June-July, 1936
PRESTO-TIMES
PRESTO-TIME
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADES JOURNAL
ISSUED THE
FIFTEENTH OF
PUBLICATION MONTH
P R A N K D. A B B O T T
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Editor
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 0234.
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'» Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter April 9. 1932, at the
Tost Office at Chicago, 111., under act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription, $1.00 a year; 6 months, 60 cents; foreign,
$2.00. Payable in advance. No extra charge in United
States possessions, Cuba and Mexico. Rates for adver-
tising: on application.
PRESTO PUBLISHING CO.
Publishers
417 So. Dearborn St.
Chicago, 111.
A wholesale salesman, whose home-town is
a little village not far from Chicago, disasso-
ciated himself with the house he had been
traveling- for, for several years, to accept a
retail salesman's position with a big Indiana
piano house. This change occurred less than
a year ago. A few days ago a member of his
family was asked, "How's dad doing now?"
"Fine." was the reply; "he made over $900 in
commissions last month, and expects to do as
well this month." So, evidently, dad's not
looking for either a change of location or a
change of occupation, and the moral of the
story is, there is good money in the piano
business.
FOREIGN PIANOS AND FOREIGN PIANOS
Making pianos in this country to compete with the cheap instruments made in Japan
or, incidentally, any other cheap product, in the hopes of stirring up some trade in this
class of manufacture is not a commendable undertaking in American industry and is
not an encouraging situation in the piano manufacturing field.
On the other hand, the foreign made piano of acknowledged merit and artistic pres-
tige finds a proper reception here. A case in point is that of the Bluthner which, in the
hands of Rudolf Schad who organized the J ulius Bluthner Company of America with
headquarters at Los Angeles. Calif., has made an enviable record for that instrument.
Mr. Schad's activities have been confined almost entirely to the Pacific Coast terri-
tory and his retail business to the vicinity of Los Angeles where he has imported and sold
since the incorporation of his business upwards of one hundred Bluthner grands; none
of them at less than $1,400 each and several as high as $4,950. a figure which, notwith-
standing the tax of 40% on invoice, or ad valorem duty, is a substantial price and an
excellent record, carried on in a clean business-like manner devoid of price-cutting and
slashing! A record, in fact, to be commended as indicating how prices can be main-
tained even in the face of sharp competition.
* * * *
But to get back for a moment to the cheap imported piano; most of the piano fac-
tories of this country are planned and equipped for the manufacture of instruments of
quality at lowest cost of production and not at the expense of quality. If there is a
location in the United States where instruments made to compete in low price with the
ones brought over from Japan or from any other country, can be made to sell at abnor-
mally low figures, the manufacturers of such product ought to voluntarily classify their
instruments or be made to keep them in a class by themselves so that a piano buying
public may be cautioned.
* * * *
Various correspondence back and forth between Presto-Times office and
dealers and others engaged in selling and making and using the instruments
that make music, touches on the pros and cons of specializing; whether special-
izing in certain lines, band instruments, musical merchandise, sheet music
and, of course, pianos, which is the most distinct and specialized as an exclu-
sive line, works to advantage or not.
There are independent radio shops, exclusive musical merchandise and
publication stores. Many of these never have had in stock or even sold by
catalog a band instrument and as many more dealers who have sold only from
catalog without carrying in stock a single instrument beyond a fife or ocarina.
Although the drive for subscriptions for the
Community Fund of Chicago and vicinity was
Such firms have not been able to appreciate the great field that is open for
an event of some time ago, the good work
the sale of band instruments or the advantages of carrying in stock a few sample
done by public-spirited citizens is not forgot-
instruments, in fact many so-called representative music merchants do not
ten, and it is gratifying to recall that the music
seem
to catch on to the advantages derived from getting into the band instru-
trade budget, of which R. E. Durham, Presi-
ment line. There are advantages to the dealer through handling band and or-
dent of Lyon & Healy, was the chairman, went
over "above par," being one of the few over-
chestra instruments that would not come to him were his business limited to
subscribed divisions of the trade and industry ;
some one line.
1.06 per cent.
This correspondence in the trade led one of the editors of Presto-Times to
make inquiries from dealers who had been selling band instruments for a long-
The firm at Nakaku, Japan, which has suc-
time and others who had more recently taken on the sale of these instruments
ceeded in getting itself decidedly in wrong
with several manufacturers and jobbers of this
and still others who are investigating the advantages of adding band instru-
country, continues to apply for prices, terms,
ments and other special musical instruments to their business. One of these
etc., here. This concern uses a form of in-
replies and one which in a general way gives similar information contained in
quiry common in all their solicitations. It
other letters, says: "The band instrument business during the years of busi-
reads : "We are very much interested in your
ness depression sustained the music merchants more than any other line, not
line of manufacture, and if your goods are
suitable for this country's musicians, we could
excepting the electric household goods, washers, refrigerators, etc., taken on
place large orders." They then request sam-
by many dealers. As for ourselves the band instrument and merchandise end
ples to be sent.
of our business averages right along sixty per cent of our monthly volume and
it has been as high as seventy-five per cent of our total sales. When our piano
Radio dealers and concerns specializing in
department has been mostly disposing 1 of used pianos our band instrument de-
assembling radios have been summoned by the
Federal Trade Commission and ordered to stop
partment has consisted of new goods almost entirely with little or no discount
advertising as manufacturers, "unless and until
or price cutting while rarely have we been able to secure anything anywhere
owning or operating a factory in which the
near
the standard or list prices for new pianos.
radios sold are manufactured," and also to dis-
Speaking
of the importation of foreign made band instruments, this cor-
continue representing through salesmen or in
respondent says: "Until about two years ago there were many foreign made
any other manner that they will grant an ex-
clusive franchise for any particular territory
band instruments sold in this country owing to the higher prices required for
for the sale of such radios. This is more
American made goods but in the past two or three years our manufacturers
stringent than conditions which prevailed in
had
introduced new lines and readjusted their prices to the point that few music
piano manufacturing in the days of "stencil
dealers now consider stocking up this foreign goods."
pianos."
"The string instrument business has reached its greatest proposition the
The old Globe Music Company of St.
last few years with guitars away in the lead and profit in this line is the most
Charles, a western suburb of Chicago, has al-
substantial."
most a duplicate in its name in the recently in-
The evidence seems to be almost everwhelming in favor of merging band
corporated Globe Music Shop Company, Pat-
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