4
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
DECEMBER
8, 1923
members of which should al so back up their local business
organization in support of any definite tax-reducing meas ures.
It is certain that unless pressure is brought the politicians in the
halls of legislation at VI' ashington are not going to let $300,
000,000 or more get out of their grip. The orgy of spending is
t oo joyous to be curtailed.
I
(Relristered 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,
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Cable Address: "Elbill, New YorIc"
Vol, LXXVII
r Do
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 1923
No. 23
NOT LET THE TAX QUESTION BE CLOUDED
I
1..rSINESS men of the country will do well to see to it that th e
proposal of Secret;lry of the Tre as ury M ellon for a substan
tial reduction in Federal taxes a s they apply to th e country
generally and particularl y to industries cannot be clopded in
Congressional arg'umen't and be made a political cats paw as the
situation at \ iV ashington would indicate.
Various Senators and Congressmen have already declared
themselves as strongly in favor of the soldier bonus, and main
tain that the expense can be covered by keeping taxes at the
present rate. They have even gone so far as to impress some
business men with the idea that should all ve trrans of the Great
\iVaI' recei ve a few hundred dollars apil:ce as bon us the money
thus put. into circulation would quickly find its way back to
the pockets of the tradesmen. There is no qu estiun but that
war veterans who have suffered in the cause should be, and so
far as possible are being, t aken care of by the Government, but a
general bonus is not going to do anyone any particular go'od and
will simply put another burden on the busi ness interests.
A direct reduction in taxes, however, is not only going to
save the husiness interests of the country considerable money
but will put the public generally in a better frame of mind, and
should have the psych ological effect of stimulating sales. There
is no question but that many individuals whose tax saving under
the proposed schedule will not exceed $5 a year will feel that
they are entitled to spend $50 in celebration of the event.
The music industry particularly is interested in any tax rec
duction program for the reason that it affords an opportunity for
having at least two branches of the indu stry released from taxes
that are regarded as directly discriminat ory, those which place a
tax on certain classes of band in struments under the head of
jewelry and the taxing of coincoperated musical instruments
under the heading of vending machines.
The Music Industries Cham her of Commerce announces'
that it has entered the tax fight a nd will be prominent before
Congress in its efforts to secure release for this industry. In its
work the Chamber should have the full support of the trade, the
B
TEACHING THE SELLING OF HIGH CLASS ROLLS
I
PROMINENT concern, which engages in the production of
music rolls by prominent pianists as a part of its business,
has introduced an inn ovation in the matter of a new executive
whose duty it will be to educate the dealers in ways and means
for bringing th e better class of rolls more directly to the atten
tion of the discriminating public and increasing sales thereby.
The idea is a new one as applied to the music roll business
but it has been carried out successfully in the talking machine
field , particularly in the case of the Victor Talking Machine Co.
which stimulated the sale of Red Seal record" materially through
sc hools conducted at Camden and in yarious cities of the country
where dealers and their sales people not only li sten to the lectures
on proper selling methods but have those method s directly and
convincingly demonstrated for them.
In the music roll field, as in the I'ecord field, there has always
been a tendency among sales people and for that matter among
executives to follow the easiest path in selling, and to be content
with the handling of popular rolls representing quick turnover.
The result has been that on the shelves of many dealers are rolls
bearing ve ritable musical g ems which remain on the shelves
simply because they have not been brought properly to the atten
tion of the public wh o might be interested in them.
Educatiunal w ork in any line appears on the s urface to be
only indirectl y profi table and unproductiv e of direct results. Such
work, well clone, however, means the building up of a wider
clil:ntele, se rves t() broaden the retailer 's field of operations,
brings him into touch with a more pros perous and discerning
class of peopl e and produc es profits as a result.
The ex periment of carrying on an educational campaign in the
selling of music rolls will be watched with deep interest for , if
successful, it will open the way for a material development of
music roll business of a permanent and profitable character.
A
WHAT IS THE OVERHEAD EXPENSE LIMIT
Th e Review this week, in addition to
large numb er of
I N special
articles of direct value to the industry, th ere appears
<1.
tl'e last of the se rie s of articles on "What Is the Overhead Ex
pense Limit?" covering all departments of the general music
store and affording to the trade a fund of first hand and authentic
information on the ov erhead problem that has never before been
( ffered.
The se ri es has arollsed a tremendolls amount of interest
both in and out of the trade and has proven a revelation to many
'!lllSic merchants who have been somewhat hazy regarding the
matter cf overhead a nd have found in the articles direct answers
to the questions that have been puzzling them. _
The articles have been base d upon actual figures provided
by s llccessful music merchants in all sections of the country, and
it has bl:en significant that those who are able to supply the most
detailed informati on regarding the divisions of overhead costs in
their several departments have without exception been those
merchants who are recognized as among the most sLlccessful ones
of the industry .
It will be well for the merchant who is in doubt as to just
where his expense ends and his profits begin to read over the
series of articles carefully and preserve them for reference. He
will find in the figures an accurate guide that will enable him to
regulate his own affairs to better and more profitable advantage.
The trouble with many dealers is that they are over
impressed with what is improperly term ed "gross profit," and
lose sight of the fact that it is really the markup figure from
which mu st be deducted all overhead costs befo re the actual and
tangible net prolit is realized. Tell the average music merchant
that, although his cost price is only 50 per cent of his selling
price he is fo rtunate to realize a 10 per cent net profit, and he
will be inclined to question the iact. In the retail music busi c
ness, however, a 10 per cent net profit is a good one.
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