: everyone wi ll agree to the s tate­
ment. nut when a salesman undertakes to se ll
a player-piano it sho uld be e vid ent that the very
la s t thin g he has any right to do is to direct
att e ntion to himself or to anything that he docs .
Obviously the le ss he ta lks the b e tter, sinc e
public know ledge of the phycr- pi ano is very
limited a nd prospective purchasers do no t cOllle
armed with a lot of practi ca l ideas an d "dop e"
of a ll kinds, as th ey clo when the automobile is
in que s tion. Usu :llly they are in a state of blank
ig norance r egarding th e player-piano, and so it
i" abslll' d to ~~ a)' or elp anythin g which will have
the effec t oCf inten sify in g an ig norance alread y
about as black, any how , . as it well ca n be. To
intensify the mental d a rkness of the prospect
the best method is the con ve rsa tional. Just talk
e nou g h to the pro s pec t about te c hnical or artis­
ti c matters an d about play in g a nd one is pretty
ce r tain to turn an am ia ble int o a hostile igno­
ran ce, and spoil a promi sin g sale.
Personality and the Reproducing Piano
It is even wors e to do a lot of person a l show­
ing off at the instrument. If one is se llin " a
reproducing piano, the thin g to do is til sink
personalit y so compl e tely that absol utel y noth ­
in g at all is thou ght of save thr instrument.
The bright salesman in that case is the "a lrs­
man who finds out what so . t of Illusi c the pros­
pect wants or likes and proce.: ds to deal it oul
in judi ciously chosen do ses. No sa les man who
knows the least thin g about sa lesmanship wili
eve r dream of - obtr uding hi s per so nality. He
\\·ill ke ep him -e lf in the backg round and bl ' as
sof t-voiced and a s quiet as he po ss ibl y can. H e
w ill se ll the in str um e nt and keep his ow n per­
"onalit)' comp lete ly out o f the way. TIl(' pro­
spective purcha se r of it reproducing piano is in­
terested in findin g Ollt w h e ther a cert ment will sat isf y hi s or her nlu sica l wan t s. The
bu s iness of the saleslilan is to pre sent his own
in th e most fa\'orable aspect. The less h e talk:;
th e better. T he re i;; littl e for hi"l to talk abo ut.
He can a nd should ma:;ter the s impl e trick of
ha ndlin g; th e nlll-"ic rolls and s tarting and stop­
ping, but this s hould be ?one so quietly and
u no btru s ivel y that th e cu s tomer never stops
to think that it may p e rh aps be a technica l or
d iffic ult job. Of cou rse it is not; but there is a n
art in hand lin e! litt le matters of the sort so· sim­
p ly a nd unobtrusi\'< 'ly that no one eve r notices
w hat is b eing done. ILis timr to make exp lana­
tion s when the instrument ha s been safely so lei
and d e liv e red. Then thl' expert can go u p to
the house and show th(' new own e rs how sim­
ple th e manipulation really is.
So m uc h will probably be a dlllitt erl and a >4reed
to b y everybody. But when wc COTlle tn th('
s ta nd ar d form s of player-piano, where the
playe r-pi anist take s part in the proceedings, we
are confronted ,vith a differ e nt se t of facts,
alllong which the sal esma n must thread his way
with cons id e rably more caution.
The Fascinating Player-piano
The humanly con trolled player-piano is, in Ollr
opinion, a Illuch more fascina tin g instrum ent to
se ll than th e reproducing piano. For one thing
iL introdu er's at once th(1 clement of personality
But thi s s hould be, of ' course, the clemen t of the
buyn's personality. Th at is to say, if the sa le
is to be s ucces s fully made, the salesman must
:;om ehow mana g r to get th e p e rsona lit y of the
p rospect into contact with th e instrument; and
keep the two in that cont act until the sa le has
been mad e. There is nothin g e lse to it but that.
Ye t, of co u rse , it is not always quit e so easy
to acco mpli s h this as one might s up pose by
lhe s inlplicity of the s tatement. For th e player­
p;ano llIust be d e mon s trated. That is to say, it
requires certai n pr e viou s explanation before the
prospect can compre hend it at a ll; unl ess the
sa les man proposes to se ll by th e proces s or
p layi n g the instr ument hims elf until the pros­
p ect has bee n brou g ht, b y the experience of
si ltin g ami listening, into a state of s uffi cienl
excitement to cause him to c lose w ithout fur ­
ther ado.
nfortun a tely, however, prospects do nol
close d ea ls in thi s wa y, nor does the process
o f li s t e nin g see m to ha ve Illuch effect in pro­
du cin g th e nec essary h ypno tic eff ec t. O n the
cont rary, it seems to bor e them rather than
anyt hin g e lse. For the truth is that the demon­
s tratin g, if it is g oin g to attract and not to
bore the prospect, mu s t be done' b y th e pros­
pect's OWIl sell. That se eills lik e a rather wild
statenH'llt, but it is s tricti.\' tru C' .
On the Bench-From the Start
I n uther word s, the rig ht wa y to se ll a playcr­
piano is to gel t h e custoll!c r fron l the very s tart
and at th e very fir s t tOo "i:. at the instrume nt with
fed on pcdal- and f;0 throu ;;h all the ncce <.;" ary
1I 10 tion s w ithout tit e sa k ~ mall s howin g oli' 01lC'
littk bit. .'\11 th e ne eded expl manipulation s and adjustment s, which ar c in
r ea lit y ve ry le,," and simple. must lw clone with
th e c usto lller sitting on th e b('nch r ea d y to b eg in
\Jedalin.Q. Every notc of music, to o, sho uld be
lh e produ c t of the cllstom e r' s own init iati ve,
and not one note -hould b e sounded, not one
action incidc nt to the playing carri ed out, save
by th e pro spec t, a nd by the prospcct alone.
Titi s Illay so und rather rad ica l, but a mom en t 's
th ou f; h t will s how that it is reall y quite sounu
and co nse rvative . The player-piano is sold to a
p("l'son \\ho is to use it. It is not cO l'llplic and ther e is nothin g diffi cu lt abo ut s itting at it
and ped a ling to bring OLlt music.
The diffi­
c ulties, such a s they ar e, relat e almo s t entirely
to the finer points oj the music production, to
the finC' playing which later on th e owner m ay
lea rn t o do. If the tal ent to pla y well is not
there, the owner wi ll be satisfied with very
moderate atta inm ents, with nothing more than
the abi lity to make mu s ic satisfactory to him­
self or he rself. Therefore, the business of the
saltsl1lan is to see th at the instrument sells
itself. And that means that the prospect must
~ : et at th e peda ls and do the playing, all of it,
from the ve ry s tart.
. Positive, Not Negative, Interest
This r ecommendation is not in line with past
pra c ti ce, but th e best salesmen to-day admit
that it represents the only practical method,
ba ,; ,'d on the onl" practical system. Nothin g is
11l0re abs urd than to see a salesman performing
away at a play er- piano., which he is supposed to
be se llin g', whi le the prospective customer si ts
around and looks foolish, wondering what it is
all abo ut. The las t thing in the world to do is
to play pieces t hrough for a customer. The first
thin g to do, an d the only thing really necessary,
is to get that prospect hoisted on to th e player
bench as rapidly as possible and to make him
or her go through the motions from the very
be g innin g , so that no single note of music shall
sound out unless that note is produced by the
pro s pect's act ua I footwork. It may not be goo d
music, it may be very noisy and mechanical
lI1usi c; but that has s imply nothing to do with
the case.
Once th e pros.p ect has begun to make the
1I1u-ic th e pros pect has begun to take a live
interest in the instrument which is being pressed
upon hi s or her at tention. The interest becomes
positive and the idea of possession becomes ac­
tive from that moment. So long, on the other
hand, as th e prosp ect listens, the interest is static
a nd inactive. The c ustomer is eith er discour­
aged or bored. If the salesman plays well th e
prospect is probably discouraged. If he plays
badl y th e prospec t is bored.
Let the p layer-p iano sell itself. To do this
is much easie r and saves an awful lot of trouble
beside s.
ADDRESSES DALLAS ASSOCIATION
W . H. Beasley, President of Texas State Asso­
ciation, Speaks at Local Meeting
DALUS, TEX., No\cmber 17.-William H owa rd
Bea:dey, State pres ident of the Music Indu s­
tri, 's Assoc ia tion, addressed that body recent ly
at its sC ln i-monthl.v meeting in the Y. W . C. :\.
huilding he r e. Hi s s ubject wa s "The Fift e en
Esse nti a ls for a Su cce<.;s ful Music Mer chant ,"
aiter which round-table discussion of the ques­
Lion fol lowed . D. L. \Vhittle, president, pre­
sided at the m eet ing. The session was the first
under the new plan of holding- two monthly
meetin gs on the fir s t ancl th ird Mondays each
1110nth, in s t ea d of weekly.
OPENS NEW BOSTON STORE
BOSTo.'1, 'vIAs5., "i o.e mbe r 19.- -Samuel Perron,
until r ece ntly superinten d e nt of the player-piano
llepartment of ~I. Stei n ert & Sons, has ju st
opened a r epa ir s hop for pianos, players and
r epro du ce rs of a ll kinds at 221 Columbu s ave ­
nu e. Mr. Perron has worked in all branches
of piano cons tru c tion for the past t wenty years
and has be e n in s trumental in patenting several
devi ces for reprodu cing pianos. Three experi­
enced men have bee n employed to assist him
in the poli s hing and phonograph depa rtm ents.
Consult the Universal Want Dire.ctory of
Tpe Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.

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