Music Trade Review

September 5th, 1880
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
a foolish violation of the most ordinary rules of commercial morality
could have occurred. In these cases, which are confined as far as we
know to two or three houses in the trade, it would seem not only to
be a violation of the rules of commercial morality, but also of com-
mercial common sense, to think that the business can just as well be
done at arms length and without a personal acquaintance with the
buyer, as it can be by an interested party who is on the ground
continually has an intimate acquaintance with the purchaser, and
often has other ties and inducements which the manufacturer cannot
by any possibility have. But enough of this; it seems almost like
arguing that it is not good policy for a man to do himself a personal
injury, as to explain the evil of such courses which can have but one
result, viz., the exclusion from that market of the instruments of the
houses guilty of such a practice. This policy is seldom pursued in
the case of strong middle men, but advantage is usually taken of
some small agent, who has, by hard work, built up a good trade, and
when the proper time arrives the strong hand is put out to crush
him ; but frequently he proves, as "Carlyle" says, "electrical and a
torpedo."
There is another evil, common to other trades as well as that in
musical instruments, viz., the short-sighted policy of permitting the
quality of the instruments manufactured to deteriorate after a name
and reputation has been established for that particular brand, and
either to fight competition, or to make more money by lowering the
standard of the article without diminishing the price, the latter being
comparatively easy of accomplishment in consequence of the lack of
musical ability to judge on the part of the consumer, and the fact
that many of the small agents are practically in the hands of the
large manufacturers, and the cupidity of the larger agents can be
successfully appealed to.
This evil becomes more powerful from the fact, that there is a
strong effort being continually made by agents throughout the
country to widen the margin between the price at which they buy
the instruments and the price at which they sell them. To this the
manufacturers—particularly the smaller ones—are to a great extent
obliged to yield, as the agent is supposed to know better than anyone
else, how bad a piano it is possible to foist upon the buyer.
Many and various are the methods used to sell pianos, and one
with a humorous side to it was lately brought to our notice. A far-
mer came into the store of a conspicuous western dealer, accom-
panied by his daughter, and inquired what was the price of one of
•" them things," pointing at the same time to the pianos in the store ;
" from $225 to $550,'' was the answer. " Well," said the farmer,
" the school committee in our town have been putting music teachin'
into the school, and my gal can't keep up with her class unless
she has one of them things to practise on, and I'm bound to get one
for her if I have to sell a house to do it." Kesult of introducing music
teaching into the schools—a sale of a piano or organ, to every farmer
in that vicinity who has a daughter old enough to be taught music.
In the meantime the school committee, the teacher and the dealer,
have a perfect understanding with each other.
Another evil which has made itself conspicuous of late, and
is always coming to the front in the dull season of the year, or in
times of commercial depression, is the control of small manufacturers
to a large extent, and sometimes completely, by agents who have the
power and disposition to dictate to the small manufacturer what
kind of an instrument he shall make, very often against his better
•judgment; but as he is unable by reason of small capital to carry
his stock and pay his workmen during the dull season, he is obliged
to listen to the dictates of his agent, or give up his business alto-
gether. This has a still further tendency to depreciate the quality
of the instruments made, without lessening the price to the actual
user.
It would surprise one who has not an intimate acquaintance with
the trade to learn how much is done in the way of lowering the
quality of the instruments, but a little experience would quickly
show how it is that many good mechanics, wlio, after graduating
from some of the celebrated factories, fail to achieve either fortune
or reputation, w4iile others, who may not have as much skill in their
trade, succeed in making their name known all over the country.
The consequence to the consumer and to the trade cannot fail to be
disastrous in the end. The consumer pays, in many cases, a large to be
sum of money for an instrument which he has been literally hum-
bugged into buying, and his experience and suspicions react upon
the trade generally—the just and the unjust, the good and the bad
alike.
It may be asked, what is the remedy for such a diseased condi-
tion of the trade, and various solutions of the vexed question could
be proposed, but the most feasible one is a guild or union of all re-
spectable piano and organ makers, the guild or association to make
itself known through the medium of the press, and a written guar-
rantee to be given to the buyer by every house in the association.
" Why," said a small piano-maker in this city not long since, "if
I were to undertake to make a first-class piano, and used only the
9
best materials in its construction, I would not be able with my pres-
ent capital to carry on the business for six months, because I should
be obliged to sell all the pianos I made, at a loss, until I could con-
vince people that I made as good a piano as anybody, and there is so
much humbug about the business that I might never be able to con-
vince them of it."
CONCENTRATE YOUR ADVERTISING.
E are glad to note that a strong feeling is growing among the
members of the music trade, both in this city and others
that we have recently visited, against the unwarrantable number
and style of the demands made upon them by all sorts of advertising
schemers. Every fourth man in this country appears to be inflated
with the idea that it is his particular mission in life to start a news-
paper, a theatre programme, a guide book, etc., etc., ad nauseam,
and it is the belief of every such individual that the music trade is
the easiest of all to bleed, and can readily be made, by a sort of trans-
fusion process, to pour its life fluid into the advertising schemer's
pet projects.
There is no trade that depends more absolutely upon the publicity
given to its wares than the music trade, an4 there is no trade which,
in the aggregate, comprehends so little of the true science of adver-
tising as the music trade.
We urge the following bit of well meant elementary advice upon
our readers who are advertisers, and shall make no effort to sound
our own trumpet in connection therewith ;
Concentrate you advertising more. Select only the very best
mediums, and be absolutely sure they are the best mediums. Don't
try to split your advertising among several papers of a similiar class,
with the mistaken idea that you will thereby encourage competition
and break down rates. That which is cheap is never worth even the
small amount of money that is paid for it, and no man can afford to
build up and develop a paper worthy in every respect to represent
the music trades of this country unless he is liberally encouraged,
supported, and endorsed.
Think these matters over carefully, gentlemen of the music
trades; they are well worth your attention; for at present, you seem
disposed to fritter your money away after a fashion which cannot
produce good results, either foryou or anyone else.
W
IT will be seen by an article in another column of this paper, in
which Mr. Hale's remarks concerning a suit, said to have been
brought by him against the Piano Trade Union, are set forth, and in
which one of the leading members of the Piano Trade Union gives
his views upon the same subject, that there is a difference of opin-
ion concerning the buying up and owning of Coward Lockwood's
musical fly-sheet, by Mr. Hale. The member of the Piano Makers'
Union expresses the belief which has passed current for some time
with the entire trade, that this fly-sheet was run on Mr. Hale's
money, and entirely in his interests.
Coior was given to this belief by the fact, pretty well understood
in the trade, that very little or no money at all was spent by miscel-
laneous advertisers for their cards that appeared in the Lockwood
paper. Moreover, it seemed always ready to perform the most
menial service for Mr. Hale, whenever he lifted his finger.
Concerning the practice of publishing unpaid-for advertisements,
we speak more at length in another place, and now only wish to say
that we have hardly believed the report that Mr. Hale was backing
the Lockwood fly-sheet, because we have taken it for granted that
Mr. Hale would be just as shrewd and far-seeing in this case as in
most others.
Lately we have had pretty good proof—Mr. Hale's own word—
that he is not doing any newspaper backing just at present. One of
our staff had a conversation with him a few nights ago, in which
Mr. Hale denied that he, individually, had brought a suit against the
Piano Makers' Union. It was a rumor started by Lockwood's fly-
sheet, which, Mr. Hale remarked, "Was always getting things
wrong."
Mr. Hale also stated that he had sent a written communication,
ordering his advertising card to be taken out of this Lockwood fly-
sheet at least three months ago, but that so far not the slightest
attention had been paid to his peremptory order.
DAVIDSON.—Miss Florence E. Davidson, a young Brooklyn contralto,
who has studied in Milan and Paris, during the last three years, was expected
home last week in the steamship Egypt. She may appear in opera during
the season—or may not.
NETJENDORFF. —The prolific Adolph Neuendorff some years ago wrote a
symphony, which was duly performed once. Now he has finished another
symphony; this second work has this advantage over the first; nobody
has heard it yet.
THOMAS.—An English musician, in a letter to the London Musical
World, calls Theodore Thomas a native-born American. This is a mistake.
Mr. Thomas was born near Hamburg, Germany, and consequently not fit for
Presidential honors, unless his friends are powerful enough to change the
constitution of the United States.