Music Trade Review

Issue: 1941 Vol. 100 N. 12

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, PIANOS ONLY, DECEMBER, 19U
MM
29
Music Maintains
Own a Piano"
Slogan used during World War I adopted by
Advertising Manager's Club of NPMA
llm
fk JTUSIC Maintains Morale—Own a
| ^ / | Piano." This is the slogan which
is to be used in the advertising
campaign "which will be sponsored by the
National Piano Manufacturers Association
and also the National Association of Music
Merchants, before and during National
Music Week next May. The slogan was
decided upon at a meeting of the Adver-
tising Managers Club of the National
Piano Manufacturers Association, which
was held at the Hotel New Yorker on No-
vember 7th.
Due to the resignation of David W. Kim-
ball. Treasurer of W. W. Kimball Com-
pany, as President of the club and also
to the absence of Earl O. Fay. 1st Vice-
President; Carl Keppler, Advertising Man-
ager of Steinway & Sons, 2nd Vice-Presi-
dent, presided. The Minutes of the annual
meeting which was held last August, were
read and accepted. Lawrence W. Selz,
Publicity Counsel for the association, then
re-counted the success of the Spring Peak
Campaign last year, stating that over 750
kits were used by dealers throughout the
country. There was a general discussion
on what should be included in the kit
which will be sent out next year, and de-
cided that there would be, as usual, two
counter cards, spot radio announcements,
publicity stories for newspapers, a Music
Week speech for radio broadcasting and
a promotion manual, giving complete in-
structions to the dealers as well as the
dates upon which to use the material in-
cluded in the kit. It was also decided to
provide the dealers -with six mats for
newspaper advertising and, in addition,
illustration cuts, with separte copy which
may be worked over by the dealer at his
discretion.
Labels will also be provided, upon
which will be the new slogan: "Music
Maintains Morale," which can be used on
the stationery of dealers and there will
also be window posters bearing this
slogan. Lapel buttons bearing this slogan,
of a smaller size than those used last year,
•will be provided not only for the use of
the dealer and his salesmen but for the
purpose of giving them to other people to
wear. These, however, will be sold to the
dealer in quantities at a moderate price.
The dealer will also be asked to con-
sult the truckman who delivers his pianos
and ascertain whether he will be willing
to place a sign on his trucks, drawing at-
tention to the piano and the slogan. These,
however, will be prepared at the cost of
the dealer if the dealer cares to place an
order with the Association for them.
work out the details, will report back to
the club at as early a date as possible,
after which another meeting will be held
to determine other matters, including the
distribution of the kits.
Speakers Engaged
for 1942 Clinics
The importance of music and the music
dealer in maintaining culture and morale
in his community will be stressed by noted
speakers at the 1942 piano sales clinics,
it was announced by William A. Mennie,
secretary of the National Piano Manu-
facturers Association, which sponsors the
series of dealer get-togethers.
"The music merchant who has a true
appreciation of his position in the life of
his community has a great psychological
advantage over the one who regards him-
self merely as a storekeeper," said Mr.
Mennie. "Those who attend the coming
clinics will return home with greater con-
fidence in themselves and an enhanced
Carl Keppler
respect for their chosen work."
The mayors of two cities are among the
The color scheme this year will be red, inspirational speakers already scheduled.
white and blue, and will be carried out They are Mayor Garfield Stewart of Cin-
on all promotion pieces, including the cinnati and Mayor John T. Alsop, Jr., of
window streams and slogan posters.
Jacksonville, Fla.
A committee to work out the details of
The San Francisco clinic will hear Dr.
this plan was appointed, composed of Mr. Warren D. Allen, head of the Stanford Un-
Keppler, Miss Eleanor Martin, Advertising versity music department. At Seattle the
Manager of Kranich & Bach, New York, inspirational speaker will be Miss Eleanor
and Charles Freeman of the Federal Ad- Scott, president of the Washington State
vertising Agency, New York.
Music Teachers Association.
It was decided that this promotion kit
Dr. Willem van de Wall, director of
would be prepared immediately after the music education at Louisiana State Uni-
first of the year and will be sold to the versity, is preparing an address to be
dealers for $1, the same as last year; but given at the sales clinic in New Orleans.
it will be distributed, however, much
Participants in the San Antonio. Texas,
earlier than last year. It is the plan to clinic will hear a straight-from-the-should-
have them in the dealers' hands not later er talk by Herman H. Ochs, president of
than March 1st. Much material will be in- the Wolff & Marx Co. department store.
cluded that can be used at any time other
In Cleveland the assignment will be
than through National Music Week.
handled by Dr. Rudolph Ringwall. asso-
Before the meeting adjourned, after the ciate conductor of the Cleveland Orch-
reading of the resignation of Mr. Kimball, estra. Frederick R. Huber, municipal di-
the following new officers were elected: rector of music for Baltimore, Md., will
Carl Keppler, Steinway <& Sons, President; talk at the clinic in his city.
Earl O. Fay, Rudolph Wurlitzer Company,
As in the clinics held early this year, the
1st Vice-President; John H. Gettell, Mathu- 1942 meetings will be divided into morn-
shek Piano Mfg. Co., 2nd Vice-President; ing afternoon and dinner sessions. The
Carleton Chace, Executive Editor, The speakers listed above will appear on the
Music Trade Review, Secretary.
dinner programs, together with represent-
The committee which was appointed to atives of the Federal Reserve Bank.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, PIANOS ONLY, DECEMBER, 1U1
so
As I See It
President, National Association
OME day. somewhere in the hazy future.
America will shake its figurative head in
wonder at the phenomina that neatly tied
up in one great bundle every activity,
social, industrial, commercial and economic factor
of this current age and labeled it DEFENSE.
And just how much room in this mammoth
package has been occupied by the business of
music, and I use the word Business advisedly?
What contribution has been made by the manu-
facturers, the dealers and the artists whose
economic existance depends almost wholly upon
the planned cultivation of love for music by
the American people? Pontifical declamation
S
of Music
Merchants
Nor do they become too serious over shadow-
boxing.
Recreation centers have been planned in the
encampments and in some instances they are
functioning extremely well, but to date we have
had little that approached the entertainment pro-
gram carried on in the years of the first World
War. Few of the agencies that operated in those
days have swung into action; the Y. M. C. A..
Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army and
others are following a different course at this
writing.
It was the never-to-be forgotten privilege of
the writer to spend many months on the Army
circuit during the last war. And the roll of vol-
unteers from the worlds of music and drama lists
the names of the great entertainers of those
days.
• •Despite a rather turgid start, music is begin-
ning to function as a medium of morale building
in the 1941 defense program. More than 500
Hammond organs have been placed in the vari-
ous training camps and a large crew of in-
structors are teaching the boys in Khaki how to
make these instruments live.
And it is only the beginning for as the re-
armament program works its way out the forma-
tive stage, musicians, manufacturers and dealers
will be called upon more and more for greater
contributions of their time, their money and their
talents.
But, to use a common parlance—"they'd better
be good" and they'd better be careful in their
efforts to hold the boys of '41. The new Ameri-
can army is a critical audience; raido broadcast-
ing has seen to that. And the modern music
merchant has survived only because he has car-
ried on an unceasing educational program, mak-
ing musicians grow great in every village and
hamlet of the land.
However, music has made and will continue
to make its contribution when the need arises.
Call it "NATIONAL DEFENSE" or by any other
name, the sacrifice will be made, cheerfully and
enthusiastically despite the realization that our
group as a whole will face hardships and prob-
lems that require a greater and straighter degree
of objective planning than perhaps any other
trade and professional bodies in the country.
If we are to survive the cataclysmic era that
will surely follow there must continue the un-
tiring and united effort of all of us who are
engaged in the merchandising of music. For-
tunate, for all of us is the machinery that has
been wisely constructed, in the working pro-
gram of our own organization.
To the entire music industry—A Merry Christ-
mas and may 1942 bring greater happiness and
success to you all.
New York Dealers
Attention
A booklet containing suggested stand-
ard forms which comply "with the Install-
ment Laws of the State of New York with
a summary of changes in the law which
go into effect on January 1st 1942 is now
ready for distribution. Dealers may pro-
cure one of these important booklets by
writing to the New York Conference on
Installment Selling. 45 East 17th Street,
New York and enclosing 25^ to cover cost
of mailing.
C. S. Andrews Elected Chairman of
New North Carolina Chapter of NAMM
MELVILLE CLARK
President of the NAMM
"that music is a universal language," or that a
"victorious army is a singing army" holds small
comfort for men and women who are faced for
the second time in twenty years with the loss
of their livelihood because of priorities or re-
strictions in their relations with potential cus-
tomers. Yes, here is a definite contribution to
the "defense program."
We can, all of us, too well remember the critical
days following the World War when our contri-
bution to the rebuilding of American business
was not altogether a job of making the Nation
"music conscious." Some walked the last mile
and others more fortunate survived because of
an ability to adapt our merchandising practices
to the trend of the times. All of which, say you,
is part and parcel of a rather weird scheme of
life, but if you are, as are most of us to-day,
imbued with the spirit of patriotism and do you
possess a sincere desire to be of constructive
help to a harrassed government, you will brush
aside the cobwebs of doubt as to your ultimate
place in the picture and you'll thrill with the
knowledge that your chosen business is still
taking a vital part in the march of the Nation's
war-time program.
True there is a different situation now than
existed in the days of 1918. Modern warfare is
a grim, drab business and most of us haven't
realized it as yet. Building army centers, re-
cruiting and transporting hundreds of thousands
of men from all walks of life, many of whom are
resentful is at its best unproductive of spon-
taneous enthusiasm. Americans will fight but
they don't like the routine of the training camp.
The North Carolina Chapter of the
National Association of Music Merchants
held its first regular meeting on Novem-
ber 18th after an organization meeting
was held on October 28th at the O'Henry
The following have been appointed to
committees as named: Membership Com-
mittee: Jesse G. Bowen, Chairman; L. L.
Moore, Baldwin, Piano Co., Greensboro;
D. D. Lewis, W. R. Murray Co., Durham;
Organization Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of the NAMM
Hotel, Greensboro, N. C. At the latter
meeting J. L. M. Smith of the Greensboro
Music Co. acted as temporary chairman
and Judge W. M. York of Greensboro was
the principle speaker. At the November
18th meeting, a motion was made and
carried to adopt by-laws similar to those
adopted by other chapters. The follow-
ing officers were then elected. C. S. An-
drews, Andrews Music Co., Charlotte, N.
C Chairman; Jesse G. Bowen, Jesse G.
Bowen Music Co., Winston-Salem, N. C,
Vice-Chairman; J. L. M. Smith, Greensboro
Music Co., Greensboro, N .C, Secretary
and L. E. O'Briant, O'Briant Music Store,
Durham, N. C Treasurer.
H. A. Dunham, Dunham's Music House,
Ashville; J. W. Currie, McFayden Music
Store, Fayettesville; C. H. Stephenson, Jr.,
Stephenson Music CcRaleigh, N. C. and
H. E. Gaffney Music Co., Charlotte.
Trade Practice Committee: L. E. O'-
Briant, Chairman, C. W. Parker, Parker-
Gardner Co., Charlotte and C. H. Steph-
enson, Jr., in addition to the elected
officers.
Mrs. Violet G. Webber reprsented W.
A. Mennie, secretary of the National Asso-
ciation of Music Merchants, at these meet-
ings as she has at the organizing of other
chapters. The North Carolina Chapter will
include all music merchants in that state.

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