Music Trade Review
Issue: 1904 Vol. 39 N. 17 - Page 8
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MEW
Editor and Proprietor,
EDWARD LYMAN
J. B. SF1LLANC.
THOI.
CAUFBKLL-COFKLAND,
W. MURDOCH
LIND,
irf E d i t o r .
EXECUTIVE STAFF:
Gxo. B. R n x u ,
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE:
BAUXR,
G I O . W. QUKRIPXL.
CHICAQO OFFICE:
BOSTON OPPICE:
EBMIIT L. WAITT, 366 Washington St.
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
EMILIR FRANCXS
A. J. NICKLIM,
E. P. VAN HARLINGXN,
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL:
R. J. LxFxavkX.
88 La Salle St.
5T. LOUIS OFFICE :
CHAI.
N. VAN BURXN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRID MBTZGXR, 426-487 Front S t
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $50.00; opposite
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
THE ARTISTS'
nrm . „ . , , -
DEPARTMENT
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
"Artists' Department" all the current musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or service of the trade
section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and therefore aug-
ments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
n i a r r T A D V ^ B i t u n The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
uin.tl.lUKl of riANU f oun d o n p a g e 3 6 w i n b e o f g r e a t value, as a reference for
MANVFACTUR.ER.S
dealers and others.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE-NVMBER 1745 GRAMERCY.
NEW YORK. OCT. 22. 1904.
EDITORIAL
I
N the hardware trade there is now a well organized effort being
made to discontinue what is termed, "special brands" of hard-
ware.
In the opinion of the most prominent hardware men in the
country special brands are injurious to the trade, tending as they
do to take away from the manufacturer the incentive to good work
in view of the reputation which he might earn. "Special brands"
bring no distinction or credit to the factory in which they are made.
The special brand business is subject to the further objection
closely related to the one just mentioned—namely that it tends to
lower the quality of goods, a fact which is emphasized in the ex-
pressed opinions of many of the leading hardware men.
T
HIS topic, which is exciting a great deal of comment in hard-
ware circles, is of particular interest to piano manufacturers
and dealers, for it at once bears a close relation to the special brands
of instruments offered by dealers. There has been an increased
tendency to sell pianos under various names, none of which indicate
their real origin.
Most piano manufacturers are working for reputation. They
are continually improving their instruments, and are giving in every
essential greater values for the money. They are at the same time
endeavoring to make not only the trade, but the public, familiar with
their names by associating them with value and quality. They
take pride in the instruments which bear either their own patro-
nymic or the name of their producing corporation, and by the adop-
tion of all legitimate means are constantly making those names better
known to their constituency everywhere.
N
OW as soon as any manufacturer begins to send out instru-
ments under a variety of brands which supply no evidence of
their factory origin he is not only undermining his own reputation,
but he is contributing in a degree towards the disrupting of settled
piano conditons. There is no trade-mark value to his instruments and
the value of a trade-mark must be sustained else the industry suffers.
Look at the case of the special brand manufacturer. He may have
been in this business for a term of years and have created for him-
self and his wares practically no reputation beyond that of price.
He may have sold five hundred pianos in a certain locality under
a variety of names, and yet his instruments have no particular fol-
lowing in that vicinity. The agency is not sought for and there is
no fixed demand for his special products. The manufacturer who
can outbid him a few dollars on a piano secures the entire special
brand trade in that vicinity.
H
OW much better off he would be if he had sent forth instru-
ments under his own or corporate name for the same time.
His products would have a recognized standing 1 , and the agency
would be of value, and would be eagerly sought for by dealers in
that locality. A well advertised name always possesses an advan-
tage over some unknown name or the name of the dealer, if you will,
under whose name the piano is sometimes offered to the public.
It is unnecessary to adopt any form of abuse in order to decry
this kind of business, for it is perfectly legitimate, but does it con-
tribute in a permanent way either to individual piano success, or
to the general trade welfare, and no man should be selfish enough
to fail to figure the interest of those with whom his lot is cast.
UPPOSE we view this special brand business from purely a
business standpoint. Does a meagre profit of to-day recom-
pense one for the loss of piano reputation, and the failure to win a
trade-mark asset which is particularly valuable in the piano industry.
If general hardware men find it to their interest as a trade to dis-
countenance the sale of special brands of hardware where the in-
dividual costs are slight, how much more should it interest the
piano man to maintain a trade-mark value and eschew the special
brand business?
In our trade a piano name has in many cases a tremendous sell-
ing value. It has behind it years of earnest work, of honest en-
deavor which have resulted in splendid accomplishments. Manu-
facturers of such instruments take a pride in turning out instru-
ments of the highest standard, and in having their names asso-
ciated with their instrument, and, too, it cannot be disputed but
that they have won, from strictly a monetary standpoint, and it
is the dollars that count even from the viewpoint of the special
brand man.
S
T
HEN viewing it from the dealer's vantage ground, he knows
that he has behind him a certain stability and undisputed
strength that comes in offering instruments which bear names which
clearly indicate their origin—instruments which have behind them
firms and corporations whose names guarantee the legitimacy and
genuineness of the instruments. They have nothing to explain, and
they remove at once a certain argument which their competitors can
bring against them when they offer the special brand pianos. We
can name plenty of dealers who advertise, "no instruments offered
save under the manufacturer's name." They have found that it
pays them to do this, and no dealer can succeed permanently with the
special brand as a groundwork. A manufacturer who has made a
reputation for his instruments by means of quality, material and
workmanship, is entitled to have the fullest credit for his work and
the dealer should be content to have the reputation of handling in-
struments of established name and admitted excellence.
S a matter of fact special brands form an element of weakness
rather than of strength to the dealer and the claim that he
can with advantage hold his own trade-mark and is therefore inde-
pendent is absurd. No manufacturer desires to remove an agency
from a dealer who is doing good work for him. From every pos-
sible viewpoint it may be figured that their interests are mutual and
the manufacturer desires to encourage good work. The special
brand business has a deteriorating effect upon the trade, and if per-
sisted in it must ultimately destroy settled conditions. When a
manufacturer leaves off his own name and trade-mark there will be
less incentive for him to maintain excellence of quality.
It is quite time to view this matter from purely a business
standpoint, for it is obvious that if continued it must have a de-
moralizing effect upon trade as well as the steady bearing down of
quality.
A
W
HAT makes the quality standard in this trade to-day?
Suppose we sweep out a few of the old-time names which
have stood a bulwark for piano honor and integrity how the general
estimate of piano values would decline! Some of this special brand
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MEW
Editor and Proprietor,
EDWARD LYMAN
J. B. SF1LLANC.
THOI.
CAUFBKLL-COFKLAND,
W. MURDOCH
LIND,
irf E d i t o r .
EXECUTIVE STAFF:
Gxo. B. R n x u ,
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE:
BAUXR,
G I O . W. QUKRIPXL.
CHICAQO OFFICE:
BOSTON OPPICE:
EBMIIT L. WAITT, 366 Washington St.
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
EMILIR FRANCXS
A. J. NICKLIM,
E. P. VAN HARLINGXN,
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL:
R. J. LxFxavkX.
88 La Salle St.
5T. LOUIS OFFICE :
CHAI.
N. VAN BURXN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRID MBTZGXR, 426-487 Front S t
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico and Canada, $2.00 per
year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $50.00; opposite
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
THE ARTISTS'
nrm . „ . , , -
DEPARTMENT
On the first Saturday of each month The Review contains in its
"Artists' Department" all the current musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or service of the trade
section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and therefore aug-
ments materially the value of The Review to advertisers.
n i a r r T A D V ^ B i t u n The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
uin.tl.lUKl of riANU f oun d o n p a g e 3 6 w i n b e o f g r e a t value, as a reference for
MANVFACTUR.ER.S
dealers and others.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE-NVMBER 1745 GRAMERCY.
NEW YORK. OCT. 22. 1904.
EDITORIAL
I
N the hardware trade there is now a well organized effort being
made to discontinue what is termed, "special brands" of hard-
ware.
In the opinion of the most prominent hardware men in the
country special brands are injurious to the trade, tending as they
do to take away from the manufacturer the incentive to good work
in view of the reputation which he might earn. "Special brands"
bring no distinction or credit to the factory in which they are made.
The special brand business is subject to the further objection
closely related to the one just mentioned—namely that it tends to
lower the quality of goods, a fact which is emphasized in the ex-
pressed opinions of many of the leading hardware men.
T
HIS topic, which is exciting a great deal of comment in hard-
ware circles, is of particular interest to piano manufacturers
and dealers, for it at once bears a close relation to the special brands
of instruments offered by dealers. There has been an increased
tendency to sell pianos under various names, none of which indicate
their real origin.
Most piano manufacturers are working for reputation. They
are continually improving their instruments, and are giving in every
essential greater values for the money. They are at the same time
endeavoring to make not only the trade, but the public, familiar with
their names by associating them with value and quality. They
take pride in the instruments which bear either their own patro-
nymic or the name of their producing corporation, and by the adop-
tion of all legitimate means are constantly making those names better
known to their constituency everywhere.
N
OW as soon as any manufacturer begins to send out instru-
ments under a variety of brands which supply no evidence of
their factory origin he is not only undermining his own reputation,
but he is contributing in a degree towards the disrupting of settled
piano conditons. There is no trade-mark value to his instruments and
the value of a trade-mark must be sustained else the industry suffers.
Look at the case of the special brand manufacturer. He may have
been in this business for a term of years and have created for him-
self and his wares practically no reputation beyond that of price.
He may have sold five hundred pianos in a certain locality under
a variety of names, and yet his instruments have no particular fol-
lowing in that vicinity. The agency is not sought for and there is
no fixed demand for his special products. The manufacturer who
can outbid him a few dollars on a piano secures the entire special
brand trade in that vicinity.
H
OW much better off he would be if he had sent forth instru-
ments under his own or corporate name for the same time.
His products would have a recognized standing 1 , and the agency
would be of value, and would be eagerly sought for by dealers in
that locality. A well advertised name always possesses an advan-
tage over some unknown name or the name of the dealer, if you will,
under whose name the piano is sometimes offered to the public.
It is unnecessary to adopt any form of abuse in order to decry
this kind of business, for it is perfectly legitimate, but does it con-
tribute in a permanent way either to individual piano success, or
to the general trade welfare, and no man should be selfish enough
to fail to figure the interest of those with whom his lot is cast.
UPPOSE we view this special brand business from purely a
business standpoint. Does a meagre profit of to-day recom-
pense one for the loss of piano reputation, and the failure to win a
trade-mark asset which is particularly valuable in the piano industry.
If general hardware men find it to their interest as a trade to dis-
countenance the sale of special brands of hardware where the in-
dividual costs are slight, how much more should it interest the
piano man to maintain a trade-mark value and eschew the special
brand business?
In our trade a piano name has in many cases a tremendous sell-
ing value. It has behind it years of earnest work, of honest en-
deavor which have resulted in splendid accomplishments. Manu-
facturers of such instruments take a pride in turning out instru-
ments of the highest standard, and in having their names asso-
ciated with their instrument, and, too, it cannot be disputed but
that they have won, from strictly a monetary standpoint, and it
is the dollars that count even from the viewpoint of the special
brand man.
S
T
HEN viewing it from the dealer's vantage ground, he knows
that he has behind him a certain stability and undisputed
strength that comes in offering instruments which bear names which
clearly indicate their origin—instruments which have behind them
firms and corporations whose names guarantee the legitimacy and
genuineness of the instruments. They have nothing to explain, and
they remove at once a certain argument which their competitors can
bring against them when they offer the special brand pianos. We
can name plenty of dealers who advertise, "no instruments offered
save under the manufacturer's name." They have found that it
pays them to do this, and no dealer can succeed permanently with the
special brand as a groundwork. A manufacturer who has made a
reputation for his instruments by means of quality, material and
workmanship, is entitled to have the fullest credit for his work and
the dealer should be content to have the reputation of handling in-
struments of established name and admitted excellence.
S a matter of fact special brands form an element of weakness
rather than of strength to the dealer and the claim that he
can with advantage hold his own trade-mark and is therefore inde-
pendent is absurd. No manufacturer desires to remove an agency
from a dealer who is doing good work for him. From every pos-
sible viewpoint it may be figured that their interests are mutual and
the manufacturer desires to encourage good work. The special
brand business has a deteriorating effect upon the trade, and if per-
sisted in it must ultimately destroy settled conditions. When a
manufacturer leaves off his own name and trade-mark there will be
less incentive for him to maintain excellence of quality.
It is quite time to view this matter from purely a business
standpoint, for it is obvious that if continued it must have a de-
moralizing effect upon trade as well as the steady bearing down of
quality.
A
W
HAT makes the quality standard in this trade to-day?
Suppose we sweep out a few of the old-time names which
have stood a bulwark for piano honor and integrity how the general
estimate of piano values would decline! Some of this special brand
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