Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1931 Vol. 90 N. 8

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
By B. BRITTAIN WILSON
MUSICAL
NEW
YORK
CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA
INSTRUMENTS
RETAIL, DISTRIBUTION FIGURES COVERING MUSIC STORES IN 31 LARGEST CITIES
FROM U. S. CKNSUS OF DISTRIBUTION, 1930
Population
No.
No.
Net Sales
Stocks on Hand
Wages &
Av. Sales
Av. Stocks
Per Store
Per Store
Stores Employes
1929
J a n . 1. '30
Salaries
6,931,927*M
255
730
7,707,117
2,643,796
1,395,662
30,224
10,368
7,233
56,949
**R&M
1,254
3,957
71,413,885
9,070,947
7,406,856
3,357.329 M
89
279
2,945,697
932,648
560,309
10,479
33,097
90,874
17,786
R&M
172
1,281
15,630,338
3,059,277
2,650,078
1,950,961 M
R&M
1,573,985 M
R&M
1,238,048 M
R&M
S3
339
31
161
42
282
166
1,022
53
920
109
1,724
1,369,410
11,866,879
731295
11,240,924
1,167,269
16,479,822
516,600
2,498 384
181,569
1,740,432
434,638
2,688 291
243,017
1,676,362
90,545
1,584,449
166,384
2,491,705
900,430 M
R&M
822,032 M
R&M
31
101
34
133
58
417
136
369
584 174
5,719,039
402,268
3,473,477
252,606
874,061
101,134
557,310
121,873
757,625
70,917
596,635
804,874 M
R&M
781,188 M
R&M
22
93
41
88
27
404
483
277
218,806
3,898,880
4 275,436
3,571,238
62,925
685,693
1,179,054
487,778
31,493
613 818
847,710
463,011
PITTSBURGH
669,817 M
R&M
25
90
58
522
670,950
5,815,139
186,531
1,062,810
SAN FRANCISCO
634,394 M
R&M
37
141
43
747
598,928
7,618,308
BUFFALO
573 070 M
R&M
572,557 M
R&M
486,869 M
R&M
21
76
25
135
9
61
30
491
36
525
6
304
464,753 M
R&M
455,792 M
R&M
451,160 M
R&M
17
70
10
27
17
88
NEWARK, N. J
442,842 M
R&M
KANSAS CITY, M O
SEATTLE
Average
Salary
1,912
1,872
2,008
2 068
Population
Per Store
j
4,627
{ 12,863
! 4,623
16,497
35,005
6 224
7,369
1,467
1.640
23,590
69,819
5,856
10,810
1,708
1,702
27,792
58,439
10,349
9,533
1,526
1,445
18,844
50,624
8,149
8,654
2,101
1,817
11,831
26,116
2,975
4,190
521
1,617
J
9,946
41,923
2,860
7,373
1,166
1,519
{ 6,999
104,279
40,582
28,757
5,543
1,755
1,672
J
L
6,056
78,692
963,964
26,838
64,613
7,461
11,809
1,357
1,847
{
5,825
253,748
1,274 173
85,083
1,246,649
16,187
54,031
117,111
974,008
133,945
1,043 330
30,100
768,870
43,416
1,023,580
62,577
987,980
8,440
572,194
14,372
82,676
14,669
48,261
1,979
1,669
1,447
2 085
i
301,812
6,283,444
366,737
6,515,274
87,100
4,132,572
6,858
9,037
5,577
12,816
5,358
7,728
1,738
1,882
i
9,678
67,747
3,344
12,604
1,407
1,882
52
369
10
338
44
468
402,268
3,473 477
58,742
2,212,934
690,473
4,526,556
104,134
557,310
15,152
391,541
220 601
822,438
70,917
590,635
5,722
563,835
99,521
613,171
23,663
49,621
6,126
7.962
1,364
1,618
5,874
81,961
1,515
14,502
12,918
9,346
572
1,668
2,202
1,310
20
73
52
423
086,267
5,977,813
196,439
653,981
92,037
794,175
9,822
8,959
1,770
1,878
399,484 M
R&M
6
61
20
564
142,985
4,341,145
58,443
1,100,118
29,349
1,040,055
34,313
81 888
2,383
71,164
9,741
18,034
1,467
1,844
365,518 M
R&M
364,073 M
R&M
325,019 M
R&M
18
61
5
53
9
62
64
279
9
599
2
262
707,547
2,863,756
71 29S
3,373,224
43,141
2,886,770
211,119
474,750
68,523
629,547
28,980
017,641
107,352
456,737
8,285
685,747
1902
476,950
39,308
46,947
11,720
7,783
1,677
1,637
14,259
63,646
1,705
11,841
921
1,719
4,760
46,561
3,220
9,962
951
1,820
JERSEY CITY, N. J
315,642 M
R&M
7
46
4
166
107,844
2,203,279
31,573
348,708
5,893
296,490
15,407
47,897
4,510
7,581
1,473
1,786
{
LOUISVILLE
307,808 M
R&M
301,890 M
R&M
11
41
16 '
49
21
216
52
154
154,124
1,517,578
615,125
1,504,590
46,299
250,863
118,303
336,542
27,119
307,239
91483
264,116
14,011
37,014
4,209
6,119
1,291
1,422
i
38,445
30,706
7,394
6,868
1,759
1,715
290,803 M
9
9
R&M
47
194
COLUMBUS, 0
2V) 056 M
S
17
R&M
41
189
DENVER, COL
237,644 M
7
6
R&M
42
281
OAKLAND, CAL
284,213 M
17
17
R&M
83
2S2
S T . PAUL, M I N N
271,418 M
6
16
R&M
40
291
ATLANTA, GA
270,366 M
7
9
R&M
21
184
•Music Stores (without radio) **Radio and Music Stores
120,312
2,165,586
169,638
2,026,180
33,360
2,490,384
156,067
2,933,765
123,071
2,242,598
54,443
1,581,061
52,324
221,482
60,536
374,836
28,200
575,008
54,642
547,621
11,532
476,486
8,644
232,857
10,731
365 297
29,o75
317,137
5 533
423,172
22,067
467.9^8
15,436
489,195
6,993
283,868
13,368
46,076
21,205
49,419
5,814
4,712
1,192
1,883
{
7,567
9,142
1,746
1,678
4,766
59,290
9,180
35,347
20,512
56,065
7 778
75.289
4,029
13,091
3,214
6,598
1,922
11,912
1,235
11,088
922
1,506
1,299
1,660
965
1,681
777
1,543
I
1
DETROIT
Los ANGELES
CLEVELAND
S T . LOUIS
BALTIMORE
BOSTON
MILWAUKEE
WASHINGTON, D. C
MINNEAPOLIS
N E W ORLEANS
CINCINNATI
iNuiANAPOLrs
ROCHESTER, N. Y
PORTLAND, ORE
TOLEDO, 0
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
August, 1931
40,616
51,438
i
!
J
8 198
3,821
6,821
4,922
L 3,564
i
5,908
3,578
{ 6 955
s 5,342
s 12,319
{ 4,297
s 4,762
{
{
s I
i
5,962
4,627
6,277
4,578
5,956
5,919
4,644
5,193
5,899
5,870
{ 2,842
i
5,900
9,656
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
DEPRESSION
These Music
H
ERE'S a music
store w h o s e
business h a s
been
helped
HELPED
Dealers
the midst of them,
where they have re-
mained the past two
years.
"We now have prac-
D. WENZELL
..
tically all the band in-
strument business in
the state, and here's
how we managed it,"
Mr. Bean explained.
"Many people seem to
imagine that during
this time of dull busi-
ness it is an easy matter
to secure the services
of good salesmen. That
is all wrong. All the
business firms now em-
ploy salesmen, many of
them who have never
used them before, be-
cause salesmen are now
needed in those firms
to move the merchan-
dise. I find that the
salesmen who are not
WIN. BEAN
already employed by
some good concern cannot get the desired results. They are
not the type to give a selling job a fair trial, owing, no doubt,
to their lack of actual experience with a profitable selling
position. Their general tendency is to try a thing a few days
and if they do not make a cleaning they will inevitably
switch to something else. So / am selling for our firm. Be-
ing manager and salesman for the whole state is quite a job
for one man, but I am certainly getting the results."
Mr. Bean spends a portion of each month traveling over
the state, contacting prospects and selling. He is advertising
in fifteen country newspapers, and both he and his brother,
Art Bean, are very enthusiastic over the results from this kind
of advertising. A huge amount of business is gotten in his
tie-up with band and orchestra leaders, whom he pays an
agent's commission on all instruments they sell. Recently
he has mad'e the same arrangement with music teachers all
over the state.
Their having the only repair department in the state also
results in much added business. When a person brings in
or sends an instrument into the store to be repaired, the
person's name and the kind of instrument are recorded in the
books. This information is immediately added on to the
mailing list, and is followed up by a series of very nice,
friendly letters. The mailing list is worked monthly. Mr.
Bean says that it is surprising how very much business this
little stunt brings in.
(Continued on page 33)
When band instrument sales dwindled in Little Rock,
the Bean brothers went far afield for business and
got plenty of it. This article tells how they did it.
by the recent depres-
by A R M A N D
sion — Bean Brothers,
Little Rock, Ark.
Here in Arkansas,
the state that suffered
more from the general
depression than any
other state, with sever-
al of the leading banks
failing along w i t h
other financial institu-
tions, and the drought
that rendered the state
practically helpless, all
business seemed to be
at a dead standstill.
With h u n d r e d s of
people starving, do-
nations of food, cloth-
ing, and funds coming
from all over the'coun-
ART. BEAN
try and from the few
in Arkansas who had a
little money left, it seemed as if the business houses that
dealt in merchandise that made for the very necessities of
life would have only a bare chance for survival. Businesses
dealing with luxuries, such as moving picture theatres, beauty
parlors and music companies seemed doomed to close their
doors.
But not the Bean Bros. Music Co., Little Rock, Ark.
"Depression? Why, it is the greatest thing that could have
happened to us!" said Win Bean, when I approached the
subject to him recently. "Funny to say, and you may not
believe it, but this so-called depression has helped us more
than anything else that could possibly have happened to us.
Whereas before we depended entirely upon the city trade
for our business, we now get the majority of our business
from the country towns! The depression forced us to ex-
pand into a broader field, and we have found that, in ex-
panding, we are beginning to realize a dream that exceeds
all previous expectations."
Six years ago these musical brothers decided that they
would like to try some other field other than conducting and
playing in bands and orchestras and teaching music.
Not
wanting to get into anything that would, take them too far
away from the atmosphere of their beloved profession, they
decided upon a music store. For four years they were in the
busiest section of Little Rock, and when the more alert
business firms started to extend a few blocks further west,
these energetic brothers, not to be outdone, moved right into
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
August,
1931

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