Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
The Music Trade Review
REVIEW
(Registered in the U. S. Patent Office)
Published by Federated Business Publications, Inc.
at 420 Lexington Avenue, New York
President, Raymond Bill; Vice-Presidents, J. B. Spillane, Randolph Brown; Secre-
tary and Treasurer, Edward Lyman Bill; Assistant Secretary, L. B. McDonald;
Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
B. BRITTAIN WILSON, Editor
RAY BILL, Associate Editor
WM. H. McCLEARY, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
FRANK L. AVERY, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorial Staff
E. B. MUNCH, EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, THOS. W. BRESNAHAN, E. J. NEALY,
FREDERICK B. DIEHL, A. J. NICKLEN
WESTERN DIVISION:
FRANK W. KIRK, Manager
BOSTON OFFICE
JOHN
H. WILSON,
324 Washington
St.
Republic Bldg., 209 So. State St., Chicago
Telephone, Main 6950
Telephone, Wabash 5242 5243
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall, St., D C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY O I K CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA
Published Every Saturday at 420 Lexington Avenue, New York
Entered as second class matter September 10, 1892, at the post office at New York, N. Y.,
under the Act of March 3, 1879
SUBSCRIPTION, United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year; Canada, $3.50; all other
countries, $5.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, rates on request.
REMITTANCES, should be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill, Inc.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medal. . Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma. . .Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal.... St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal—Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
TELEPHONES—LEXINGTON 1760-1771
Cable Address: "Elbill, New York"
Vol. 85
NEW YORK JULY 30, 1927
No. 5
Co-operate With President lrion
'T*HE appeal of President lrion of the Music Industries Cham-
-*- ber of Commerce to piano manufacturers to work with the
Chamber officials in the compiling of accurate production figures
should not go unheeded, for this is not the time for trade members
to fall back upon tradition or precedent as an excuse for withholding
information that is of no great value to them as a secret, but of
undisputed value to the industry at large in its efforts at gauging
the status of demand and whether it is increasing or decreasing.
Piano manufacturers generally must realize that the so-called
secrets of the factory are rapidly disappearing. Some few years
ago there were the secrets of the scale drafting room, of the fin-
ishing department and what not, and they were guarded zealously,
although without any great reason. Now we find the technical men
of the factories gathering around a table and discussing those
"secrets" frankly and exhaustively with the result that old methods
have been discarded for new and the trade as a whole been benefited.
The same rule in a broad sense applies to production figures.
The day when the manufacturer can quote his factory capacity as
production information has passed. There is just enough cohesion
in the trade to make it possible for the man of ordinary intelligence
to put two and two together and check up with a fair amount of
accuracy the actual output of any plant. Yet, these production
figures given freely and honestly mean much to the trade as a whole
in providing a guide by which to measure progress or retrograda-
tion.
Not so long ago a man from outside the trade was called upon
to carry on certain promotional work. He naturally understood
that the success of that work would be measured by, the increase in
the demand for pianos and his first question was regarding available
production figures upon which he could base his calculations.
Unfortunately the figures were lacking and so promotional work
must be carried on largely upon the basis of faith in final results
with nothing tangible to provide a measure for comparison.
Mr. lrion understands the value of statistics, not a mass of
figures to confuse, the layman, but vital facts regarding the indus-
JULY 30, 1927
try that will enable us to know where we stand. Statistical com-
pilation represents an important branch of the Chamber's work
and the efforts to compile information that is accurate and reliable
are worthy of the support of all those who have confidence in the
future of the piano and a desire to measure the growth or shrinkage
of the industry with a fair degree of accuracy. With facts there
is some incentive to work for a better record, for the results will
show. But without facts it is simply a case of going along in the
dark and efforts are liable to slow down through lack of interest in
the ultimate result.
m
» &
Financing No Substitute for Capital
HE financing of his paper along proper lines can be made to
prove of great advantage to the dealer in providing him with
cash capital to carry on and where necessary expand his business.
Yet improper or overfinancing often serves to increase rather than
decrease the embarrassments of the music merchant. In short, the
ability to turn paper over to the financing companies is not a panacea
for all financial ills, and the value of such facilities depends upon
their correct usage.
The dealer who sells his instruments on the interest plan must
be particularly careful in maintaining a proper balance between the
paper he handles himself and that which he turns into cash through
financing. The amount of interest he receives is not adequate to
take care of financing charges and if he takes advantage of such
an accommodation to too great an extent he will find that there is
no margin of profit left for his business or himself. If the dealer on
the other hand has adopted the carrying charge then he has a wider
margin to play with in financing his paper. Under such conditions
he will find it advisable to carry a good proportion of his paper him-
self and thereby keep the extra money realized on the interest and
the carrying charge. This is sound logic that is admitted and in
fact advocated by finance men themselves.
Stories are told of dealers who are holding on to only such
paper as the finance companies refuse, and at the same time are
complaining of the fact that they are realizing little or no profit for
their work. Dealers who must depend upon financing to carry
practically the entire burden of their instalment business are quite
evidently lacking in the necessary capital to warrant their entering
the field in the first instance, and their status is comparable with
that of a man in another line who must depend if possible on bank-
loans entirely for his business capital. Financing of piano paper
is possible to the dealer only when he can use the money thus
realized for discounting bills and for logical expansion that will
bring in additional profits. It is not in any sense a substitute for
personal cash capital, and it would be well for dealers generally to
understand this fact before the practice of financing becomes classed
as a trade evil rather than a benefit.
Mf
*
ft
The Review and the Western Meeting
A LTHOUGH published on the other side of the continent and
1
*-some thirty-five hundred miles from San Francisco the Review
was the first music trade paper to publish the full reports of the
conventions of the Western Music Trades Association recently held
in that city. The complete story of the convention, briefed of
course by necessity, being published during the same week of the
convention and mailed from New York the day after the final ses-
sion had finished on the west coast, required well-trained reportorial
connections and a liberal use of the telegraph wires.
Rut the
Review feels that the end justifies the means, and that the purpose
of the publication is to present the news of the trade while it is still
news and not as a matter of convenience a week or so later after it
happens.
This is only one instance where the Review has taken the
trouble to cover a distant association meeting during the same week
that the meetings were held. Such work is part of our regular
service to readers. It is the sort of news service that we believe
the trade appreciates. In addition there always appear the several
feature articles on business topics the value of which has been so
widely acknowledged by the industry at large. Current news is
current news whether it occurs on the next block or some thousands
of miles away.