Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 9

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
FEBRUARY 27, 1926
February Shows a Better
New York Committee Announces Plans
Demand in Buffalo District
for the Coming Convention in June
Exhibits Encouraged at the Commodore and the Rules for Such Displays—Association Meetings
to Be Held in the Mornings Only—Afternoons to Be Devoted to the Displays
DLANS for a more businesslike convention
than ever before held by the music industry
are now being made by the Executive Com-
mittee on the 1926 Anniversary Convention Ar-
rangements, of which John J. Glynn, president
the New York Piano Manufacturers' Associa-
tion, is chairman. The other members of the
committee are George W. Allen, president of
the New York Piano Manufacturers' Associa-
tion; Albert Behning, secretary of both the
Piano Manufacturers' and Dealers' Associations
in New York; H. E. Lawrence, who will be
chairman of the Committee on Publicity; Wal-
ter Happerla, chairman of the Committee on
Exhibits; Charles Jacob, chairman of the Com-
mittee on Finance, and Arthur L. Wessell, who
will be chairman of the Golf Committee, and
Calvin T. Purdy, chairman of the Entertainment
Committee.
The committee has held two meeting and has
decided upon the general plan of the convention.
Subcommittees will be appointed to take care of
such things as finance, publicity, luncheons, ex-
hibits and entertainment.
The convention will be held at the Hotel
Commodore the week of June 7. The opening
session will be on Monday. Tuesday, Wednes-
day and Thursday will be devoted to the busi-
ness meetings of the various associations. The
merchants' banquet will be held Thursday eve-
ning. On Friday there will be some sort of
field day for the entire trade, the details to
be announced later.
Concerning Exhibits
In conformance with the spirit of making this
a business convention, manufacturers are urged
to exhibit and everything possible will be done
to make the exhibits a success. The following
arrangements have been made with the hotel for
special rates:
Convention Exhibit Rates
No. 1—Fifty per cent increase over two-person
rate of room when accommodations are oc-
cupied for any other purpose than sleeping.
No. 2—Rooms for installation of musical in-
struments or other business purposes—not
sleeping purposes—will not be charged for, the
first day, providing this will be on the Sunday
or any prior date to your convention. All rooms
commencing Monday night of convention will
be on charge, and to so continue for at least the
three following nights.
No. 3—No charge to be made for the day of
the removal of instruments, providing sufficient
time is given to us to have rooms put in order
to use the same night. Would suggest 3 p. m.
as limit, for releasement of rooms for any par-
ticular day, charge to be in effect as of the
previous night.
Association Sessions in Mornings
All of the association sessions will be held
in the mornings. Afternoons will be left open
for nothing but the exhibits. "We are going
to do everything possible to make a big market
place of the convention every afternoon of con-
vention week," says Chairman Glynn, "and in
return for our work to make the exhibits a suc-
cess we expect the exhibitors to co-operate with
us by seeing that their exhibits are closed until
noon of each day.
The Chamber will continue the exhibits of
the Merchandising Service Department, which
have been so successful in the past few years,
including the exhibits of the prize-winning re-
tail advertisements, mail-order advertising and
examples of national advertising. The National
Bureau for the Advancement of Music will also
have a comprehensive display of its materials,
with maps and exhibits showing the increase in
music promotional activity throughout the coun-
try.
It is expected that the usual special railroad
rates will be in effect. Henry Hewitt, president
of the Chicago Piano Club, has been asked to
serve as chairman of the Western Convention
Committee. Plans are already under way in
Chicago for a special train which will stop off
on Sunday at Washington, Philadelphia and At-
lantic City.
Improvement Shows Both in Actual Volume of
Sales and in Greater Percentage in the Down
Payments Obtained by the Dealers
This survey is confined entirely to urban dis-
tribution, as figures for the trade in the smaller
cities and towns are extremely difficult to ob-
tain. It is probable, however, that the average
number of music stores in these sections shows
a slightly higher number of people per store
than do the figures in urban distribution as rep-
resented by these thirty cities.
Families Per Store
It is also interesting to consider the number
of music stores in relation to the number of
families which they represent. For instance,
New York has approximately one music store
for 1,257 families, while Columbus, O., has one
for each 5,653 families.
What the survey does show is that retail
music distribution is widely unequal, even mak-
ing allowances for the varying volumes of
goods sold by each of the unit stores. The
figures are interesting and worthy of study.
BUFFALO, N. Y., February 23.—The middle of
February showed an increased demand for
pianos and players, as compared with the
early part of the month. Business in general
last week is said to have been much better than
the previous week, both in volume of sales and
larger down payments.
Adam, Meldrum & Anderson made several
cash sales of pianos last week, according to G.
C. Lynch, of the music department. Mr. Lynch
said that the greatest demand just now is for
high-grade reproducing pianos. The Stieff and
Sohmer are giving evidence of popularity in this
section, buyers coming from the outlying sec-
tions to secure these instruments from the
Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Co.
Neal, Clark & Neal are doing a good Gul-
bransen registering piano business, according to
Sales Manager Foster. He said that the piano
business in general has been quite satisfactory
since the first of the year, but the past week
has shown an increased demand that gives indi-
cation of a Spring trade that will greatly sur-
pass that of the same period of last year. Small
instrufnents are selling fairly well, but the store
is not stressing this department so much just
now, Mr. Foster said. A campaign on small
instruments early this Spring is expected to pro-
duce some good results, due to the popularity
of jazz orchestras and also the large school
orchestras throughout the city.
Floyd Barber, of Barber & Wilson, is finding
many Behning buyers not only in Kenmore, his
immediate section, but throughout the city and
the Tonawandas. The recent Behning, with thj?.
Welte-Mignon (Licensee) action, exploitation
in Kenmore gave it some effective advertising.
Sheet music sales also are showing improve-
ment. Irving Berlin's "Always" gives indication
of being the biggest hit since "Barney Google."
The Grant store, under the supervision of
Madeline Mooney, displayed the sheets of
"Always" most effectively at the counter, and
the piano was giving hints of "Always" inter-
mittently throughout the day. "Someone to
Love," a recent Remick release, is also said to
be in good demand. William McDermott, local
Remick representative, has put the song over
in Buffalo through appearances at the vaudeville
theatres.
The school band project in Corry, Pa., has
been revived, according to M. L. Brown, super-
intendent of schools there. He said no band
instrument company is behind the movement, as
was announced some time ago. Keen interest
among the school children is said to assure the
band's success.
Speaking on "The Significance of Music and
Life," Mme. Adele Julian said that music should
be used systematically in every home as a char-
acter builder, in an address before the Bahai
assembly. She is very prominent in musical
circles here.
Miss Julia Vail, of the Ithaca Conservatory
of Music, is endeavoring to interest high school
pupils in establishing a branch of the conserva-
tory in Waterloo, N. Y. If her plan carries,
instruction will be given in instrumental music,
including piano, harp and band instruments and
vocal instruction. Teachers from the Ithaca
school will visit Waterloo once each week to
supervise the classes.
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
The F. H. Groves Piano Co., of Pittsburgh,
Pa., has leased the property at 943 Liberty ave-.
nue for a period of years.
A. Hospe Go. Branch
Managers in Conference
Executives of Omaha Miusic House Gather for
Purpose of Discussing Business Conditions
and Future Plans
OMAHA, NEB., February 20.—A two-day sales
conference of the branch store managers of the
A. Hospe Co., prominent local music house, was
held here a few days ago, preparatory to the
move of the concern into its new home at Fif-
teenth and Farnam streets. The salespeople of
the local Hospe store joined the managers at
the various get-togethers, the final one being
held as a banquet at the Omaha Athletic Club.
Among the guests at the speakers' table were
the following: P. E. Mason, of the Wurlitzer
Grand Piano Co.; W. J. Eden, of the Gulbran-
sen-Dickinson Co.; F. P. Whitmore, of W. W.
Kimball Co.; G. L. Richardson, of the Victor
Talking Machine Co., and O. G. White, of the
phonograph division of the Brunswick-Balke-
Collender Co., and others.
Urban Population
Relation to Music Stores
(Continued from page 3)
FAR WEST AND PACIFIC COAST
City
Los Angeles
Denver
Seattle
Portland
San Francisco
Stores
69
30
35
26
33
Per Unit
Population
8,355
8.549
8,948
9,934
18,344
Average Population per Store
10,826
plANO
PIANO S C A R F S
COVERS and BENCH-CUSHIONS
0. SIMMS MFA. CO.. 1*3-1 Wad 14th S t
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
FEBRUARY 27,
1926
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Now the A. B. Clinton Go. Goes Into
Every Home in Hartford, Gonn.
A Unique Advertising Plan by Which Every Home in That City Is Reached Once Monthly by This Well-
Known Music House—Other Plans Along Similar Lines Which Bring the Music Mer-
chant Good and Profitable Publicity at a Low Expenditure for That Purpose
T
H E more people who are reached by the
advertising of any one concern the more
satisfactory as a rule will be the results
of that advertising. The more people who are
reached by letter, by 'phone or by direct can-
vassing, the higher the proportion of sales that
will result. Nor is this all theory, for the law
of averages applies with recognized force to
the business of selling.
Therefore it follows that the music merchant
who can find the largest number of channels
through which to keep his name and the prod-
ucts he handles before the public of his ter-
ritory, provided it is done with proper regard
for economy and good business practice, is
likely to meet with the least sales resistance
when his canvassers and the members of his
sales force establish direct contact with the
prospective customers.
It is assumed, of course, that the average
music merchant uses a suitable amount of space
in the advertising columns of the local news-
papers, and also that he makes proper use of
his regular mailing list to send out circulars
and letters to his prospects. All this is good
work, but its extent must be kept within the
limits of a reasonable appropriation. There are
other methods, however, whereby dealers can
secure good publicity with a minimum of ex-
pense, provided they are on their toes to
watch for such opportunities.
A Hartford Example
Not long ago Ned Strousse, manager of the
Hartford, Conn., branch of the A. B. Clinton
Piano Co., found that the local electric light
company was using space measuring three
and one-half inches by nine inches on the back
of its monthly bills to advertise the effective
use of electric current in homes and by busi-
ness houses. The idea came to Mr. Strousse
that proper window lighting constituted one
of the profitable uses of electric current, and
that the window of the A. B. Clinton store
might be utilized as a worth-while example. It
was not long, therefore, before through the per-
suasive tactics of Mr. Strousse there appeared
on the back of the electric light company's bill
a reproduction of the A. B. Clinton Co. window
with appropriate comments on the well-lighted
show window made by the company itself. The
illustration carried the caption: "A Window
That Attracts—Courtesy A. B. Clinton Co."
The interesting part of the advertising was
that although the bills carried it into thousands
of homes in Hartford and vicinity, regularly
each month, for several months, the cost to
the A. B. Clinton Co., was nil, beyond the orig-
inal charge for the photographs of the win-
dow which the company had taken and for
which the company paid. In no other way could
such a large circulation be secured on what
amounted to a free basis.
Hammering It Home Constantly
For the dealer who believes in the fact that
the constant seeing of his name and the names
of the products he handles will have the ulti-
mate effect of concentrating the mind of the
reader on his store and developing a new cus-
tomer, there are other channels that may be
used for securing large circulation at small
cost. A favorite method is to provide the ticket
envelopes for the use of one or more theatres
in the town in exchange for the privilege of
printing on their backs the advertisement of
the music house. Bought in quantities these
envelopes are inexpensive and the name of the
music house is impressed upon the ticket pur-
chaser's mind frequently between the time he
leaves the box office with the tickets and the
time he turns them in at the theatre door.
A dealer in a Western city has what may be
considered a permanent arrangement with the
local Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary
Club whereby he provides the tickets for the
annual carnivals run by those organizations in
return for the privilege of placing his adver-
tisement on their backs. Inasmuch as the tick-
ets provide only for general admission and re-
quire no seat or section numbering, the expense
of having several thousand of them printed is
comparatively small and the carnival committee
attends to the distribution without cost to the
dealer.
As a general rule advertising that costs noth-
ing is just about worth the price asked for it,
but under certain conditions where service is
combined with a small charge the advertiser
is really giving something definite for the privi-
lege of the special publicity. In the case of
the A. B. Clinton Co., for instance, although
the advertising on the electric light company's
bill was without expense to the company, it
gave to the company in exchange for the privi-
lege an excellent example of what can be done
to make a show window attractive through
the proper use of electric light for that purpose.
Another case of returning something definite
in exchange for advertising of an unusual kind
was brought to light recently in a fair-sized
town in Ohio where the problem of parking
automobiles anywhere near the business section
had become acute. The dealer had back of his
store an open space sufficiently large to allow
for parking between forty and fifty cars. He
offered to his customers and then to those
of the public who would register at his store
the privilege of parking in the vacant space
provided they would stick on the windshields
of the cars a paster announcing that "We park
at Ryan's Music Store, 817 Grand avenue." Al-
together several hundred cars carried that
paster around the countryside regularly and a
surprising number of the owners take occasion
to buy their musical goods at Ryan's store.
The catch in the paster idea is that to secure
one the car owner had to register at the store,
and without the paster the caretaker did not
allow the car in the parking space.
Keeping the name before the public is the
essence of good advertising whether it is done
through the medium of newspapers, billboards,
circulars or any other matter, and the more
people appealed to the larger the percentage of
sales. That is according to the ever present
law of averages.
J. L. Hudson Co.'s Big Ghickering Campaign
* T H E J. L. Hudson Co., of Detroit, one of the
•*" largest distributors of Chickering Ampicos
in the United States, has recently let a contract
for painted bulletins in Detroit featuring the
Chickering line. That these boards are unusu-
ally attractive may be seen from the attached
illustration. They are painted in full color and
are attracting a great deal of attention in
Detroit, an attention which has already been
turned into sales.
Finishing Walnut Veneers
Described in New Book
it must be remembered that woodwork is sub-
jected to widely varying heat and moisture con-
ditions; therefore, a good finish that seals the
surface is always desirable.
"The finish also guards against decay and in-
sect attacks, although walnut is singularly free
from such enemies. The finish on walnut also
serves to bring out the beautiful texture.
"In a majority of cases it is well to choose
what is known as the natural finish when it
comes to color. Extremely light color must be
obtained by bleaching and, unless desired for
matching something else, is not recommended.
Very dark finishes are not desirable because to
obtain them it is necessary to darken the wood
with stains which, if too dark, conceal the
natural beauty of the color and figure of the
wood. The best shades are the natural color
and the slightly darker shades that display the
natural beauty of the wood.
"There are two styles of finish to be consid-
ered in addition to the consideration of color.
These are known as the 'polished' arid 'dull' fin-
ishes.
Publication by American Walnut Manufacturers'
Association Tells of Dull and Polished Fin-
ishes
A handsome booklet has been prepared for
general distribution by the American Walnut
Manufacturers' Association, Chicago, 111., to
stimulate public interest in walnut interiors with
walnut furniture to match. One of the illustra-
tions in the booklet shows an exquisite music
room with a small grand piano in walnut as
the dominating figure.
The subject of finishing a walnut surface is
taken up authoritatively as follows: "The funda-
mental reason why cabinet woods are finished
is to seal the surface of the wood, which pre-
vents absorption of moisture, which is respon-
sible for shrinking, swelling, warping or check-
ing. While walnut is less subject to such
changes than other cabinet wood, nevertheless

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