TU
YUrTK
TiLDiN
Presto Buyers' Guide
Analyzes and Classifies
All American P i a n o s
and in Detail Tells of
Fheir Makers.
PRESTO
E*ablhhed 1M4. THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
Presto Year Book
The Only Complete
Annual Review of the
American Music In-
dustries and Trades.
10 Cen U; S2.00 a Year
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 1925
the dealer, of an average of fourteen cents (14c)
per roll. Fourteen cents multiplied by Cwc million
(5,000,000) rolls means, on our present sales of
rolls a loss to us in money received for the same
number of rolls, of seven hundred thousand dollars
($700,000.00) and since this is approximately twice
as much as our largest year's profits you can
perhaps better understand why we hesitated so
Word Rolls, Both Popular and Blue Bird Bal- long to make the reduction.
The New Box.
lads, of the Q R S Music Co., Chicago,
Another item is the new box. This new one-
Down to One Dollar After
piece box will cost us sixty thousand dollars
January 1...
($60,000.00) more on our present output of rolls
than it would cost us in the old style box.
This new box has been out long enough now to
convince us that the public approves, and appre-
ciates, its wonderful convenience, and we are con-
fident that this new one-piece box, the Dollar price,
How Nation-wide Publicity Work of Player Roll and the increase in our national advertising will
double our business, as this price on Q R S rolls
Industry Helps Piano Trade to Profit by This
should practically eliminate any necessity of a
Week's Announcement.
cheaper roll.
Our great problem and regret, however, is that
The most important item of trade news coming at we find it impossible to refund our dealers on the
the beginning of a new year is the notice of a reduc- rolls they have on their shelves. After making as
tion in price to one dollar on all the rolls of the accurate a survey as possible, we arrive at an esti-
Q R S Music Co., Chicago, both the popular kind mate of four.million (4,000,000) rolls on the shelves
and the Blue Bird Ballads. The announcement to of our eight thousand, three hundred (8,300) deal-
the trade is in the form of a letter from T. M. er*. Of course if we undertook to make an adjust-
ment, we quite naturally would extend it • to all
Fletcher, president of the company.
dealers alike. . This would mean a loss to us of
With the new price for the rolls there is an assur- another live hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00)
ance that the effective publicity campaign of the and there are lew industries, especially one as lim-
Q R S Music Co., which has served the dealers in ited as is the roll manufacturing business, that
such an able manner, will be continued. The color could stand that kind of a jolt.
cutouts, and the fine colored printing generally, will
The Proposition.
be a greater factor than ever in the dealers' aids pro-
You
can
now
sell
all the $1.25, both popular and
vided by the Q R S Music Co.- for stimulating the Blue Bird Ballad rolls
for $1.00 (excepting Repro-
roll sales of representatives of the Q R S music roll ducing Rolls), and from January 1st. all such rolls
line.
in Q H S will be billed at $1.00 list, and because
we believe that Q R S word rolls in the new box
Thought for the Dealer.
When the new price concession is considered, an- and played by real artists are, at $1.00, the best
roll value in the world, we will use every fair
other generous feature of the Q R S Company's music
influence to see that they 'arc sold at the uniform
dealings with the trade is suggested. That is the price of $1.00. You will do your part to help us
great and comprehensive scheme of national adver- maintain it, won't you?
tising which specifically promotes the sale of player-
W r e earnestly suggest that you immediately notify
pianos. The Q R S roll advertising, which is so at- all of your branch stores, alt of your salespeople
tractive to the public, is directly a continuous and and everyone connected with you, that Q R S word
very powerful stimulation to playerpiano sales. The rolls and Blue Bird Ballads are now $1.00. This
company is one of the great advertisers in nationally is to prevent your competitors from unintentionally
read publications, and the makers of players, and the conveying the thought to the public's mind that
they may be selling Q R S rolls for less than
dealers who sell them, have been benefited in in- you
are.
creased sales from every nationally read display of
1 take this opportunity to thank you for the sup-
the Q R S rolls. In fact, it may be said that a large port you have been giving us heretofore, even at
proportion of the profits earned by the Q R S Music the $1.25 price, and wishing you a Happy and
Co. have been returned to the dealers and manufac- Prosperous New Year, I am
Yours very truly,
turers in this broadcast advertising. All business
T H E Q R S MUSIC COMPANY,
men know, or have some definite idea of the cost of
T. M. Pletcher, President.
nation-wide publicity by means bf the high class
Dec. 29, 1924.
mediums. It is safe to say that no other music roll
P. S.—We will mail to you in a day or two, some
industry, the world over, has done so much of it or
beautiful seven color cutouts for window display
so effectively as the Q R S company.
There will be no charge for these or any additional
The price reduction m Q R S rolls will be followed ones you order.
by an increase in the sales and in view of this the
A Page in Evidence.
fullest capacity of every department in the four
Referring
briefly
again to the broadcast advertising
Q R S factories, at Chicago, New York, San Fran-
cisco and Toronto, Can., has been assured. The of the Q R S player rolls, there is a good specimen
of it in this issue of Presto. It is a full page dis-
letter of Mr. Pletcher to the trade follows:
play as it appears in this week's issue of the Saturday
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.
Evening Post. The cost of that page alone is as
Gentlemen: Beginning January 1, 1925, all (J R much as some manufacturers invest in advertising in
S word rolls, both popular and Blue Bird Ballads, the entire year.
•will.be reduced to One Dollar ($1.00).
But indirectly that Saturday Evening Post is repre-
There will also be a slight reduction in Concert sentative of the interests of every manufacturer of
Series, Recbrdo, and Art Echo Rolls.
For the past six months, through our road men playerpianos, of whatever grade or name. It points
and other agencies, we have been getting the wishes directly to an absolute essential to playerpiano values,
of our dealers, and over 90 per cent of them ex- and directs something like two millions of readers
pressed their hopes and requests that \\v reduce the to the instrument, telling them how to make it indis-
price of Q R S rolls to One Dollar ($1.00). We pensable to home delight, and just what to buy to
are now complying with that overwhelming major- that end, and where to buy it—at "your music
ity's wishes.
dealer's."
Announcement of this price reduction will be
The Girl in the Window.
made in leading magazines and newspapers of, the
country, the first being a full page ad in the Satur-
"W r atch for this little girl in Music Store Windows
day Evening Post of January 10th, copy of which when you buy your Playerpiano." Could any sug-
is enclosed herewith. What do you think of it?
You will note that we are still urging the public gestion, or any dealer's publicity, be more direct or
more to the point? If any piano dealer were to pre-
to buy a playerpiano.
pare his own advertisement, could he do it any better
Facts for the Dealer.
for his local purposes of drawing attention to player-
We will now give you a little of the inside of our pianos? And the following paragraph, from the
business, profits, losses, etc.
Saturday Evening Post page, is proof enough of the
Our normal output of Q R S rolls is six million value, to the retail piano dealer, of the Q R S adver-
(6,000,000) rolls annually, five million of which are
popular and Blue Bird Ballads. This reduction in tising. And it bears upon a point in business that
price of 25 per cent retail will, as you can readily must effect sales, and must bear fruit, in a general
see, mean a loss to us in our getting price from way, and largely for the music business everywhere;
Q R S MUSIC ROLLS
REDUCED IN PRICE
DEALER COOPERATION
ESTEY ORGAN CO. TELLS
OF 1924 SUCCESSES
More Two-Manual Organs Sold in Year Just
Closed Than in Any Previous Year in
Its Triumphant History.
The growth and prosperity of the organ industry
is the reflection of the business in organs of all kinds,
being developed by the dealers with vision through-
out the country. For several years the call for or-
gans has been increasing in proportion to the spread
of the uses of the instruments so that the business in
organs is considered one of great possibilities.
A very cheering report of the business for 1924
comes from the Estey Organ Company, Brattleboro,
Yt.. and in it the company points to a very satisfac-
tory increase in orders and organs shipped for the
year just closed in comparison to the figures for
1923. Tn 1924 the company sold more two-manual
organs than in any one year in its history.
The character of the business is also a matter of
pride with the Estey Organ Company, which finds
it specially gratifying to point to a great number
of its two-manual organs installed in educational in-
stitutions. Among the- leading colleges and schools
are:
The Newton Technical High School, Newtonville,
Mass.; Union College, College View, Neb.; Billings
Hall. Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.; Lesell
Seminary, Auburndale. Mass.; Conservatory of Mu-
sic, Wooster, Mass., and others of similar character
and prominence.
It is noticed that the ambitious dealers who are
achieving a big and profitable table organ business
make provision for properly featuring the instru-
ments. Every means of publicity is employed to
acquaint the public with the delightful musical abili-
ties of the organ and the schools, colleges, conserva-
tories, fraternal organizations with halls, churches
and owners of fine homes where music is an impor-
tant factor in the scheme of domestic happiness.
Some of the most prominent dealers in the coun-
try have recognized the value of window displays of
the Estey organs and the artistic shows have had an
informative effect that has led to a large number
of organ sales by the Estey Organ Company. Among
those which during the year just closed have made
special window displays of Estey organs were: W.
J. Dyer & Bro., St. Paul, Minn.; Sherman, Clay &
Company, San Franciscg; Lyon & Healy, Inc., Chi-
cago; George J. Birkel Company, Los Angeles, and
Grinncll Bros , Detroit.
CALLERS IN CHICAGO.
E. E. Smith and F. W. Van Scoyoc, formerly of
the Smith & Mitten Piano Co., Akron, Ohio, have
been Chicago visitors this week. These gentlemen,
when they severed their connection with the Smith
& Mitten concern, engaged in business under the
name of Grand Piano Company. Their store is at
1.13' East Market street, Akron. They have taken
for their slogan: "A Better Piano Store." Their
leading pianos are Story & Clark, Stultz & Bauer
and Becker Bros.—certainly a good line which augurs
BUYS WASHINGTON BUSINESS.
Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Cooper, formerly with the
Thomas Music Co., at Marshfield, Ore., recently pur-
chased the Cowlitz Music Co.'s stock and fixtures in
Kelso, Wash. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have moved to
Kelso and will continue the. business, carrying a full
line of pianos, phonographs and small goods and
musical merchandise.
"Thank your music dealer for this price reduction.
The one thing that made it possible was his co-opera-
tion and willingness to sell the best music roll at a
small margin of profit."
As was said at the beginning of this article, the
price reduction by the Q R S Music Company is one
of the really important announcements of the trade at
the start of the new year. Take advantage of it,
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