Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
The Music Trade Review
Piano Sales Promotion Topic of First
Meeting of the National Convention
Chamber Board of Directors Announce Speakers at Mass Meeting Will Be E. R. Jacobson, Presi-
dent of Organization; Dr. Sigmund Spaeth, and Parham Werlein, of New Orleans
A T a special meeting of the directors of the
•* •*• Music Industries Chamber of Commerce
held at the headquarters of the Chamber in New
York on Monday of this week, final plans were
completed for the mass meeting that will open
the forthcoming convention immediately follow-
ing the official luncheon on Monday, June 7.
It is stated that the keynote of the convention
will be "More intensive direct promotion of
musical instruments," and special attention will
be given to the movement for promoting group
piano instruction in the schools of the country.
The speakers will be E. R. Jacobson, presi-
dent of the Chamber; Sigmund Spaeth, an au-
thority on musical subjects, speaking for the
Advisory Committee to the National Bureau
for the Advancement of Music, and Parham
Werlein, well-known music merchant of New
Orleans and secretary of the National Associa-
tion of Music Merchants. Opportunity will be
given for open discussion from the floor.
The topic for the mass meeting is the result
of a general feeling throughout the trade that
more should be done to promote sales of pianos,
and that much can be done if the trade will
get together and co-operate to co-ordinate
efforts all over the country on a sound plan of
promotion. This movement has been strongly
advocated by The Review for some months past.
C. M. Tremaine, director of the National
Bureau for the Advancement of Music, reported
that the Bureau had completed its investigation,
and found that the group piano method of in-
struction is intrinsically sound from an educa-
tional standpoint and that our educational sys-
tem is now ready for a more general adoption
of this method of instruction. In connection
with its preliminary investigation, the Bureau
has planned a comprehensive booklet on the
subject for the use of music supervisors, boards
of education, parents and private music teachers,
which has already been declared by music educa-
tional authorities to be remarkably well adapted
for its purpose. Eleven thousand letters have
already been sent to music supervisors to get
their reaction and aotive co-operation of some
of the most prominent music supervisors of the
country has been received in the actual prepara-
tion of the booklet.
The preliminary work has been completed and
plans will be announced at the mass meeting
for work during the coming year to promote
the idea through the country.
Stewart-Warner Speedometer Corp. and the
Reichmann Co., manufacturers of radio equip-
ment and the Symphonic Sales Corp., manu-
facturers of phonograph parts, were elected to
individual membership.
It was also reported to the meeting that most
of the member associations of the Chamber
have an unusual number of membership applica-
tions pending for action at the convention.
Eleven of the piano manufacturers, who were
dropped from membership in the National Piano
Manufacturers' Association last January, have
begun to use the stamps regularly, and have
thus qualified for reinstatement in the organiza-
tion.
Detroit Piano-Playing Contest Will
Be Made Annual Affair in That City
Local Music Trades Association to Back Event Yearly—William Braid White, of The Review,
Principal Speaker at the Dinner of That Organization
JTJETROIT, MICH., May 17.—The dinner of
^"^ the Detroit Music Trades Association, held
last Monday night at the Book-Cadillac Hotel,
proved one of the most interesting ever given
by the organization. Present were not only
members of the Association but many prom-
inent persons who are affiliated in the teaching
and promoting of music as a profession and
who are very active in the piano-playing con-
tent being sponsored by the Detroit Music
Trades. When the meeting had adjourned
President Frank Bayley remarked that he
"hoped every meeting would be as interesting
and peppy as this one."
The speaker of the evening was William Braid
White, Technical Editor of The Music Trade
Review. Mr. White discussed the piano busi-
ness from all angles and gave the members
present many ideas and suggestions for them
to think over. He told them what, in his opin-
ion, the piano dealers must do in order to put
the industry back on its feet. He complimented
the Detroit Music Trades Association for its
work in putting over the piano-playing contest
and said the country should be alive with such
things in order to keep interest agog. It was
the most constructive talk that the Detroit piano
dealers have heard in many a day, and it is
too bad that Mr. White cannot make a coast-
to-coast trip and let thousands of other retail-
ers get the benefit of his ideas. Unfortunately
the writer could not attend this dinner, but his
expressions are those of the piano dealers
themselves who did attend.
Quite a number of piano teachers were pres-
ent and they declared themselves as very en-
thusiastic over the contest. In fact,-they went
a bit further by saying that the contest had
actually stimulated such interest that they had
taken on many new pupils as a result.
The Detroit Music Trades Association has
decided to make the piano-playing contest an
annual affair. The members feel that next year
the contest will be a much bigger success as
they will start planning earlier and they will
profit by any mistakes which they made this
time.
The piano-playing contest has taken up so
much time of the Detroit piano dealers that they
have not had time to devote to the coming con-
vention of the Michigan Music Merchants'
Association to be held here August 16 to 19 at
the Book-Cadillac Hotel. But the officers of
the Association will get together some time this
month and work out the final details and plans
as they want a big turnout in order to make
this convention a real success.
E. P. Andrew, manager of the J. L. Hudson
Music Store, returned recently from California,
where he had been spending most of the Winter.
Grinnell Bros, and the Peoples Outfitting Co.
were the only retail music houses that really
got behind National Music Week. Both firms
had recitals with well-known artists appearing
SCARFS
osco
•iMMMl
PIANO
COVERS and BENCH-CUSHIONS
0 . SIMMS MF8. CO.. 103-5 Wwt 14th St.
MAY 22, 1926
and capacity crowds were attracted. The recital
of Grinnell Bros, was to boost the Duo-Art, for
which this concern is Michigan selling agent.
The Chamber of Music Society gave the concert
at the Detroit Museum of Art in co-operation
with Grinnell Bros. The Peoples Outfitting Co.
recital was given by Hcrma Menth, using a
Hallet & Davis grand. The Angelus reproduc-
ing piano was also used in t,he recital. This
affair was given at the store, and Manager
Reddaway, of the music department, arranged
for the distribution of flowers to the ladies and
souvenirs for the men. Through the courtesy of
Mr. Reddaway this same artist gave a demon-
stration before the Detroit Music Trades at its
dinner that same evening at the Book-Cadillac.
A. A. Grinnell, treasurer of Grinnell Bros., ac-
companied by Mrs. Grinnell, left last Saturday
to spend a fortnight at the Congressional
Country Club, in the suburbs of Washington,
D. C.
Piano Sales Promotion
Plan at Convention
(Continued from page 3)
pose to finance such a campaign but I presume
that the plan provides for the co-operation of
retailers. While I want it made plain that I
cannot commit our association as such to the
financial support of any such plan I believe
the progressive merchants in our industry will
be most emphatically in favor of it, provided
it is practical, and that they will not hesitate
to do their share in providing the necessary
funds. Speaking for the Bissell-Wiesert Piano
Co. I will say that we will gladly support this
movement financially on any equitable basis
founded upon volume business or unit sales,
provided a majority of the leading retail houses
of Chicago do the same.
"It is said that this plan includes a national
advertising campaign for the piano. It is not
easy to think of another article which offers
such a fertile field for those experienced in the
business of carrying a message by means of
words and pictures. Much of the constructive
salesmanship in the piano business is being done
by word of mouth and those of us in the busi-
ness do not have the opportunity to reach the
vast majority of people who are not piano pros-
pects but can be made so by the right kind of
salesmanship. How can any parent resist a
piano appeal well put? A national advertising
campaign for the piano, supported by ingenious
business-creating suggestions for the merchants,
and plans for enlisting the co-operation of music
schools, music teachers, school teachers, etc.,
should vastly increase the opportunities of every
man in the piano business."
Prepare for Guild Meeting
KANSAS CITY, MO., May 17.—The public is go-
ing to be lavishly entertained with fretted in-
strument music during the silver jubilee con-
vention of the American Guild of Banjoists,
Mandolinists and Guitarists, May 23-26, in
Kansas City. Several "open concerts," espe-
cially for the public, are being arranged, with
nationally known musicians on the program and
la'rge aggregations of players showing what
can be done in ensemble playing. Kansas City
musicians will give the opening concert at the
Baltimore Hotel, a grand finale using 100 in-
struments. Claude Rowden, of Chicago, will
direct a 100-piece orchestra at the big public
concert, May 25. Exhibits will be on the parlor
floor of the Baltimore; those having reserved
space so far are: Slingerland Banjo Mfg. Co.,
Chicago; Bacon Banjo Co., Groton, Conn.;
Ludwig & Ludwig, Chicago, and Gibson, Inc.,
Kalamazoo, Mich.