Music Trade Review

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The Music Trade Review
REVIEW
(Registered in the U. S. Patent Office)
Published Every Saturday 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
CARLETON CHACE, Business
Manager
W. H. MCCLEARY, Managing
RAY BILL, Associate Editor
F. L. AVERY, Circulation
E. B. MUNCH, Eastern Representative
WKBTKRN DIVISION:
FRANK W. KIRK, Manager
E. J. NBALY
BOSTON OFFICE:
Telephone: Main 6950
Cable: Elbill New York
Telephone: Lexington 1760-71
1
Manager
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
Republic Bldg., 209 S. State St., Chicago
Telephone: Wabash S242-5243
Vol. 86
No. 26
June 30, 1928
\
Editor
The Chicago Movement
H E movement launched by the Chicago Piano Playing
Tournament Committee at its meeting last week for
the establishment of a National Piano Playing Contest
next year to be made an annual event until 1933, with the idea
in that year to hold an International Piano Playing Contest, is as
interesting as it is ambitious. The thought itself is not new, but
this is the first instance where it has been crystallized into a
tangible resolution. It should not be permitted to languish in reso-
lution form alone.
The National Piano Playing Contest, as is the case with any
national movement, must depend upon the whole-hearted co-opera-
tion of members of the trade and other interested factors through-
out the country. For a beginning, to have a half-dozen cities
participate would make the plan seem possible. But if it is worth
supporting it should receive co-operation from each of the forty-
eight States with sufficient strength to make the results impressive
abroad.
The National Piano Playing Contest movement, properly
launched and carried on, by no means presents an unsurmountable
Aeolian Go. of Missouri
Reoccupies Own Building
Structure Remodeled After Fire, One of Most
Attractive in Middle West Devoted to Retail
Music Business
ST. LOUIS, June 25.—The Aeolian Co. of Mis-
souri, which for the past several months has
been carrying on their business in temporary
quarters, at 1115 Locust street, pending the re-
construction on their own home, at 1004 Olive
street, which was damaged by fire, formally
took possession of their remodeled building on
Monday of this week.
All of the offices as well as the few remain-
ing stocks of the company that were not dis-
posed of during their recent removal sale have
been transferred from the temporary quarters
into their own home, and the remodeled build-
ing thrown open for business this week.
The company's reconstructed building is
one of the most modern music houses in the
Middle West, thousands of dollars having been
expended in refinishing and remodeling the
structure. The new building is seven stories
in height, one additional floor having been
added following the fire. This floor will be
JUNE 30, 1928
problem. If a score or more of states can be made sufficiently
interested in high school band contests to finance the cost of send-
ing bands of a half hundred boys, or more to central points for
local tests, and then in turn finance the trips of the winners to
the national contest point, it should not prove very difficult to
raise funds for the transportation of a single pianist from each
state to participate in the national tournament. The problem is
one of organizing and promoting local contests with a view to
deciding on the state representatives, and on the enthusiasm with
which the local trade enters into these preliminary contests de-
pends the entire success of the movement and the results that may
accrue.
I
A Period of Transition
HE analysis of present conditions in the piano trade
and industry, together with some considerations on
what may be expected to be the future developments
in the trade, from the pen of A. G. Gulbransen in this issue of
The Review, is a carefully formulated consideration of actual
conditions as they are and in close touch with the realities of the
situation.
That conditions hold much ground for optimism, as Mr. Gul-
bransen points out, few piano men at the present day will deny.
But that this optimism may become concrete and tangible fact
depends not so much upon economic and industrial conditions as
it does upon radical changes, not only in the actual selling methods
in use in the industry, but in the psychology of the individual piano
man himself. A different outlook and a different viewpoint is
necessary and until this change is obtained and obtained widely
among the individualities in the trade, little may be hoped for in
the developments that every thinking piano man knows are essen-
tial and necessary.
Transitional periods in an industry are always times of diffi-
culty and struggle. The reformulation of selling theory, its appli-
cation and development, all require considerable periods of time
and deep and constant thought. In an industry where for so
many years the inherent selling impetus in the product constituted
the main sales factor, this period becomes all the more difficult.
Yet at the present time the industry is unquestionably making
rapid progress not only to the realization of these changes but to
their application, as a glance at the history of the past two or three
years shows. And in that is the great justification for the optimism
which is steadily gathering head in the trade.
Such analyses as that contributed by Mr. Gulbransen are
especially valuable when an industry is confronted with conditions
such as they are to-day in the piano field, in that they center atten-
tion on the work which must be done and upon the way in which
it must be carried out.
used as the company's new daylight repair
shops, an extensive system of skylights having
been installed to insure the maximum amount
of daylight.
The remaining floors are to be devoted to
store and display rooms for instruments and
offices for the executives of the company. Every
modern convenience for beauty and comfort
have been included in the building, and a prac-
tically complete stock of new instruments have
been installed.
While the building at present offers an in-
spiring picture, many finishing touches remain
to be added, and officials estimate that it will
require several weeks more before everything
is completed.
Shepard Pond Off to Coast
BOSTON, MASS., June 25.—Shepard Pond, treas-
urer of the Ivers & Pond Piano Co., and the
Poole J'iano Co., left last week for Los An-
geles where he plans to attend the annual
"Pageant of Music" and the convention which
takes place in that city this week: He will be
out of this city until late in July, and will meef
many dealers on the coast before his return
here.
Merrill Seeks Members
for New England Ass'n
BOSTON, MASS., June 25.—Wm. F. Merrill, sec-
retary-treasurer of the New England Music
Trades' Association, will not allow the approach
of Summer to discourage him from continuing
his active campaign for members for that organ-
ization, and only last week he sent out to the
New England trade in general a strong circular
letter urging that all dealers become affiliated
with the organization with a view to making it
an influential factor in the industry.
Duo-Art Artists Over Radio
DKTKOIT, MICH., June 25.—Two Duo-Art record-
ing artists, Miss Helen Henschel Morris and
Vera Richardson, were featured over the radio
last Saturday as the featured part of the regu-
lar weekly radio recital given by Grinnell Bros.
over Station WJR. Miss Morris and Miss
Richardson gave a two-hour program of south-
ern melodies. Miss Morris recently returned
from New York where she recorded Waltz—A
Major—by Rachmaninoff, and Allegro de Con-
certe by Granadas.