Music Trade Review

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THE M U S I C TRADE
PROGRESS OF NEW FEDERAL TAXATION
SHOULD BE CLOSELY WATCHED BY TRADE
S THE REVIEW goes to press the tax
situation in Washington is still in a
state of confusion and the work of bal-
ancing the National budget has not yet been
completed. So far the opponents of the gen-
eral sales tax seem to have won their point
in switching the load to income taxes and ap-
plying special imposts only on a few indus-
tries.
This does not mean, however, that there
is not some danger of musical instruments,
besides phonographs and radios, which are
included in the special tax list, being also
placed on that list. In the present emer-
gency the question is not so much of work-
ing to avoid a general sales tax as it is to
prevent the application of taxes to some few
industries to the exclusion of others.
It would be well for the organized divi-
sion of the music industries to keep on their
toes in watching developments in Washing-
ton, simply as a means of protecting the
trade against any discriminatory burden and
taxes that are not applied to all industries.
Association officials and many members of
the trade at large have taken occasion to
impress upon their congressional representa-
tives the necessity for bringing about econo-
mies in government expenditures and it is
well that the situation in Washington is
watched carefully so that these economies are
effected and any additional tax burdens
properly distributed.
Last month a committee representing the
music trades joined with committees of other
industries in appearing before President
Hoover, for the purpose of having him ap-
prove of a plan to have the members of
various industries join together to eliminate
destructive competition and continued price
cutting. The music trade committee con-
sisted of Henry C. Lomb, president of the
National Association of Musical Merchan-
dise Manufacturers; Gorden G. Campbell,
president of the National Piano Manufactur-
ers Association, and Harry Meixell, general
manager of the Music Industries Chamber
of Commerce. Although the president did
not appear in enrire accord with the idea
of evading existing anti-trust laws tempo-
rarily, it is probable that his sanction will
be granted to some modified plan designed
to accomplish the same end. The main thing
is that the music trade should be active.
MUCH PIANO MUSIC BEING
FEATURED OVER THE RADIO
est or
would
est in
would
A
If the featuring of piano music over the
radio is calculated to increase the sales of
pianos through the arousing of greater in-
terest in piano music, then the trade should
be in line for a quick revival. At the pres-
ent time at least six piano duos, including
the veteran team of Ohman and Arden, are
playing regularly on programs presented
over national hook-ups and there are also
numerous individual pianists presented at
frequent intervals. In addition, in the
Willys-Overland Hour, over the N. B. C.
hook-up there is featured a four-piano for-
mation grouped around the microphone.
The four pianists play together with such
precision that the act has aroused a great
amount of comment. All this, taken to-
gether with great improvement in the
broadcasting of piano music in general, has
a most encouraging aspect.
NEW COPYRIGHT BILL
REPORTED BY THE HOUSE
The Sirovich copyright bill, intended to
create new safeguards for the rights of au-
thors in all fields, was reported favorably
by the House Copyrights Committee on April
6. Before voting approval, Chairman Siro-
vich said the committee "reviewed the entire
copyrights situation."
Important particulars in which existing
copyright laws would be changed under the
legislation were outlined by Sirovich as fol-
lows:
Copyright would be first vested in the
author always, instead of in publisher as at
present; the author would be permitted to
assign his entire copyright; the author
would be allowed to license any part, inter-
privilege in his copyright; the licensee
be permitted to protect his own inter-
his own name; the term of copyright
be fixed at fifty-six years.
KAPLAN MUSICAL STRING
CO. ISSUES NEW BOOKLET
The Kaplan Musical String Co., South
Norwalk, Conn., just issued a very impres-
sive booklet not only describing in detail
the various types of strings for violins,
'cellos, harps, etc., but also giving some in-
teresting details regarding the development
of the company's business since its estab-
lishment some years ago by Ladislav Kap-
lan. The center spread of the book is de-
REVIEW, April, 1932
voted to views of Kaplan company's plant
and affords an excellent idea of the elab-
orate manufacturing processes followed in
the production of strings.
E. H. DROOP GETS HIS
FACTS ON WASHINGTONIA
E. H. Droop, of C. F. Droop & Sons Co.,
Washington, D. C, is a stickler for histori-
cal facts as his friends in the trade well
know. Therefore, when he visited Mount
Vernon some time ago in connection with the
celebration of the Washington Bi-Centennial,
he noticed harpsichord presented to Nellie
Custis by General Washington in 1793 and
which now reposes in the National Shrine.
The harpsichord was made by Longman &
Broderip, of London, and Mr. Droop im-
mediately made inquiries of the Piano Maker
the prominent British trade paper, which not
only advised him of the authenticity of the
instrument and of the history of the com-
pany which made it, but also published his
letter and the facts of the case in their
latest issue.
MONTHLY MEETING OF
CLEVELAND ASSOCIATION
The regular monthly meeting of the
Cleveland Music Trade Association for
March was held at the Charm House, that
city, recently. The chief speaker of the eve-
ning being John W. Love, financial editor
of the Cleveland Press. Mr. Love discussed
conditions of today and declared that the
situation was aggravated by worry and fear
which caused hundreds of thousands of
people to hoard money and keep it out of
profitable circulation. He declared that
there must be a certain amount of inflation
or else a flood of bankruptcies and mortgage
foreclosures that would startle the country.
The Harry K. Pedler Co., Elkhart, Ind.,
well-known manufacturers of band instru-
ments, have appointed the Walter S. Gray
Co., of San Francisco, exclusive representa-
tives for their products in the states of Ore-
gon, Washington and California.
CHECKING SALESMEN TO INCREASE VOLUME
{Continued from page 7)
opportunity to make contact on the sales
floor and transactions closed while there
would be listed under "Floor Sales." If a
floor man sells a prospect previously can-
vassed by an outside man or brought to the
showroom by him, the two salesmen in-
volved split the ten per cent commission.
In this case the sale is listed under "Floor
and outside sales." The floor men are also
given a chance to canvass on the outside
in order to add to their income. Floor men
canvass only in the morning and during the
afternoon they may be found phoning to
prospects. The heading "Outside Personal
Sales" covers all sales made on the outside
by canvassers or floor men where the pros-
pects do not come to the showroom. The
majority of sales are made in the home, al-
though the canvassers all have cars to bring
down prospects if they express a desire to
hear store demonstrations. Veith's canvas-
sers do not carry radios in their cars. His
system is to send a radio to a prospect's
home when a canvasser brings in a request
for a "demo." A set is only allowed out
two days and then the canvasser must take
a call-back and either sell it or "pull" it.
Veith keeps a very close check on the radios
out on demonstration, a thing he can do
efficiently by means of his master card file.
He says that a person can tell in two days
whether a set is satisfactory. Longer dem-
onstrations mean lost money to the radio-
music merchant and do more harm than cood
in a sales way.
Back of Veith's success with canvassers is
systematic management based upon the two
forms shown here and this radio-music mer-
chant contends that unless a dealer uses simi-
lar forms and studies them closely every day,
he is not likely to get maximum returns from
an outside selling campaign.