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98
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
JUNE 13, 1925
Convention of the National Association of Sheet Music Dealers
no real effort made to separate these groups.
This leaves such houses in a position of being
unable to tell whether the sheet music depart-
ment is suffering losses or is gaining in profits.
Such dealers are only able to give a general
statement as to the conditions of their entire
business.
Sheet music is a product that can be found
in practically every home. It offers a means of
reaching thousands of consumers and attract-
ing them to the store. It is merchandise that
should receive utmost attention. Properly pre-
sented it is a means of adding considerably to
the profits of any music house and is worthy
of being considered something other than an
adjunct to the general music store or a mere
drawing card.
On a comparative basis sheet music depart-
ments properly conducted will prove as valu-
able and profitable as merchandise of a higher
value in the unit sale. However, time and at-
tention must be given to it—timely sales ideas
carried out—advantage taken of seasonable ma-
terial, both standard and popular.
Publicity is the word which assures the future
of any business. Through publicity we have
been able to learn a great deal about "King
Tut," who has been dead for more than three
thousand years. Publicity, therefore, brings the
dead to life, it revives the dying and properly
applied to your business will keep it a live or-
ganization.
In a number of communities there has been
practiced with splendid results a co-operative
plan of merchandising music legitimately and
profitably. In every center where there is more
than one music store a "get together" arrange-
ment should be put into effect. In this manner
a considerable amount of unfair competition
could be avoided. When the newcomer arrives
to enter the retail field in a given community
a conference should be held and an educational
campaign put forth showing the new dealer Row
through established and successful methods
music departments have been made to pay well.
That there is no necessity to run them merely
to attract customers. Along similar lines the
dealer who is cutting his prices on sheet music
can be made to realize that he is conducting an
unprofitable department. By clean business
methods, having a varied stock and giving the
public what they want in both standard and
popular music as much business will be created
legitimately as can be procured through under-
selling and, what is more, it will be of more per-
manent character.
Many merchants lay too much stress on buy-
ing in quantities in order to cut down cost.
Saving in purchases has its place but it is not
nearly so important as getting a legitimate
Ukulele Time Is Here!
And these are the ukulele books that five million "ukists" will want
The One and Original
Ukulele Ike's Comic Song Books
No. 1 and No. 2 Now Ready
An Edition of Two Side-Splitting "Uke" Anthologies
by the dean of 'em all.
Greatest Ukulele book
sellers of all time
Four Uke Book "Scoops" by "Hank" Linet
The most unique and valuable of all
courses or methods.
POSITIVELY
TEACHES IN AN HOUR! All super-
fluous and tedious instruction elim-
inated.
HANK'S SONGS OF THE SUNNY SOUTH
A wonderful collection of characteristic Down-South ditties.
Send for Bulletin*, Prices, etc.
Hank is to the ukulele
what 15abe Ruth is to
baseball.
Here is a
humorous compilation of
the funniest of all college
songs.
HANK'S COMIC
CAMP DITTIES
A Rreat book for hikes,
auto trips and around the
camp fire.
ROBBINS-ENGEL, Inc. «•»•*
profit on the investment. Nor is it as important
as the items connected with overhead expenses,
cost of operation, etc. These are better barom-
eters of stability.
A stock of music should be turned over as
many times as possible during the year to make
the investment worth while. Merchandise that
is only turned over once or twice a year is
not producing profit. Such a condition would
seemingly demonstrate that the dealer is carry-
ing much merchandise that he could afford to
be without. Perhaps some of it will become
valueless.
In merchandising to-day new thoughts and
new ideas should be constantly brought into
the business. This is doubly important with an
old established industry like sheet music. It is
important that the business be constantly
brought before the public eye and every means
and channel for doing this should be utilized.
Good ideas should be immediately followed up
and no time lost in adding to the importance
of the store. For this is the day of the "go-
getter."
Is There Any Reason Why Music Cannot
Be Advertised as Is Other Merchandise?
modern publicity, the Saturday Evening Post,
or some similar national advertising organ.
Let us know ourselves for what we are. We
I N the dawn of history when the caveman
scratched pictures on the walls of his cavern arc sellers of sheet music and books. We do
he was advertising. Most of what we know about not offer for sale cigarettes, soap, clothes, cos-
his daily life we have gathered from those rude metics, or automobiles. These are commodi-
drawings. But because modern men do not ties that enjoy a wide appeal among all sorts
foregather in caves it took the caveman's de- of people. We, on the contrary, are selling a
commodity which, while perhaps more universal
scendants a long time to find these records of
a vanished past. As advertisers, we would say in its general appeal than almost anything else
that the caveman had chosen the wrong on earth, is limited in its sale to those who have
medium. His "ad" might have caught the at- been specially trained in its use. Add to this
tention of mankind much sooner had he chosen the fact that the profit to be made on a piece of
a great open space where men would be sure to sheet music is very small.
Advertising in magazines of national charac-
pass and erected a mighty pyramid.
In other words, had he consciously sought ter is fantastically expensive when viewed
publicity in some future age, the caveman through a music man's eyes. For example, a
should have selected a medium which would page in either The Saturday Evening Post or
have been more likely to attract the attention The Ladies' Home Journal costs in the neigh-
of the public he desired. His public was any- borhood of $8,000. Suppose we undertook to
body—everybody; his proper medium, the pyra- launch a publicity campaign in behalf of some-
thing worth while, say, two or three new Kreis-
mid in the right neighborhood, or in terms of
Eric Von Der Goltz, Jr.
HANK'S
COLLEGE
DITTIES
HANK'S
ONE-HOUR COURSE IN
UKULELE PLAYING
W. C.
HANDY'S
FAMOUS
COMIC
BLUES
(FOR
UKULELE)
By the daddy of
all blues songs. In-
cludes his original
"St. Louis Blues,"
"A u n t Hagar's
Blues," etc., ar-
ranged for the
ukulele for the
first time.
1658 BROADWAY
NEW YORK, N. Y.
ler transcriptions, or our Superior Edition or
the Carl Fischer Library. A single page ad-
vertisement would not carry enough weight.
To swing our campaign logically we would
have to repeat our advertisement at least a
number of times. Even if one were more con-
servative and used a smaller space, the ex-
pense would be appalling. If competition ever
forces national advertising on the publishers it
will, in all probability, tend to raise the price
of music to the ultimate consumer, a thing we
are all trying to prevent.
Despite the music publisher's reluctance to
engage in expensive national publicity, it must
not be imagined that his advertising budget is
a small item. Taking the case of Carl Fischer,
Inc., I can say that during the present year we
have carried advertising in upwards of thirty
musical papers in this country, never failing to
ask the reader, in every case, to order our music
from his local dealer.
An item which runs into money is catalogs.
Every year we distribute thousands and hun-
dreds of thousands of catalogs of piano, violin,
wind, vocal, orchestra and band music. This is
a mammoth expense which the cigarette and
soap advertisers are spared.
The hundreds of incidental circulars which
are turned out every season have also to be
taken into consideration. For some time we
have been experimenting along a line which
may be mentioned here. Every month we re-
lease four, five or six new orchestra or band
compositions. At the same time a special cir-
cular is printed and sent in quantities to the
dealer together with an advertising poster for
his counter and show window. During the re-
lease month we advertise the compositions
heavily in the orchestra and band papers. In
the case of the orchestra compositions an in-
troductory discount of 20 per cent is featured
both in our magazine advertisements and in
the circulars distributed by the dealer.
This venture has been so successful that we
have started a similar but less specialized plan
for the rest of our new issues. We have begun
to issue a circular listing and describing our
releases which is sent in quantities to our deal-
ers. While it is too early to state definitely
that our business is being benefited directly be-
cause of these circulars, it is a fact that the
general reaction to them has been decidedly
favorable.