Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
800 tunings a year. Very few tuners,
if any, reach that total.
"For a tuner to gross $6300 out of
800 tunings, he would have to charge
eight dollars a tuning.
An important meeting of tuners and
ceded to be about 33%. By this average
"Nothing is said here about the time
technicians in the Metropolitan Area
a tuner with a family of four requir-
put in during evenings on telephone
surrounding New York City sponsored
ing a minimum annual net of $4200
calls soliciting work, letter-writing,
by the New York Divisions of the
to live on ($80 a week), would have to
bookkeeping, making appointments,
American Society of Tuner Techni-
gross $6300 a year. This $6300, it was correspondence, all of which can take
cians and the National Association of
found, would have to be earned in a two to three hours a night and which is
Piano Tuners will take place at Stein-
total working period of 40 weeks.
not paid for. INor is anything said
way Hall at 8 P.M. on the evening of
"July and August", the letter con-
about the dollar-value of the wife's
September 13th. The subject to be
tinues are practically dead months for
services during the day in handling
discussed will be that of a minimum
the field tuner. The last two weeks of
phone calls and addressing mail in
price for tunings and an effort will be
June peter out to nothing. The first
lieu of hiring a girl to do this work.
made to obtain the voluntary support
week of September is almost negligible
Furthermore, the not insignificant mat-
of all tuners to maintain a minimum
so far as tuning orders are concerned.
ter of Federal and state income taxes
rates of $8.00 per tuning.
The working season itself is not one and social security payments which
Letters signed by Erwin Otto, presi-
consistently productive of work. The
can total $400 to $500 a year on $4200
dent of the New York Division of the Christmas aftermath cuts into orders.
net earnings has not even been taken
ASPT and Irving Pine, president of
Not all orders materialize into jobs.
into account.
the New York Division of the NAPT
Illness cuts into working time. Appoint-
"From all this it can be seen that
have been sent to the music trade asso-
ments forgotten by the customer take
$8 as a minimum price for tuning in
ciations explaining the plight of the their toll. The total working time of
the metropolitan area is a far from
tuners.
40 weeks is 'a conservative figure.
unreasonable figure. This is the convic-
On March 1st a joint meeting was
"A hard-working tuner, if he can get tion of the members of the two tuner-
held and as a result of that meeting
the orders, can do three to four fine
technician organizations in New York
in a letter from the two presidents it
tunings a day. If we take the figure
City.
was revealed that the operating costs
of four tunings a day at five days a
"A committee lias been appointed by
of an independent tuner in the local
week or twenty tunings (or their equiv-
the joint gathering to plan a campaign
field range from 25% to 40% of his alent in repairs) a week, multiplied
aiming to establish this minimum price
gross earnings. The average was con- by 40 weeks we get a rough total of
for all bonafide tuners. The committee
consists of Erwin Otto, president of
the N. Y. Chapters of the ASPT; Irving
Pine, president of the N. Y. Division
of the NAPT; Percy Gatz, national
president of the ASPT; and Arthur
Universally Accepted by the
Berson, member of the price committee
of the N. Y. Division of NAPT.
New York Tuners Hope to Establish
Livable Minimum Tuning Charge
Electric ^
CHASER
Music Indust
Eliminating trouble from Dampness
PIAHOS
ELECTRONIC ORGANS
PIPE AND REED ORGANS
DRUMS
ACCORDIONS
TV AND RADIOS
Typical Installation
Makes possible better service
to more customers at less cost
Piano and Accordion Models
$$.95 Retail
Organ, TV and Radio Models . $4.95—$6.95 Retail
Drum Models
$10.00-$15.00 Retail
tExcept Drum and Accordion Models
*One Year on Drum and Accordion Models
Manufactured by
Five Year Guarantee*
Special Free Offer of
Merchandising Helps —
Write Manufacturer for List
Order Your DAMPP-CHASERS from
Factory or Your Favorite Supply
House Today. Standard Discounts
D A n l P P " Vli A 5 t K f
INCORPORATED
1440. Ridgewood Boulevard, HendersonviHe, North Carolina
WE EXPORT—SPECIFY VOLTAGE—CSA APPROVED FOR CANADA
32
Many Tuners Charge $8.00
"The $8 minimum tuning price is
not a matter for controversial specula-
lion. A number of our men are al-
ready charging and obtaining this
price. Steinway and Wanamaker have
set this as their minimum charge. Co-
operation
of manufacturers and
NAMM members in this matter will re-
dound to the profit of all concerned,
whether dealer, manufacturer, tuner, or
piano-owner.
"The perennial problem of the so-
called tuner shortage and the tuner-
training program will be helped to
solution by setting a decent minimum
tuning price.
"Finally, the much-discussed and
much-to-be-desired merger of the two
national tuner-technician organizations
will be given a strong boost toward re-
alization if the NPMA and the NAMM
endorse and support this campaign in-
itiated jointly by the two local organi-
zations of the two nationals."
THE MUSICAL TRADE REVIEW, AUGUST, 1954