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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
APRIL 5, 1924
THE POINT OF REVIEW
I
T is a mighty fine thing to let the men in the factory hear the
piano which they produce when played by an artist of standing.
It gives a pride of production and a feeling for the artistic quality
of the completed instrument which probably can be had in no other
way. The concert given by Hernia Menth, the well-known pianist,
in the factory of the Hallet & Davis Piano Co. last week is an
instance in point. A good part of the production force made up an
enthusiastic and appreciative audience both for the pianist herself
and her work as reproduced by the Angelus reproducing piano, and
no doubt every one of them was a better workman for the hearing.
This is not the first time that the Hallet & Davis Piano Co. has
brought a really big artist to its factory for its employes to hear.
It will be remembered that when the new factory was opened,
Leopold Godowsky played before the employes, both in person and
through the medium of the Angelus. Evidently the concert was
such a success that the Hallet & Davis management found it worth
while to bring another artist out to its men. It is a plan that
could be followed by other piano manufacturers and to their
advantage.
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HEY say that there is nothing new under the sun, but every
once in a while a piano merchant comes up with a new one in
his advertising. This time it is Will A. Watkin, the tireless presi-
dent of the National Association of Music Merchants and one of
the leading dealers of Dallas, Tex. Mr. Watkin has been running a
series of advertisements in the local papers which differs radical]}
from the ordinary type of retail piano advertising and which should
be bringing him results. The central idea of the series seems to be
the provision of a proper place for the piano, the player-piano or
the reproducing piano in the home. The advertisements are built
up on the idea that no home can be a thoroughly complete one
without a piano. Of course there is nothing new in that. But the
appeal is made directly to those who are building or who contem-
plate building, which is a new angle. It will be remembered that
in his capacity of President of the National Association of Music
Merchants, Mr. Watkin appointed a committee to confer with
architects in order that homes might be planned with proper space
for the installation of a piano, something which is often neglected
at the present time. Evidently he practices what he preaches, for
he is using his good advertising space to spread the propaganda.
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HE appearance of Percy Grainger, the pianist, at the new Fox
,
Theatre in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Duo-Art and
tinder the auspices of C. J. Heppe & Son, Aeolian representatives in
that city, is a remarkable development of the reproducing piano
Concert idea. Only once before has the idea been carried so far as
{his. That was at the Capitol Theatre during one of New York's
tnusic weeks, when the same artist appeared in conjunction with
fhe same reproducing instrument. The Philadelphia appearances
were a success in every sense of the word. During the week the
buo-Art must have been demonstrated under the best of auspices to
a good many thousands of people, the majority of whom could be
feached in no other way. Among them were a large number of
possible prospects who probably had never before gained an ade
(juate conception of what the reproducing piano really is, for,
despite all the demonstration and publicity which this instrument
fcas received since its first development, it is still a great novelty to
any people. The remarkable work which it accomplishes almost
oes beyond belief and the certainties which can be said regarding
it are themselves likely to give rise to a degree of skepticism which
©nly real demonstration can remove. Yet demonstration in the
Concert hall or in the dealer's warerooms does not bring a great
jbany people, while, on the other hand, these Grainger appearances
tiring many who could afford to buy this instrument and who would
buy it, were the dealers able to reach them. Demonstration in the
high-class moving picture theatres, such as the Fox and the Capitol
for instance, reaches just these people, especially when it has the
^dded attraction of an artist who ranks as high as Grainger doe:..
It may be an expensive means of exploitation, but when it is con-
sidered in relation to the results it is sure to bring, it is not so
expensive after all.
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' I ' HAT is one thing which always must be considered when
-1 exploitation work is undertaken. Many a dealer is wasting
money in some of his undertakings in this direction, although his
total expenditure may not be nearly as high as that of a competitor
who is getting real results from some plan which at first glance
appears to have very little to do with his store. There is a type of
dealer who considers it a waste of money to participate in such
an event as Music Week, and who leaves it strictly alone. On the
other hand, there may be a competing dealer who contributes to
the funds which support these events and who takes an active part
in putting them over. The first usually considers that the second
is wasting his time and his money, yet nothing is further from the
truth. The second is creating a greater interest in music, a greater
popularity for it, which can only result in greater sales for the
instruments he is selling. It is true that the dealer who takes no
part in this work may get some of these sales; but there is more
truth in the fact that the dealer who links his name with the work,
who figures in every event of this kind, is going to get most of
them. And it is a cheap way of selling musical instruments in the
long run, as those who have tried it have discovered.
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I T is a question how many dealers there are in the retail piano
trade who succeed in keeping their past due on outstanding
paper below 2 per cent. The Reviewer realizes, of course, that this
is an extremely low figure, but it has been accomplished in the past
and can be accomplished in the present and in the future. A dealer
who succeeded in doing this was one who made a good deal of
money during his career in the retail trade. His system was simple.
First of all, he was careful to whom he sold, making a thorough
investigation of every customer before he accepted the contract.
Secondly, the contract was never signed until the customer knew
every clause in it and understood it. Thirdly, he impressed it upon
the customer that the terms in the contract were there to be lived
up to, and his collection department followed this system. It was
never afraid to ask for what was due it. The result was while this
dealer was in the retail trade he probably had the lowest percentage
of past due of any one in the business. A second result was that
he could discount his paper on fair terms and thus he was able
to make his capital work a couple of times where in the case of the
average dealer it worked but once. How many dealers are there
in the trade today who can show a similar record ?
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I T is the general opinion in the retail piano trade that a dealers'
*• past due should never exceed 5 per cent. Yet there must be a
good many of them who find that their percentage in this direction
runs above this figure. The answer, when this condition exists, is
neglected collections, nine cases out of ten. Why a dealer should
neglect his collections passeth human understanding. For, in a
business such as the retail piano business, collections are equal in
importance to selling—in fact, they may be taken as a part of the
selling plan, for a piano is never sold until the last payment is
collected. To place the collections in the hands of a cheap clerk
or girl, and to leave them without very much supervision save when
the dealer finds himself running short of cash to meet his current
obligations, is a suicidal policy. Yet there are hundreds of dealers
who follow it and hundreds of them who suffer as a result. In
fact, there are many of them who educate their customers con-
sistently along these lines.
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' j HIRTEEN HUNDRED concerts in one year in a single city
• with the same make of piano. That is the record of the Fitz-
gerald Music Co. of Los Angeles, representing the Knabe p : ano.
When anybody talks about music advancement work that is one
firm which cannot be left out of the reckoning. So far as The
Reviewer knows, it is a world record for a city of that size.
T H E REVIEWER.