PRESTO
24
victimized and exploited by the consumers. Here is
the real hold-up, when broadcasters have to supply
extensive programs free of charge. Why do they do
it? Well, they do it, of course, to popularize radio
and sell more receiving- sets; but sooner or later the
public will be sold up, and then they will have to
stop. It would be more sensible to spend the time
and. ingenuity now devoted to beating the authors
out of their royalties to thinking up methods for mak-
ing the consumer pay for a service which he would
undoubtedly be willing to pay for if there were any
way to keep him from getting it free.
In England an attempt has been made to supply
revenue by making the owners of receiving sets take
out an annual license at small cost. Unfortunately,
dealers seem to be willing to sell sets to anybody,
licensed or not, and the broadcasting companies have
devised no means of preventing a man from listening
this year on last year's license.
$229,319 were exported from the United States. For
the corresponding period ending February 28, 1922,
the ligures were $167,300.
J. E. Mathews, Eureka, Cal., is remodeling his
music store.
COMPOSER WINS $1,000.
P. Marinus Paulsen won the $1,000 prize offered
by Balaban & Katz, Chicago motion picture theater
owners, for the best brief native work in symphonic
form. His Oriental Suite was chosen this week as
the best of a group of five works, which, in turn,
had been culled from ninety by the reading commit-
tee.
The five compositions heard yesterday were
selected by a committee of readers comprising Rich-
ard Hageman, Adolf Weidig and Nathaniel Finston,
conductor of the Chicago Theater Symphony Orches-
tra. The lesson for the American composer which
the contest seems to point may be stated briefly
according to Glenn Dillard Guinn, music critic of
the Herald and Examiner. The first requisite of
Americanism in music is modernism. Music cannot
be characteristic of America if expressed in the idiom
of the last generation.
May 5, 1928
FOR SYSTEM IN
PLAYER SALES
Thomas J. Mercer of Gulbransen-Dickinson
Co. Fublicity Force Makes Selling Player-
pianos His Convention Theme
in Dallas This Week.
One of the must interesting and instructive ad-
dresses given before the Texas Music Merchants'
Association at the convention this week was that
of Thomas J. Mercer, sales manager of the Gulbran-
sen-Dickinson Co.. Chicago. His subject was "Mer-
chandising playerpianos" and in telling of the possi-
bilities he said: "There are 20,000,000 homes in the
United States. The entire piano industry averages
less than 300,01)0 units of production per year—grands,
uprights, playerpianos, reproducing pianos—pianos
of all manner and kind, value and description."
.It was a good text from which Mr. Mercer de-
A Few Items Interesting to People in Sheet Music
veloped his subject.
Department Are Printed.
BAR GERMAN FOLK SONGS.
Other important facts disclosed by Mr. Mercer
An irate reader writes to the Chicago Herald and
were that the "nothing down, little-a-month and
The Scap Song Shop was recently opened at 504
East Houston street, San Antonio, Tex. A full line Examiner commenting on the absence of German ignorant-of-his-playerpiano-subject" kind of dealer is
folk songs in the annual folk song festival in Chicago getting fewer every day and that the type of dealer
of popular songs is carried.
David Jacobs carries a line of sheet music in a last Sunday. The program is made up of the folk who knows his line and sells it according to the funda-
new store recently opened at 1020 Walnut street, songs of Italy, Russia, Lithuania, France, Bohemia, mentals of wise merchandising is becoming more
Alsace-Lorraine and Switzerland.
There is not a general. Continuing Mr. Mercer said in part:
Philadelphia.
It has been my privilege in connection with my
The Madison Music Shoppe is the name of a new German folk song on the list, he points out, and
work with the Gu bransen Company to watch the
sheet music store at 15410 Madison avenue, Lake- asks: "What is the matter with the men and women
responsible for the conduct of this festival and of this development of the better brand of sales work with
wood, O.
great many merchants. One case 1 have in mind
The Taylor Music Shop was recently opened at association; don't they know that the war is over? a I want
to tell you about.
Or are they ignorant of the wealth of folk songs
224 S. Wabash avenue, Chicago.
One thing that interested him early in his investi-
Stanley & Shaw is a new firm carrying sheet music that have made Germany one of the great music- gations was that the player sales didn't produce much
loving nations of the world?"
at 108 E. Fifth street, Sedalia, Mo.
in the form of more business. There has been some
The Kelley Music Co., Inc., Fairmont, W. Va., is
players sold but they didn't seem to stir up enough
public interest to bring more people in to buying play-
DULUTH'S MUSIC FESTIVAL.
increasing the space in its sheet music department.
"Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" is the title of a new
Duluth, Minn., will hold a Spring Music Festival ers. He decided to root out the cause of the inactivity
himself. He sorted out the names of about twenty-
march by John Philip Sousa. It will be played by on May 22, 23 and 24, and the local music merchants
odd people who haJ bought players from the firm
massed bands at the annual convention of the A. A. are taking an active part in the preparations. It is and
he went out aiul called on all of them.
O. N. M. S. in Washington, D. C, in June.
to be Duluth's first civic music festival, and particular
In practical y ever}- instance he found that the
During the eight months ending February 28, 1923, efforts are being made by all those interested to make people did not know what they had. Their knowl-
sheet music and bound music books to the value of it a good precedent for future events of the kind.
edge of player operation consisted of putting a roll
in, setting the tempo, throwing the lever over and
pumping for dear life. There wasn't much music
to reward their efforts. He also found that a good
many of the players were out of regulation and the
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
pianos out of tune. Not much chance there for musi-
433 Fifth Ave.
Republic Bldg.
cal enjoyment.
Manufacturers of the
When he had convinced himself of the reason why
the player business was not taking on speed, he did
two things. He sent out the best tuner and adjust-
ment man in the shop, put those instruments in the
pink of condition. Then he followed up personally
The Official Piano of the Metropolitan Opera Co.
with a few s'mple tuneful rolls and taught some one in
Owning and Operating the Autotone Co. makers of the
Ovning and Operating E.G. Harrington & Co.,Est.1871,makers of the
each family how to get the best possible results out of
tlie player.
The Hardman Autotone
The Harrington Autotone
(Supreme A mong Moderately Priced Instruments)
Starts Organizing.
The
Hensel
Piano
The
Standard
Piano
The Autotone The Playotone The Standard Player-Piano
And meantime he started in on the sales organiza-
tion, taking each salesman through an individual
course of player work, simplifying demonstration and
putting more stress on teaching the customer how
to play and how to understand music rolls. For he
had grasped the idea that the customer was not par-
ticularly interested in what the salesman could do
with the player but what he or she could do with
it That is what the customer buys a player for.
Then things began to happen in that business—just
as they always will happen in any business where a
practical idea takes hold and an organized effort
of NEW YORK
is put forth to make it work.
The twenty-odd player owners that the merchant
AFFILIATED COMPANIES
himself had taught how to use their players became
the nucleus of a growing public interest that soon
began to manifest itself. They took pride in their
player skill, they took delight in showing what they
r
could do and in getting their friends interested. And,
from that time on no customer was ever permitted
to leave the store after signing up for a player with-
out the salesman teaching him how to use that player,
how to get the melody out; second how to use the
feet and hands to bring them out and make the play-
Upright and Grand Pianos
ing sound like music.
Teach them to play, gentlemen, teach them to play
Player Pianos
well. It is the best kind of work you can do. And
see that the players arc kept in first class condition—
Reproducing Pianos
in adjustment and in tune.
That has long been one of the weaknesses of the
Auto De Luxe Player Adions
piano business. Salesmen have dodged the question
SHEET MUSIC TRADE NOTES
HARDMAN, PECK & GO. Cstf
HARDMAN PIANO
AUTOTONE CSJKS3
THE
HARRINGTON PIANO
LERINDUST
anufctcturing for the trade
Standard Player Adions
Art De Luxe Reproducing Actions
Parts and Accessories
Wholesale Chicago Office and Service "Departments
San Francisco Office
462 Vhetan building
KOHLER INDUSTRIES
1222 KIMBALL B U I L D I N G
CHICAGO
WILLIAMS
PIANOS
The policy of the Williams House is and always
hati been to depend upon excellence of product
instead of alluring price. Such a policy doe* not
attract bargain hunters. It does, however, win the
hearty approval and support of a very desirable
and substantial patronage.
M.ker. of Willi.m. Piano.,
E p w o r t h pi.no. - n d Organ.
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