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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; Secretary
and Treasurer, Edward Lyman Bill; Assistant Secretary, L. B. McDonald; Assistant
Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
:
B. BRITTAIN WILSON, Editor
CAKLETON CHACE, Business Manager
WM. J. DOUCHERTY, Managing Editor
RAY BILL, Associate Editor
F. L. AVERY, Circulation Manager
E. B. MUNCH, Eastern Representative
WESTERN DIVISION:
FKANK W. KIRK, Manager
E. J. NEALY
333 No. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Telephone: State 1266
BOSTON OFFICE:
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
Telephone: Main 6950
Cable: Elbill New York
Telephone: Lexington 1760-71
Vol. 88
May 11, 1929
(^METROPOLITAN
No. 19
aMOVIES
'We're a little crowded, but we couldn't part with the piano. It's almost the last
family trinket we have left''
Reproduced by Courtesy of A'. }'. World.
R
EPRODUCED herewith is a cartoon from the New-
York World that should prove of unusual interest to
members of the piano trade for, intentionally or not, it
reflects the situation that is altogether too prevalent in this country
and has had much to do with the falling off of sales of new pianos.
Cartoonist Wortman has evidently endeavored to picture the esteem
in which the old square piano is held and he has succeeded admi-
rably, from the sentimental point of view. He has also succeeded
in emphasizing the fact that in altogether too many homes in the
country the old piano, square or upright, is regarded in the light of
MAY 11, 1929
an heirloom rather than a musical instrument. This means that it is
not easy to dispose of in order to make room for a more modern
instrument.
Here is a direct reaction to the persistent claims of piano man-
ufacturers, dealers and salesmen, that the instrument represents a
lifetime purchase. The horsehair-covered sofas and chairs have
been disposed of to make room for more modern furniture, either
from a desire to be up-to-date or because the old furniture eventu-
ally yielded to wear. The old piano, however, is treasured because
it was the medium through which grandma displayed her musical
accomplishments and served as well for the members of the family
who followed. That its musical qualities may have deteriorated
either from lack of use or excessive use, or that it does not embody
the various developments that have been recorded in piano construc-
tion during the past half-century or so, has not been considered ap-
parently. The salesman told grandpa that the piano would last for
several generations and the salesman's promise is still 'believed al-
though he may have gone to the better land many years ago.
Several retail piano houses of the more aggressive sort have
sensed this willingness to cherish the old piano as one of the deter-
rents to new sales and have, by word and illustration, endeavored to
impress the public with the idea that excessive age added nothing
to the value of the piano as a musical instrument. The results in
most cases have been very satisfactory, but much remains to be
done to educate owners of old instruments to the wisdom of install-
ing new pianos and keeping with the times just as they install fur-
niture and household equipment. The artist who drew the cartoon
reproduced has faithfully depicted the attitude of many families-
all too many, in fact. He has paid high tribute to the sentimental
values placed on the old piano, but has at the same time emphasized
the inclination to retain the old instrument because it is old and de-
spite the fact that it has musical qualities that belonged to another
age.
The owner of a three-tube radio set with horn-like loud speaker
is ashamed of his possession and explains that he is only waiting
until financial conditions improve or until the last word in radio
improvements has been quoted before investing in a modern set,
and yet probably his radio is not more than five years old. He
has long ago relegated to the att'c or scrap-heap the furniture that
he bought ten or fifteen years ago and if he is driving a two-year-
old car, does so with many apologies. In the face of all this, how-
ever, the twenty-five, forty, or fifty-year-old piano is cherished as
a valued possession and is not considered out of place among mod-
ern equipment.
At the present time a large portion of the piano trade is cen-
tered upon the training of children in the art of playing. This
training has already proven productive of immediate sales made to
the parents of promising pupils, but the proportion of such sales has
been small when compared with the number of children receiving
instruction. Sunshine is found in the prospect that children who
are taught to play the piano to-day will feel the urge to keep on
playing and when they have grown to maturity will buy instruments
for themselves, thus providing the market for a decade or two in
the future. But the cream of the business today is the replacement
business, the selling of a modern instrument to replace one that has
outlived its usefulness. That replacement business is the answer to
sales volume, the appeal is to those who have already shown their
interest in the piano by purchasing an instrument at one time or an-
other and who are right now in a position to buy a new one if ap-
pealed to properly. If every dealer in the country will give as much
attention to the actual possibilities of this replacement business as
he does to canvassing for prospects of unknown buying ability, he
is going to do more business. Let him study the cartoon seriously
and take the lesson to heart. The fact that the old couple have re-
tained the square piano for a generation.or more may bring mois-
ture to the eyes of the sentimentalist, but that no one has sold him
a modern piano during the past fifty years or so should bring real
tears to the eyes of even the most phlegmatic piano man. It's a cry-
ing shame.