Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
TWENTY-FIRST YEAR.
•EDWARD LYMAN BILL t i -
Editor and Proprietor
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
3 East 14th St., New York
SUBSCRIPTION (Including postage), United States,
Mexico and Canada, |ajao per year; all other countries,
$3.00.
ADVERTISEnENTS, $2.00 per Inch, single column, per
Insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special dis-
count is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite read-
ing matter $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should
be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 21, 1899.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-EIGHTEENTH STREET
THE KEYNOTE.
The first week of each month, The Review will
contain a supplement embodying the literary
and musical features which have heretofore
appeared in The Keynote. This amalgamation
will be effected without in a-iy way trespassing
on our regular news service. The Review will
continue to remain, as before, essentially a
trade paper.
SIGNS ARE ALL RIGHT.
\ 1 7 I L L such times as we are now experi-
encing last?
That is a question which every merchant
and manufacturer is asking himself many
times a day.
There is nothing, however, in the future
to encourage the belief that good times
will be temporary. There is much in the
present outlook to cast an optimistic color-
ing over not only the dealings of to-day
but for some time in the future. As far
as we can easily view with prophetic vision,
markets are buoyant, everything is climb-
ing up, up, up, save the manufacturer's
price for pianos. And what should give en-
couragement in the strongest way to every-
one is the fact that manufactured goods in
all lines are sold far ahead. When there
commences to be an accumulation of manu-
factured stock in all lines of trade, when
manufacturers and corporations double
their plant in order to accommodate a
phenomenal growth of trade, then it will
be time to view the business future with
a modicum of suspicion, for when that
period arrives, if it does, then look out for
breakers ahead, but as long as there is no
accumulation, there can be no sudden slump.
ON A CASH BASIS.
'"THE other day a well-known Western
dealer said: "I have been much in-
terested in reading the editorials which
have appeared from time to time in The
Review relating to getting out of the in-
stallment rut on a better cash basis.
"Lately I have been following out some
suggestions made, and have met with ex-
ceedingly satisfactory results. Then, too,
when I come East I find that in the pres-
ent state of the market the man who has
cash to offer for his goods receives more
consideration than the fellow who requires
'longtime.' It was time with me years
ago, but I feel that I have worked out of
that, and you can rest assured I shall talk
and work cash in the piano business from
this time on."
Sound reasoning, that, and reasoning
which assists toward better business con-
ditions. We have fallen into the install-
ment rut just the same as some manufac-
turers have into the stencil rut, and it is
mighty hard to extricate ourselves without
a little extra exertion. It is a good thing
to sell pianos, but it is a mighty sight bet-
ter to sell them profitably. Many dealers
have been blinded to a certain extent by
the delusions incident to getting rid of
large numbers of pianos. No matter what
the price, seemingly, the instruments
must be got rid of. No matter what vast
amount of paper, which would necessarily
be greatly depreciated in value, was re-
ceived in exchange for the instruments, all
that seemed to cut no material figure. No
matter whether it required a greater cash
outlay in advertising, freights, salaries,
rents, tunings, than could be received for
nearly two years on some ridiculous install-
ment basis, yet the instruments must go
out, and that seems to be the main thing
with many dealers.
If that sort of thing is profitable, why
has it not been so demonstrated by trade
history?
The facts are we have been largely over-
doing the installment business, and if a
dealer will get right down and work enthu-
siastically for cash, and so instruct his
salesmen, he will find that there are great
things in this old trade in store for him.
FIGHTING FOR TRADE PURITY.
IV A UCH interest is manifested in the suit
brought by the Henry F. Miller cor-
poration against C. D. Blake, alleging an
illegal use of the name Miller in conjunc-
tion with the retailing of pianos.
Mr. Miller has commenced a vigorous
campaign and has the sentiment of the
trade entirely with him. There has been
and is to-day altogether too much trading
in this industry upon the reputation fairly
won by years of toil by others. The Miller
piano has won a high reputation as an ar-
tistic product, and it is that reputation that
Mr. Miller proposes to keep from being
poached upon.
Mr. Blake, we may add, against whom
this suit is brought is advertising "the
favorite Steinberg" piano, and in the ad-
vertisement he says: "Be sure and get the
genuine. Look out for imitations of these
celebrated pianos."
Now if such actions on the part of the
dealer do not tend to lower the trade, pray,
then, just where does the lowering process
come in? The "Steinberg" piano is placed
upon the market for no other reason than
to confuse the purchaser with the name of
Steinway.
Of course such an imitation would not
mislead educated people, but it is obvious
ly intended to give the impression to read-
ers that this illegitimate "Steinberg" piano
is something more than it really is. In
other words, it is trading upon a great
name.
How would it be for the Association to
take a hand in annihilating such reprehen-
sible practices. Suppose members of that
organization should enter into an agree-
ment whereby none of its members would
supply instruments to a dealer when it was
shown that he was engaged in illicit traffic
by attempting to trade upon the reputa-
tion of others?
AT FIXED FIGURES.
A MANUFACTURER remarked recent-
ly, "I regret that conditions in this
trade do not warrant adhering strictly to
one price in the retailing of pianos. Now
if the conditions are not favorable to the
adoption of one price, which, after all, is
the proper way of conducting business,
can they be made so? If so, how shall we
proceed to arrive at more favorable condi-
tions in the retail department of the trade?"
When the department store element en-
tered the trade as a factor we inclined to
the belief that it would have somewhat of
a tendency to hold the trade nearer to one
price. In ordinary mercantile establish-
ments a customer pays the price asked
for certain wares or leaves them. He does
not haggle and barter to beat the merchant
down. He accepts the price asked, or re-
jects it, according to his own ideas of
values, but without special remonstrations
or any manifestation on his part to cause
the merchant to change his price.
Not so in a piano store. About the first
act on the part of some individuals is to
offer some ridiculous price for an instru-
ment, naming a cut of a hundred or two
from the figures asked.
It has been just such methods which
have encouraged the belief in the public
mind that there are abnormal profits in
pianos. Dealers themselves have encour-
aged this belief tremendously by making
an enormous cut in the price asked for
their instruments.
As a trade we have fallen into this par-
ticular line of conducting business, and it
is from years of acquaintance with this
sort of trade fluctuation that has caused
the ordinary individual to look upon the