Music Trade Review

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OPA Releases All Musical Instruments.
Records, Albums from Price Control
O better news has been forth-
coming since before World
War II than that which was
released on March 6th by the office of
Price Administration releasing from all
price controls all musical instruments
including pianos and organs, parts
and accessories, as well as records
and record albums. The release did
mot include, however, metallic covered
strings, leather and leather covered
instrument cases, piano benches and
chairs and music cabinets or radio
and phonographs.
The official document is Amend-
ment 19 ©f Supplementary OPA order
No. 126 which reads as follows:
Section 2 (e) is amended by adding
the following articles to the list con-
tained therein: musical instruments,
parts, and accessories but not includ-
ing metallic strings, leather and leather
covered
instrument
cases, piano
benches and chairs and music cabinets.
This amendment shall become effective
March 6, 1946.
Regarding the keeping of records
the decontrol order states:
Sec. 12, Article III Records. Ex-
emption or suspension from price con-
trol shall not affect the responsibility
of a person to prepare and preserve
records which prior to exemption or
suspension, were required to keep un-
der the provisions of the applicable
price regulation or regulations.
Records of individual transactions
after exemption or during the period
of suspension need not be retained.
However, persons manufacturing arti-
cles which, except for exemption or
suspension, are covered by Maximum
Price Regulation No. 188 are required
to continue to file copies of catalogues,
price Hsts, notifications to the trade and
changes thereof in accordance with the
provisions of 1499.159d of that regul-
ation.
N
Upon receiving the order William
A. Mills secretary of the National As-
sociation of Music Merchants issued
the following statement:
"More important than the text of the
order itself is the "Statement of Con-
siderations involved in the Issuance of
Amendment No. 19 to Supplementary
Order 126." Too long to reproduce
here, it gives the reasoning behind de-
control. Significantly it closely follows
the arguments advan^pd in our formal
decontrol petition filed en October 21),
1945, copies of which were, at the re-
quest of the committee chairman, filed
with the Senate Committee on Small
Business and the House Select Com-
mittee on Small Business.
"OPA's new policy has been in the
making for the past two months. Con-
fidential information obtained at the
time of our January 25 conferences in
Washington was hinted in our Febru-
ary 1 and March 1 monthly news let-
ters. When the order did not come
through as expected, we began a series
of tactful telegraphic inquiries about
ten days ago, but final definite confir-
mation did not come through until re-
cently. The news was communicated
to you on Monday.
"It is a great victory. Your hun-
dreds of letters, telegrams to and per-
sonal interviews with Congressmen and
Senators have paid off. To all of you
who cooperated the industry owes a
debt of gratitude. There should, how-
ever, be a special "orchid" for two men
who have been in the forefront of this
effort.
To President E. R. McDuff
who in his capacity as chairman of
the Music Industry's War Activities
Committee, laid the original ground-
work and whose leadership was accep-
ted by the entire industry and acknow-
ledged by government as the author-
ized spokesman for our group; and to
William G. Heller, chairman of OPA's
Piano Industry Advisory Committee,
whose calm counsel, yet firm pressure
have played a major part in OPA's
decision. It will be a fine gesture if
those of you who have been concerned
about this problem would write a brief
note of personal thanks to them. Their
contribution both in time and money
has been greater than most men could
afford to give.
What To Do With The Victory
"Decontrol presents us with a chal-
lenge and an opportunity. It probably
creates as many or more problems than
it solves. We have told OPA that com-
petition would police prices more tffec-
tively than rigid government control.
While we must expect a slight increase
at both wholesale and retail price lev-
els, these increases should be held to
the absolute minimum necessary to re-
cover our costs plus a reasonable profit.
The full burden of self-regulation rests
upon the music merchant. It is he
alone the public will hold responsible if
prices get out of line. We cannot af-
ford to be labeled as "profiteers" nor
assume responsibility for a "buyers'
justified price increases.
strike" which will surely follow un-
"Policing must not rest aloii^. with
the retail branch of our industry no' 1
should necessary price increases at the
producers' level be passed along to
dealers in the form of reduced mar-
gins. We can no more afford profit
control through that source than
through OPA. Arbitrarily imposed re-
duced margins are likely to be a per-
manent type of control which the in-
dustry can ill afford. We must look
forward to the time when promotional
activities, so necessary in the sale of
instruments, will again become an im-
portant item of expense in store oper-
ation.
"With Congress now considering
OPA extension, what we do with our
new freedom will be closely observed.
How well we police our prices is
bound to have an important effect »n
every other branch of industry. It
calls for business statesmanship of the
highest order.
"Decontrol is absolute except for the
tiems specifically mentioned in the or-
der itself. There may be, however,
several borderline cases requiring fur-
ther clarification. We are already rais-
ing several questions with OPA. As
problems arise in your own stores,
please keep up advised."
Manufacturers Association
Meets in New York
Following the OPA order releasing
all musical instruments from price
ceilings The National Piano Manufac-
turers Association held a meeting at
the Hotel Pennsylvania, New York, on
March 8th. A closed meeting was
held in the morning and a luncheon
at noontime. It was the concensus or
those present that it is highly impor-
. tant at this time to hold prices as near
to the present line as possible and that
dealers throughout the country should
do so also. The association received
the decontrol order with a great deal
of enthusiasm and felt that a great
victory for the industry had been won.
A vote of thanks was extended to Wil-
liam G. Heller, President of Winter &
Co. and Robert A. Hill, Aeolian-Amer-
ican Corp., who acted as the Co-
ordinating Committee of the piano in-
dustry.
ITurn to Page 121
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, MARCH, 1946