Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1925 Vol. 80 N. 23

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXX. No. 23 Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y., J u e 6, 1925
Single Copies 10 Cents
$2.00 Per Year
Figures on Repossessions and Terms
Show No Instalment Abuses
Low Percentage of Repossessions in the Retail Piano Trade Shows Without Question That Merchants Exer-
cise Care in Selling to Their Prospects—Steady Tendency to Shorter Terms Also a Strik-
ing Indication of This Condition—What the "Black Sheep" of the Industry Create
W
HOEVER may be behind the persistent
campaign against instalment selling
which is being carried on in the daily
press throughout the country, they have paid
but little attention to the great volume of the
sales which are made on this basis, concentrat-
ing their work on the exceptional cases in that
improvident class which assumes responsibil-
ities beyond its income despite the efforts
of the merchants who sell on such a basis to
eliminate accounts of this type from their
books. That these exist is unquestionable; but
that they are in a great minority and that they
obtain credit largely on false statements of
their financial worth is just as unquestionable.
The retail merchant who is unfortunate enough
to do business with a person of that type in
the long run suffers as much as the person does
himself, for in the end he is compelled to re-
possess his merchandise, an action which al-
ways tends to lower his profit and naturally in-
jure his business. No merchant wants an in-
stalment sale which will fail to pay out accord-
ing to the agreement upon which it is made;
when he has one of them it is a mischance, and
were the average person to be oversold beyond
his income, as those behind this campaign inti-
mate he is, the merchant himself could not
stay in business.
4.47 Per Cent of Repossessions
The retail piano trade, 82 per cent of which is
done upon the instalment basis, is a striking
example of the comparatively small number of
people who fail to live up to the agreements
they make when they buy upon the instalment
basis. A recent survey of the outstanding piano
leases of approximately 350 retail piano mer-
chants, located in all sections of the country,
which was conducted by The Review, showed
that with such merchants only 4.47 per cent
of the pianos placed out on instalments had to
be repossessed because the purchasers failed
to meet their payments. In other words, of
all the sales made by these houses, 95.53 per
cent were good sales, the instruments having
been purchased by people who were able to
meet their obligations. Slightly more than 90
per cent of these leases were paid out on time,
a figure that shows definitely that, in the retail
piano trade at least, overselling is the excep-
tion to a great degree, and but very few people
purchase pianos whose income is not sufficient
to meet the monthly payments to which they
bind themselves.
An Injurious Reaction
The attack upon instalment selling has a re-
percussion that is extremely important to the
r
HE campaign which is being conducted
in the daily press against instalment
selling is based primarily on the excep-
tional case which, for their own advantage,
those behind it have considered as the rule.
Figures covering the retail piano trade show
that in no case is the average prospective
customer being tempted to purchase more
than his income will permit him to pay for
within the time of the sales contract. They
should be used to counteract the injurious
effect which this publicity has already had
on the
trade.—EDITOR.
piano industry and which affects equally the
manufacturer and the dealer. The greatest
asset of this entire industry is the mass of
outstanding paper, behind which there are two
types of collateral, the instruments themselves
and the financial worth of the people who have
purchased them. Anything which tends to at-
tack the value of this paper has an injurious
effect upon the assets of the industry, makes it
harder for every individual therein to obtain
credit accommodation, restricts the natural ex-
pansion of the industry, and in the long run
raises the expense of conducting it. There is
no question at all that the publicity which has
been obtained by those who have made these
largely unwarranted attacks upon this type of
selling has already to some extent had such a
reaction, and if it is to continue unchecked and
without refutation this reaction will progres-
sively increase. Efforts have already been
made at Washington to enlist the aid of Gov-
ernment bureaus in the drive, a means that
would sharply accentuate a condition that is
already serious.
Shortening the Terms
Another indication that instalment selling is
being held within safe limits by the retail piano
trade is the fac-t that both maximum terms and
average terms upon which retail leases are be-
ing written are steadily being shortened. Ac-
cording to The Review's survey from which
statistics were quoted earlier in this article, the
average maximum terms upon which pianos are
sold at the present time are 31.81 months, and
the average actual terms upon which leases are
written are 21.75 months. These figures show
definitely that there is a steady trend in retail
piano selling to lower the time of the average
retail piano lease, both through larger monthly
payments and larger initial cash payments.
This condition could not exist were it a fact
that the retail piano trade generally is over-
selling its prospective customers and abusing
instalment methods in an effort to achieve
volume sales through undue risks.
The Black Sheep
The piano trade, like every other business,
has its black sheep. At the present time there
is no doubt that a certain type of advertising
in which terms as well as low prices are stress-
ed beyond what they should be has contributed
no little ammunition to those who are attacking
instalment selling. The consistency with which
certain retail piano houses have used this type
of publicity during the past several months has
of course created a certain amount of public
opinion to the effect that sales are being forced.
That a majority of these advertisements have
been simply "bait" has not been apparent to
people outside the industry. Such publicity is
injurious much beyond the competition it gives
to other piano merchants in the locality where
it is used; in fact, its worst injury is to the
piano industry as a whole, a thing that can be
easily demonstrated in the present anti-instal-
ment campaign.
The piano trade must always be based on
instalment methods of selling. The unit value
of the product is so large that its market would
be almost entirely eliminated were it necessary
to sell these instruments upon a cash basis. No
retail house which has tried this method has
ever succeeded with it. When instalment sell-
ing is unjustly attacked as it has been during
the past several months, and when behind that
attack there arc unquestionably ulterior mo-
tives of some kind, the industry itself can not
afford to remain quiescent and permit the basis
of its sales to be lowered in public favor.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The New Knabe Studio in Kansas City
Holds Formal Opening of Handsome Store
t)r. Sigmund Spaeth Lectures and Stuart Ross, Ampico Recording Artist, Appears in Concert at
Event—Feature of New Warerooms is Fine Recital Hall
1ZANSAS CITY, MO., June 1.—On the eve-
ning of May 25, the new Knabe Studio at
the Country Club Flaza held a formal opening
with a concert and lecture. Dr. Sigmund
Spaeth, lecturer and author, talked on the
"Common Sense of Music"; Stuart Ross, com-
poser and Ampico recording artist, who has
just completed a tour with Rosa Ponselle, was
the pianist of the evening. Mrs. Allen Taylor,
prominent vocalist of Kansas City, sang to
the accompaniment of the Ampico in the Knabe.
The Greatest Plan
Ever Devised for
Selling Pianos
If you are tired of trying worn-
out selling plans that fail to
arouse even a spark of interest,
here's your chance to do some-
thing different.
A plan that gets action—stirs
up interest in every community
where tried. Parents have en-
rolled over 15,000 children under
this wonderful plan. When a
dealer adopts it, sales of the
Miessner piano invariably fol-
low.
The Miessner piano is different
—low, compact, light, easily
portable. But it's a regular-
sized piano in tone—has a tone
as big and beautiful as that of
a small grand piano.
The remarkable Miessner Sales
Plan grew out of these distinc-
tive features of the piano. The
plan and the piano go hand in
hand. Send for full information
and wake up your piano sales.
MIESSNER PIANO GO.
136 Reed St.
Milwaukee, Wis.
THE LITTLE PIANO WITH THE DIG TONE
MIESSNER PIANO CO.,
136 Reed St., Milwaukee, Wil.
Gentlemen: Send me the Miessner catalog,
full information on your wonderful Sales Plan
and booklet, "How to Get Business in New
and Untouched Fields with the Miessner
Piano."
Name
Name of Stoce
Address
Highest
Quality
One selection, "Open Road," was written by
Mr. Stuart and re-enacted from his own playing
by the Ampico. Portions of the "Oriental
Dance," by Sinding, were played by Mr. Ross
arid portions by the Ampico in the Knabe.
The outstanding feature" of the concert was
the mood of mutual response of audience and
artists, expressing good will and friendliness.
This attitude was made possible by the infor-
mality of the musicians, the attractive setting
of the low stage and the softly shaded lights,
giving the effect of a private concert rather
than that of impersonal remoteness which is
so frequently felt in a large theatre or hall.
The seating capacity of the hall allows over a
hundred people to be present without their
being crowded. The chairs were of comfortable
old-ivory wicker, and although set in the con-
ventional concert hall rows, the presence of
crimson draperies, shaded lamps, large ferns
and baskets of pink peonies and carnations on
the stage, gave the effect of richness and good
taste. Dr. Spaeth talked informally to the au-
dience at the close of the program, stating
that he hoped they would take advantage of
the special purpose of the Studio, as a place to
bring their friends or to drop in frequently to
hear the concerts given daily by the Ampico.
He urged that the pleasure of music is a
growth and that it is through repetition that a
composition grows to mean more and more to
the listener. It is for this reason that the daily
concerts in the drawing room of the studio
should be attended.
In his lecture on "The Common Sense of
Music," Dr. Spaeth urged the cause of stand-
ard music as being worth while to the public,
although the public so frequently runs away
from it fearing it because of its appellation,
"highbrow."
The point of the talk was the fact that every
individual has an inherent musical sense which
should be developed in the form in which it is
present. By this means, music for pleasure
rather than the much too frequent reaction,
music as a duty, results.
After the program the audience spoke en-
thusiastically of the event and of the Knabe
Studio, as being particularly desirable in the
community center and within easy access to
their homes. G. W. Frederick was unanimous-
ly congratulated on what had been accom-
plished for the evening in the function of the
studio and in the pleasure derived from it.
The majority of the audience consisted of pa-
trons and customers of the Knabe Studios.
The entire program was broadcasted from
the Knabe Studios through Station W D A F of
the Kansas City Star.
Q R S Film Shown at
John Wanamaker Store
Auditorium of New York Store Given Over on
May 28 to Q R S Program—Recording Pian-
ists Play
An instructive and entertaining bit of pub-
licity was engaged in by the Q R S Music Co.,
when through the courtesy of the John Wanama-
ker store, New York, the Wanamaker Entertain-
ment ho'Ur for Thursday afternoon, May 28,
was given over to a moving picture production
that showed in detail the process of making
Q R S player rolls and a most excellent musi-
cal program rendered by four exclusive Q R S
pianists.
JUNE 6,
1925
The affair was featured in Wanamaker's news-
paper advertisements of the preceding day and
Thursday morning, in which it was referred to
as "A Popular Music Matinee," Piano Ensemble
consisting of the popular "composer-pianists,"
"Victor Arden, Max Kortlander, Phil Ohman,
Pete Wendling." Also, a "record making" mo-
tion picture revealing the process of manufac-
turing "Player-piano Rolls."
Dr. Alexander Russell, concert director for
Wanamaker's, presided at the Wanamaker great
organ and supplied the accompanying music for
the moving picture part of the program. The
Q R S Co. mailed invitations to all of its metro-
politan dealers, a very large number of whom
took advantage of the opportunity of attending.
G. A. Ensenberger & Sons j
Erecting New Building 1
Bloomington, 111., Concern Will Give Over Sub-
stantial Space in New Structure to Successful
Music Department
BLOOMINGTON, I I I . , June 1.—G. A. Ensenberger
& Sons, one of the leading housefurnishing con-
cerns in this section, who operate a very com-
modious music department under the manage-
ment of Otto F. Mueller, have let contracts for
a modern new building on the site of their old
quarters at 212-214 North Center street. The
old structure has been razed and work has
already been started on the new building, which
will be six stories high and modern in every par-
ticular.
The front of the structure will be of Gothic
design and of highly glazed cream colored ter-
ra-cotta. The front facade will be in the form
of six columns of terra-cotta between which
will be set spacious windows with ornamental
metal work top and bottom.
The Ensenberger business was established in
1886 on the site where the new building will
arise, and has met with continued success. In
the music department are handled Steinway,
Vose, Lyon & Healy, Brambach, Apollo, and
Gulbransen pianos and players, as well as Edi-
son and Victor phonographs and records. This
department will occupy large space in the new
building.
Thiery Music Go. Formed
MILWAUKEE, WIS., May 30.—A new music con-
cern, called the Thiery Music Co., has opened
an up-to-date music store at 872 Third street,
handling Schiller pianos and players and a full
line of phonographs and radio goods. The com-
pany has also taken over the business of the
Thiery Piano and Phonograph Co., 516 Grand
avenue, and the retail business of the J. B.
Thiery Co., 2324 North avenue.
The Spiegel Music Co., of Fort Wayne, Ind.,
has recently increased its capitalization to $25,000,
with the addition of $10,000 common stock.
American
Piano Wire
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days of Jonas Chickering. Took prize over
whole world at Paris 1900. For generations
the standard, and used on the greatest num-
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—free Illustrated books—free
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