Music Trade Review

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VOL. LXXVII1. No. 19 Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Aye., New York, N.Y. May 10, 1924
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The Music Merchants' Radio Problems
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OWEVER the average and individual music merchant may consider radio and its relation to the
music business, the fact remains that it has become an established industry and in a sense a part
of the music industry to the extent that approximately 40 per cent of music merchants are now
handling- radio equipment in some form or another and another 45 per cent have placed themselves
on record as considering the carrying of such a line either in a separate department or as a part of their
present business.
These percentages are not simply guesswork but are based upon a countrywide survey just completed
by The Review which brought forth some information of distinct value and interest. The survey was made to
determine the viewpoint of the trade at large on the radio situation, and was undertaken as a form of service
to those members of the industry who are guided more or less by the attitude of the majority on any par-
ticular question.
In view of the fact that such a large percentage of music merchants have committed themselves to
handling radio, and a considerable number have already seen fit to call upon this publication for information
relative to the stocking and merchandising of radio equipment, it has been deemed expedient to place upon the
staff of The Review a competent radio authority with a number of years' experience both in the manufactur-
ing and merchandising fields and competent to give worth-while advice on the individual dealer's problems
where they have to do either with the technical side of radio or, as is more generally the case, with the com-
mercial and music merchandising side.
This new service is now at the command of Review readers and inquiries addressed to this office will
receive prompt and efficient attention. More important still there will appear regularly in The Review, be-
ginning with this issue, authoritative articles on the practical questions of radio merchandising, articles that
will help those music dealers who by the very nature of their calling have been unable to delve into its mys-
teries and are therefore forced to labor more or less in the dark.
The articles now in preparation will have to do with the selection of stock of various sorts, the matter
of controlling and handling service charges, the sort of salesmanship that brings the best results, the points
regarding radio that are best emphasized by the salesmen and a wealth of other information the value of which
has been proven through actual experience.
In the music trade there is naturally considerable uncertainty as to just what the development of the
radio demand means for the future, but it is conceded that the average music store represents the logical
outlet for radio products due to the association of radio and music to such a degree that were music elimi-
nated from the broadcasting programs there would be little left to interest the listeners and radio itself would
lose its popularity.
In arranging for this special radio information service for its readers, The Review is following out
its well denned and successful policy of collating and presenting that information regarding musical and allied
products most calculated to benefit the retail trade as a whole.
The question of radio merchandising is not by any means settled but is rather in its formative state.
As the experience of dealers indicates, new and improved methods for handling the service question, the prob-
lem of terms and the other matters naturally associated with any form of merchandising are needed and this
information can be and will be passed along by The Review so that those of its readers who have committed
themselves to radio departments may profit by the experience of their fellows.
As new angles develop in the retail field, these will be treated in special articles which, singly or collec-
tively, should find a permanent place in the files of the music merchant who seeks the line of least resistance
in a field that in many respects is unfamiliar to him.