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C. Albert Jacob Tells AMC Members
Why Piano Prices Cannot be Lowered
During the annual meeting of the
National Piano ManuTacturers Associa-
tion, which was held last month, C. Al-
bert Jacob, president of the Mathusek
Piano Manufacturing Co., and former
president of the N.P.M.A., and who rep-
resents the association as a delegate to
the National Music Council, gave a
brief resume of what he told the mem-
bers of this council at its annual meet-
ing, under the title of "Cheaper Pianos
—Are They Possible?"
The text of his address, which was
aimed to set at rest once and for all in
the minds of the professional people who
were present that they might look for
a reduction in the cost of pianos, was
as follows:
"To anyone connected with the com-
mercial organizations present who is
familiar with present-day labor costs,
material prices, tax burdens and in-
creased overhead figures, the answer is
obvious. However, for the benefit of the
professional and other non-commercial
organizations which brought up the
subject, may I offer this enlightening bit
of information; like the old gray mare,
the U. S. dollar 'ain't what she used-ter
be'.
*
materially reduced would be at the sacri-
fice of quality, and we have had several
graphic examples of how that works.
Before the war, when automobiles, cloth-
ing, food and pianos could be bought
for less than half their present-day
Consumer Dollar Competition
Quality Maintenance Demanded
"Assuming that the purchasing power
of the dollar remains at its present level,
and the public wants pianos built to the
standards of quality to Which we in
America have become accustomed, there
is little likelihood of any appreciable
reduction in piano prices in the forsee-
able future. In fact continually increas-
ing labor costs will make still higher
prices inevitable. Our free enterprise
system still works in the piano industry,
as it does the production of other con-
sumer goods, and we have always had
pianos, automobiles and other commod-
ities available, manufactured competi-
tively, and sold in the open market on
the basis of price and quality. You can
still right here in the United States buy
a better-grade cheap piano around $500,
and a finer quality instrument at any
price you want to pay, up to several
thousand dollars, and it will be a better
instrument than can be found anywhere
else at comparable figures. Of course,
what is really being asked in this dis-
cussion subject is, 'Why can't we have
the $495 piano for $235 and the $3,000
grand for $1,450, as in the good old
days?'
"The only way piano prices could be
8
wants its money's worth. Any piano
manufacturer who doesn't give this
value would fade out of the picture no
matter what quality and price-bracket
his product falls under. We could talk
all day if we attempted to go into the
many details and ramifications of the
economic factors that bring about our
present day cost of living, and the price
of everything you buy, including pianos,
is a definite part of this subject. But
why single out pianos? Just to throw
the question back, may I ask, 'Cheaper
Music Lessons, Cheaper Opera, Cheaper
Symphony Concerts, Cheaper Musical
Shows.—Are They Possible?' I believe
you will agree that all these are only
possible when our dollar again will buy
100 cents worth of anything, as judged
by the standards on which it was valued
in the 'good old days'; I mean before
the word 'billion' become so fashion-
able.
('. ALBERT JACOB
prices, the piano industry was plunged
into somewhat of a panic by the an-
nouncement that Japan was going to
flood the American market with a piano
that could be sold at retail in this
country at less than it cost us to manu-
facture them here. The arrival of these
instruments was awaited with fear and
trepidation as to the resulting impact
on the industry, but when the few that
were imported finally arrived, our fears
were quickly allayed. They were so ter-
rible the importer couldn't even give
them away. They had a short keyboard,
one string to a note instead of three-
string unisons, no tone, no piano touch,
and an action that wouldn't repeat. And
all this in a case that for workman-
ship and finish was about on a par with
a high grade American strawberry-
crate. They were shaped like pianos but
there the resemblance ceased.
"The American buying public, both
the professional musician and the gen-
eral householder, is most exacting in its
demands for quality in pianos, and
"May I assure you now however, that
every piano manufacturer in the country
is eternally aware of the fact that his
labor, material and overhead costs have
risen fantastically in the past ten years
and that this increase has narrowed his
field in competition for the consumer
dollar. Nothing would give him more
pleasure than to be able to cut these
costs, lower his selling price, increase
his output and reduce his overhead,
get a better return on his invested capi-
tal and give the public more for their
invested dollar; but right now it just
can't be done."
45-RPM Victor Record Player
For Wurlirzer Coin Machines
The RCA Victor Division of the Radio
Corporation of America and the Ru-
dolph Wurlitzer Co., automatic coin-
operated phonograph division, have
joined forces in a program to intro-
duce the 45-rpm record-playing system
in automatic coin-operated phonographs,
it was disclosed recently.
Effective immediately, the Wurlitzer
organization will make available to the
owners and future purchasers of its lat-
est model, the "Twelve Fifty," a special
kit of replacement parts to convert it
from 78-rpm to 45-rpm operation. At
the same time, RCA Victor will furnish
to those coin-machine phonograph op-
erators desiring to convert to 45-rpm
an initial library of twenty-four 45-rpm
popular records of the operator's choice.
The conversion kit, valued at $8.75, and
the record library, worth $16.56, will be
offered without charge through local
Wurlitzer and RCA Victor distributors.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, AUCUST, 1950