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VOL. LXXVII. No. 23 Pablished Every Satwrday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Dec. 8, 1923
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A Good Year; with Another to Come
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T is simply a matter of days before 1923 gives way to a New Year with all its promises and
business problems, and, judging from the situation as it exists and promises to develop, there
is little cause for any serious alarm as to what the coming twelve months will bring. There
are those, of course, who prophesy for the next year a radical business upheaval, but the
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same prophecy was made for this year and for many years that have gone before.
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The great maj ority, however, .are of the opinion that, although 1924 promises to break
few records, it will ?ring vlith it. a satisfying volume of business that will compare very f avo rably with that
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of other years consIdered as bemg good.
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Taking 1923 as a whole, the year has been a prosperous one, for, despite certain trade disturbances,
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the average music house, manufacturer as well as di stributor, is able to report a more substantial sales
volume than was the case in 1922. Perhaps in some instances the gain was not particularly impressive,
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but nevert~eless it represented an increase and gave the dealer the confident feeling that his business was
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not travelmg backwards.
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A ?evelopment during the year that was especially interesting was that of retail s.a1es during the
Summer months, which the trade has long regarded as the periodof lassitude. Perhaps it was increased
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selling energy, or it may have been the weather, but the fact remains that during July and August many
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music merchants did a volume of business that aroused their enthusiasm. If the experience this year
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marks the passing of a Summer dullness bugbear 1923 will be deserving of special consideration in music
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trade annals.
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Despite the efforts of many manufacturers to increase production during the year, with a view to.\\
taking ca re of ex istent and anticipated demands, the sca rcity of trained labor prevented any substantial
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progress being made in this direction, with the result that, in the case of the higher grade lines particularly,
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demand has exceeded factory output by a material and in some cases serious margin.
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The existence of the seller's ma rket has afforded an opportunity for proving the declarations of
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some trade members that the existence of a demand in excess of production has a tendency to stabilize the
business situation. In this connection, it may be worthy of comment that sensational advertising based on
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low prices and long terms, though in evidence in certain sections, has not been nearly so widespread as was
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the case during the years when the problem of the trade was that of disposing of surplus factory output.
From a financial angle, the industry has come through the year with flying colors; the business
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troubles that have occurred, remarkably few in number, can be directly traced to conditions distinctly local
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and individual, not affecting the industry as a whole. In fact, the whole music trade can be said to be on
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a sound financial footing due to a general shortening of terms and a closer guard on credits made possible
in a large measure through the ability of both manufacturers and dealers to select their customers.
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Although some may consider that the outlook for 1924 is not quite so rosy as was that for 1923,
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there being fewer unfilled orders on factory books and the demand apparently having reached its peak, there
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is not in any sense cause for alarm for the reason that conditions are simply getting slowly back to normal,
and normal as compared with conditions immediately after the war seems rather dull to the average busi-
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ness man.
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The farmers in most sections of the country are in good shape, the various basic industries are run-
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ning along smoothly, and most of them, as in the case of the steel mills for instance, have sufficient orders
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( Continued
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on page 5)
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