Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, APRIL, 19U0
FEN, TRAD
EVER in the history of the Do You Know
piano industry has the dealer Your Algebra?
been able to take advantage
ERE is a problem for piano dealers in New York State
of so much promotion of the piano
as well as manufacturers. A bill was recently intro-
as at the present. Never has there
duced into the New York legislature which pro-
been so many aids placed at his dis- vided that finance charges on installment sales must be com-
posal in order to help him do a good puted by the following formulae:
selling job Are the dealers as a whole
2af
2af(u+f)
taking advantage of these things?
1=
or
1=
From the reports of the various sales
u(b+l)
ub(u+f+p)
clinics which are being held through-
where I==finance rate,
where p=amount of
out the country this month we be-
expressed as a decimal
last payment
lieve that dealers are commencing to
In the first formula a=number of payment periods in
realize that the National Piano Man- one year. (For monthly payments "a" is 12: for bi-monthly
Carleton Chace
ufacturers Association and the Na- payments "a" is 6: for weekly payments "a" is 52, etc).
tional Association of Music Merchants are something more b=number of payments called for in the contract, not
than a name only.
counting the down payment if any: f—total finance
charge: original unpaid balance. Formula 2 is applicable
to contracts where the payment periods are equally spaced
and all payments after the down payment except the last
For the
payment are equal in amount. Now if you are still with us
Dealer's Benefit
and the customer is still waiting for a receipt after you
UST at the present time there are two promotions which figure this all out then the piano is sold. A further pro-
are being sponsored by these associations which are un- vision in this bill made it mandatory that after a purchaser
doubtedly filling a long felt want. One is the bringing had paid 50% of the purchase price the seller could either
dealers to-gether to listen to talks by prominent men and replevin the instrument or sue for the balance but not both,
women in other lines of business on how they surmount the in case of payment default. Needless to say that both
various problems which they are continuously confronted Senators and Assemblymen were swamped with letters pro-
with. At the same time these dealers have an excellent testing against the passage of this screwball bill both from
opportunity to discuss problems in their own field. It is manufacturers and dealers who were advised of its intro-
gratifying to see the response to these meetings which are duction by the Secretary of the National Piano Manufac-
being held in various sections of the country and bringing turers Association. Now we know how our state represent-
large and small dealers to-gether on common ground. An- atives earn their money. But, the Bill died in Committee.
other promotion is the "Spring Peak" campaign which is One Track Leads
sponsored by both associations in collaboration with the
to Crack-up
National Music Week Committee and for which "kits" have
E recently took a swing through the middle west
been prepared for the dealers use. Although only five
and visited many of the piano plants in that
hundred of these kits were used last year a larger number
part
of the country. Satisfaction seemed to be rife
will be used this year and we believe that in the same man-
ner that National Music Week became a fact as the out- in respect to last year's production and also over what has
growth of a New York Music Week which was inaugurated been done since the first of the year. But the discouraging
in 1917, so will the use of these kits grow steadily year by part to all was the dwindling of grand sales during the past
year until there will hardly be a city, town or hamlet in year. However, several manufacturers stated that there has
which there will not be some exploitation of National Music been a marked increase in the demand for grands since the
first of the year. At any rate manufacturers have come to
Week by piano dealers.
the conclusion that something must be done to boost grand
sales in order to balance production and assure themselves
a decent margin of profit. Unfortunately it has always
been a habit with this industry to go along one track until
Cooperative Promotion
there is a crack-up. It was that way in the days of the
May Pay Dividends
player piano when manufacturers and dealers alike educated
ROM the psychological standpoint, when the whole the public to pump with their feet and not learn to play
country is thinking music through a concerted effort, with their hands. The result was when the radio first
there should be no better time in which to seek out appeared they stopped pumping with their feet and few
prospects and make sales. Certainly National Music Week knew how to play with their hands and we all know what
gives the dealer an opportunity to approach a prospect in happened. Now the industry is practically forgetting the
an indirect manner which many times proves to be the most grand and educating the public to believe that the console
successful. So from May 5 th to 11th it is up to you Mr. is the only piano. Perhaps more advertising on the grand
Dealer, wherever you are, to do your best to make this pro- and less on the console, which sells readily anyway, would
motion a howling success. Plan now. Perhaps all the other be one way to turn the public's attention and again stimu-
dealers in your city might be interested in joining hands on late grand sales. At least we believe concerted action of this
some special promotion aside from what you may plan for kind on the part of both manufacturers and dealers would
yourself In this manner you all may be able to make your be worth trying for a period of six months just to see what
public even more piano conscious Why not get them to- the results might be. Repetition in advertising has a telling
affect when it is properly presented.
gether? There is no harm in trying, at least.
N
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