Music Trade Review

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REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXXII. No. 1 Polished Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Jan. 2,1926
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The Music Advancement Bureau
Its Relation to the Trade
C M . Tremaine, Director of This Branch of the Activities of the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce, Describes the Importance of Its Functions and Points Out to All Members of the
Trade How Essential Its Complete Support Is to Better Sales and Greater Volume
T
H E R E is no question but what the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce and the
National Bureau for the Advancement of
Music must be thoroughly sold to the trade if
they are to have the full support they need
to accomplish the purpose they have in mind
and the purpose I believe the trade wishes them
to accomplish. Many friends of both the Cham-
ber and the Bureau believe these should be
"sold" on their achievements as the trade wishes
to "see results." My contention is that they
must first be sold on the basic idea they repre-
sent and that the trade is not yet sufficiently
sold on the fundamental idea, although I am
pretty much alone in this belief. It is my con-
viction that a thorough understanding of this
fundamental idea, and not merely superficial
acquiescence, is absolutely necessary before the
trade can even recognize results, let alone cor-
rectly appraise them or apply them and derive
local benefit from them.
How Much Is Help Wanted?
The trade wants help, naturally, but the ques-
tion is how much does it want it. The members
of the trade believe in the Chamber and the
Bureau and want to have them working for
them. Everyone desires all the help he can get.
The really vital point is how strongly does the
trade believe in them. How important an in-
vestment does it consider them? How much
is it itself willing to pay for this help?
There is no doubt but that there is one great
impediment to the Chamber's progress, and es-
pecially in the progress of the advancement of
music idea, and we may as well recognize it in
the beginning, for it is a factor with which we
must deal. It is an unfortunate fact that the man
who does not support the Bureau derives almost
as much benefit from it as the man who does.
Human nature being as it is, we must expect
some people to be willing to "ride free." The
more who ride free the less the other people
will be inclined to give up their own money for
the slacker's benefit. Therefore it is to the
interest of everyone who does pay to see that
the other bears his share of the cost. There is
fortunately another element in human nature
which can be enlisted in our favor, although
at present working somewhat against it, namely,
self-respect. There are only a few who admit
even tc themselves their desire to ride on the
other fellow's ticket. They save their self-
respect by trying to convince themselves that
they disapprove of one or another phase of the
work and cajole themselves into believing that
they would be glad to support it if it w*as han-
dled differently, or if they could see any tan-
gible results. There are tangible results, but
these critics make no effort to ascertain them
CT'lllS subject sounds dry.. It is not. It
•*• will interest you if you read it through.
' To read part of it will be an absolute waste
of time. Unless you see the picture clearly,
it is possible your mind may vision an en-
tirely different picture than the one which
may be of the most value to you. Your own
dollars and cents are involved both as to ex-
pense entailed and profits which may accrue.
The subject is of very great importance to
everyone financially concerned in the music
business because it strikes at the heart of
the ways and means by which the trade is
collectively trying to help itself. The trade
does not need to agree on details, but it
must \fully comprehend the general effect of
what it is attempting to do and agree as to
the type of machinery it is building to accom-
plish its purpose. The article is addressed
to the president of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, the presidents of all
the affiliated organisations, the presidents of
all local and State music trade associations,
but more particularly to the individual manu-
facturer and dealer. It represents the writer's
individual opinion, but it is based on ten
years' study and experience. Some strong
statements may be made. The excuse is that
the writer's conviction is strong. If the
personal pronoun is used too frequently it
will be because it is a personal opinion which
is presented and the most effective form of
expressing it is chosen.
C. M. TREMAINE.
and base their appraisal on what has not been
done rather than on what has been accom-
plished. They simply seek excuses for them-
selves without knowing it, rather than informa-
tion as to the facts. These are the people who
must be reached and convinced. This can be
done, for the argument is irresistible. There is,
however, in my judgment, but one way to do
so—sell them the idea first. There will then
be little difficulty in selling them the results, for
if they are once thoroughly convinced that they
can make more money through the existence of
an organization devoting its brains and energies
to the welfare and prosperity of the music trade
than without such an institution, that it costs
money to support it, and that it is for their best
interests to give their own support to some kind
of centralized protective and constructive effort,
they definitely commit themselves to the ex-
pense. It then becomes not a question of saving
a few dollars but of protecting and increasing
their business. Their attitude is different. Criti-
cism may follow in the wake of a desire for a
correct appraisal of the facts, but it will not
precede it and will therefore aid rather than
retard accomplishment.
A Cold Business Proposition
Let us look at the matter as a cold business
proposition. I am going to speak of but one
division of the Chamber's work—the National
Bureau—because I know that better (although I
am a strong believer in every branch of the
Chamber). Is the Bureau a good investment?
What is it worth and how much does it cost?
What is it doing and what can it do? The only
definite answer to any of these questions is its
cost. We know that. The answers to all the
other questions are a matter of judgment. The
Bureau's appeal is to your judgment—your busi-
ness judgment. It is not like the purchase or
sale of a bill of goods. There is no way of
picking out the profit from the balance sheet,
although it has many figures for those who
desire them.
Can you specify the profits from your adver-
tising or from many of your promotional plans?
You continue them because they appeal to your
judgment. The National Bureau is advertising.
Your individual advertising costs from 2 to 10
per cent, the Bureau less than one-twentieth of
1 per cent.
Do you ask your fire insurance broker to
prove that insurance is a good investment? You
know that it is a net expense for over 95 per
cent of those who insure. Unless you had a fire
you know that it was an unprofitable investment
for you last year. Yet you would not think of
dropping your insurance. It is a small payment
for protection against loss—a payment which,
after all, the ultimate consumer pays, as it is
added to the cost. The National Bureau is busi-
ness insurance costing one-twentieth of 1 per
cent as compared with fire insurance, costing
from one-half to one-quarter of 1 per cent.
(Continued on page 4)