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
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.
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Services of our Acoustic Engineer always available
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American Steel & Wire
ACOUSTIC DEPARTMENT
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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JUNE 6,
1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
The Trade-in and Its Effect on the
Net Profit of Piano Dealers
The Sixth of a Series of Articles Based on an Exhaustive Survey Recently Concluded by The Music Trade
Review of the Part Which the Trade-in Plays on the Net Profit of the Retail Piano Merchant
Together With a Study of the Methods Which Will Remedy Its Evil Effects
P
ERHAPS the best summing up of the entire
question of the trade-in, so far as its evils
and the remedies which will meet them are
concerned, is given in response to a request
from The Review by a prominent retail piano
merchant in the Southwest. This dealer, who,
according to his own statement, makes an an-
nual profit on the trade-in side of his business,
analyzes the chief evils of this question as fol-
lows:
"The chief evils of the trade-in in the retail
piano trade are excessive valuations prompted
primarily by competition, a condition which in
turn springs from distrust of competition. Com-
bined with this there exists an ignorance of the
facts that, after cost of conditioning, etc., resale
cost per cent is the same as a new sale cost.
Then there is the practice of inflating new sale
prices, with the intent of covering an excessive
valuation on trade-ins, and a lack of backbone
to maintain the inflated prices, allowing the
buyer to bear down the new sale price in spite
of the excessive trade-in allowance."
He goes on to point out what he considers
the remedies for these conditions, which he
gives briefly, as follows:
"The house, the sales manager and the sales-
men should be taught and required to think in
terms only of net profit, that which is left at the
end of the year for the stockholders, 5 or 10
per cent of the sale price, more or less, instead
of the apparent hundreds of dollars profit on
sales, this with a blithe disregard of overhead
expense. The salesman, too, frequently realizes
10 per cent or more for himself on a sale. When!
there is a lack of this attitude, then, alas, noth-
ing is left at the end of the year for the stock-
holders."
One of the most frequently given reasons by
the dealers for the present unsatisfactory con-
ditions existing in the trade-in question is a
lack on the part of many manufacturers of a
national one-price for their instruments. Around
60 per cent of the merchants replying to The
Review's questionnaire stated that this was at
the basis of the trade-in evil. Judging from
what they state, the practice of inflating prices
on new merchandise is prevalent to a larger de-
gree than is generally considered, which leads
in turn to the inflated allowance on the old in-
strument. The dealer, in the long run, they say,
gains nothing from this practice, which only
lends to cut down sales volume and to sap pub
lie confidence in the industry. This, from the
dealers' standpoint, as expressed to The Review,
is much more important than the compilation of
any set schedule of trade-in valuations.
It is perhaps surprising how few merchants
there were who considered the schedule of val-
uations as a remedy. Only about 20 per cent of
those replying mentioned it at all, and many of
these as a subsidiary remedy. Evidently the av-
erage retail piano merchant considers that he
is quite capable of judging the tangible value of
a used piano which is offered in trade without
any outside aid, and considers that the cause of
excessive valuations rests, not in ignorance of
used piano values, but in competition based on
greed for sales. It is apparent that he consid-
ers that any series of schedules would do little
to remedy a condition of which the causes lie
far more deeply.
The merchants' expressions of opinion on the
entire question were highly interesting. A mer-
chant in Arkansas wrote:
"We have no difficulty in disposing of our
trade-ins and make a fair profit on the majority
of them. We are never overstocked on trade-
ins but find a ready market for them. This is
partly due to the fact that we have a well-
equipped shop with capable workmen, who put
these instruments in good salable condition so
that they can easily be sold in competition with
lower priced instruments. We keep a cost card
on each instrument showing the time spent and
the cost of the material used which is taken
into consideration when the instrument is priced
for resale.
"We know that some of our competitors in
this field are badly overstocked at times with
trade-ins whereas we are usually short on this
class of goods. Of course, the chief evil of the
trade-in is the overallowance, which is very
hard to overcome in the small towns, owing to
the fact that it is practically impossible to get
the dealers to co-operate with each other."
A retail piano merchant in New England pre-
sents rather a unique plan to overcome the
trade-in evil. "You ask what are my sugges-
tions as to the best remedy to overcome the
trade-in evil. The real solution is this, in my
opinion. Let every dealer refuse to accept old
instruments in trade. Furniture dealers do not
accept old rugs and old furniture in trade for
new merchandise. Why should the piano dealer
do so? This is the remedy for the evil.
"Let all dealers organize an exchange with a
warerooms in their respective cities, to be
owned and operated on a co-operative plan, to
which the prospective buyer of a new instru-
ment with an old instrument to be traded-in
can be referred as an outlet for that piano. In
other words, have a sort of clearing house to
which folks can sell their old instruments for
cash. Then let them buy at the dealer's who
can best meet their requirements. If all deal-
ers would refuse to accept trade-ins and could
tell a prospect where he could sell his old in-
strument for cash, then they could clear their
floors of old 'junk' and make a reasonable profit
on the sale of new instruments. The dealers
themselves could own the 'piano exchange for
second-hands' and whatever profit was realized
each year would be divided proportionately
among the stockholders. In this manner old in-
struments would be bought right and sold right
and the cost for repairs would be offset by a
fair profit on the resale price. It is up to the
dealers in every city to get busy and carry out
such a plan. It can be done by the local co-
operation of every dealer and every town in
the country."
This plan, while radical in its departure from
the usual method of treating the trade-in ques-
tion, holds interesting possibilities, and provided
dealers in a city could obtain 100 per cent co-
operation in their locality, it would seem to hold
interesting possibilities.
In summary, the remedy proposed most
widely by the dealers for the trade-in evil rests
on a greater degree of standardization in the
price of new instruments, the wider adoption of
the one-price system by the retail merchant and
a stricter adherence to it where it is in existence
more in theory than in practice. Here, in their
idea, is the nub of the entire problem, a posi-
tion which is confirmed by every evidence.
Special Cable-Nelson Display Made by Platt
T OS ANGELES, CAL., May 29.—The Platt
Music Co. recently prepared a most elab-
orate window display as a suitable background
for the showing of the 150,000th Cable-Nelson
piano, which was recently received by the com-
pany from the Cable-Nelson factory, South Ha-
ven, Mich. The instrument, beautifully embel-
lished in gold, has attracted wide attention lo-
cally, and some attractive newspaper advertis-
ing concerning the piano was run.

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