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REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXXIV. No. 24 Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 420 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y., J i n e l l , 1 9 2 7
Sln
*it. oco °& er8
££ ent *
Over 1,000 Attend
the Convention Opening
President E. R. Jacobson of Chamber, M. J. de Rochemont
of Piano Manufacturers, A. J. Kendrick of Phonograph Indus-
try, and C D . Greenleaf of Band Instrument Makers, Speakers
E. R. Jacobson
President Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce
HICAGO, ILL., June 6.—With over 1,000
members of the music industries and their
friends attending the official luncheon at
the Hotel Stevens to-day, under the auspices of
the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce,
which opened the National Music Industries
Convention of 1927, the sessions began with a
vim and enthusiasm that proved somewhat of a
surprise even to the most optimistic. Delegates
to the convention began arriving late last week
and, with the influx on Sunday including parties
which came by special train from New York,
Boston, Texas and other points, the hotel filled
rapidly. From present indications it is likely
that the attendance will exceed that of the
Drake convention of 1925.
The Piano Club of Chicago had charge of the
arrangements for the official opening luncheon
and provided an entertainment program in keep-
ing with the high standards set by that organ-
ization in the past. Included among the artists
who appeared were Borrah Minovitsch and his
Harmonica Band, which registered a tremendous
hit; Marcia Johnson, declared to be America's
youngest harpist, and Lee Simms, Brunswick
recording pianist and radio star.
E. R. Jacobson Speaks
Gordon Laughead, president of the Piano
Club of Chicago, who presided during the en
tertainment program, introduced E. R. Jacob-
son, president of the Music Industries Chamber
C
of Commerce and turned the gavel over to him.
Mr. Jacobson, after thanking the Piano Club
for planning the entertainment, presented his
report as Chamber president, saying in part:
"This convention marks the passing of an-
other milestone in the history of the Music In-
dustries Chamber of Commerce. It is a good
and proper custom to pause for at least a
moment on the occasion of any anniversary and
to review what has gone before, to study the
immediate present and plan for the future. It is
pre-eminently fitting that this should be our task
during this general meeting of all our various
groups and representatives, in order that our
splendid trade may take and maintain that place
among the country's industries which its im-
portance deserves and demands.
Competition To-day
"In a broad sense competition for business is
not between business institutions in the same
line, but it is rather competition between in-
dustries as a whole. During the war and post-
war periods, when activity in all lines was at
its peak, this competition was not felt. We can
all remember the period when our factories
were shipping all that could be produced, and
our merchants were able to sell everything they
could secure. But, with the passing of the boom
era and the world-wide adjustment that has been
under way for several years and which have not
yet completed their necessary cycle, competition
for sales became keener, costs of marketing ad-
vanced, with a resultant narrowing of margins,
in many cases reducing them to the vanishing
point.
Industry vs. Industry
"In order to get the proper perspective it is
essential that we investigate what is happening
in other lines in order that we may see what is
tending to affect our own business. For many
years pianos and kindred lines were with a few
notable exceptions, such as homes and agri-
• cultural implements, practically the only lines
sold upon instalment terms, and this with con-
spicuous success.
"Now, with the coming of keener business con-
ditions, other industries took up the instalment
plan of doing business, and so, where as an in-
dustry we formerly had but few competitors,
we suddenly found the automobile, the washing
machine, the radio, the electric refrigerator, oil
burners for heating and other things too numer-
ous to mention, including clothing and other
perishables, were being sold on the well-known
'easy payment' plan, which attracted and still
attracts many of the dollars that should go into
the coffers of the members of our trade.
False Security
"Music is essential and it is basic. But we
have been lulled into a feeling of security, due
perhaps to the thought that music being essen-
A. J. Kendrick
tial people would without any special urging
buy musical instruments for the home before
buying any of the other merchandise to which
we have referred. But this security was a false
security. The other industries through com-
prehensive national advertising, well directed
and well managed publicity and propaganda,
{Continued on page 4)
Entered as second-class matter September 10. 1892, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of Congress of March 3. 1879.