Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE!
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Staff:
OBO. B. KULLBB.
W. N. TYLER.
F. H. THOMPSON.
BMILIB FRANCES BADKB.
L. B. BOWERS. B. BRITTAIN WILSON, WAT. B. WHITE. L. J. CHAMBERLIN. A. J. NICKLIN.
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
E. P. VAN HARLINQEN, 195-197 Wabash Ave.
TELEPHONES : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE: MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL: ST. LOUIS OFFICE
WRNEST L. WAITT, 278A Tremont St.
It. W. KATJFFMAN.
A. W. SHAW
CHAS. N. VAN BUREN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRED METZGKR, 425-427 Front S t
CINCINNATI. O.:
LONDON, ENGLAND:
NINA PUGH-SMITH.
69 Basinghall St., E. C.
W. Lionel Sturdy, Manager.
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 pe'
year ; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per Insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special dlrcount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $50.00; opposltp
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES, In other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Directory of Piano The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporation*,
found on another pa?e will be of great value, as a referenct
Manufacturers for dealers and others.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medaf.Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal..St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold MedaJ.Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE—NUMBER 1745 GRAMERCY
Cable address: "Elbill New York."
NEW
YORK,
OCTOBER
6, 1 9 0 6
EDITORIAL
T
HE first week in October would indicate that the month is going
to be a record-breaker in both manufacturing and retail de-
partments of the music trade industry. If trade continues in the
same remarkable volume for practically all grades of pianos, it will
mean depleted retail wareroom stocks as well as a scant supply at
the various factories.
Manufacturers find themselves subject to a heavy and steady
pressure to supply pianos in a greater quantity than their facilities
provide for. There is no means of a forced piano production be-
yond a certain point, and some retailers in their solicitude for in-
struments are, doubtless, at times unreasonable in their urgency,
perhaps making up for their own tardiness in purchasing through
their efforts to get their orders executed without delay.
ESIDES a great volume of business in almost every line of
trade a marked feature of the situation is the strength of
prices in almost every trade outside of pianos, and the advances
which are almost constantly taking place. It is a fact that in most
trades it may be said that the market is decidedly a seller's market,
as buyers are more anxious to obtain goods than they are about the
prices they are compelled to pay.
In many of the leading industries there has been a steady ad-
vance in prices, and dealers have not demurred in the slightest.
They had rather pay the advance than be without the goods. It is
a fact that piano manufacturers as a whole have not advanced to a
point which makes this industry even with almost every other in-
dustry in the matter of advance in prices. Conservatism in making
price advances has been characteristic of the piano world.
There has been on the part of many of our manufacturers a
reluctance to establish higher prices, but it would seem as if these
views would have to be remodeled somewhat, because, according to
the belief of some of the best posted men in the country, there will
be no decrease in the cost of manufactured articles. On the con-
trary, there is an upward trend in everything.
B
W
ITH such generally good times it would seem that no piano
merchant should resort to unfair methods in his adver-
tising to capture trade. Certainly there could be no better time
than the present to hold to correct methods in the exploitation of
piano stocks in the columns of the daily press.
Advertising is an admitted essential to modern business, hut it
should be clean, healthy advertising, and not the kind which is cal-
culated to injure the reputation of instruments or to discredit the
piano business in the estimation of the public. There have been
several examples in the trade recently where piano men have
adopted a form of misleading advertising. There has been a case
in Worcester, Mass., where a dealer through his advertising gave
the impression that he carried a number of leading makes of in-
struments, when as a matter of fact he had none of the brands
which he advertised on his floor, save some instruments which had
reached the voting age, and still his advertisements would lead the
public to believe that he had hundreds of these pianos in stock, and
that his was the regular established depot for the sale and distribu-
tion of these instruments.
S this particular dealer referred to above is a member of the
Dealers' Association, it is said that the officers are investi-
gating the case closely. On several occasions the Dealers' Associa-
tion has proven, not only its willingness to suppress such forms of
misleading advertising, but its ability actually to eliminate it, and
no doubt pressure will be brought to bear on this particular man to
discontinue this offensive form of publicity, as he is a member of
the Piano Dealers' National Association, which has gone on record
a number of times as condemning misleading forms of advertising.
There are plenty of ways in which piano men may exploit their
goods properly before the public without descending from the high
plane on which the business should be conducted.
A
T may be truthfully said that piano advertising has improved
materially, not only in character, but the dealers themselves
are becoming more keenly alive to the value of publicity than ever
before. The dealer who advertises, even though his advertisements
are poorly constructed, is placing his wares before the public in
such a way that they are sure to attract some attention, and a poor
advertisement is better than none at all, yet that is hardly the way
to look at it. A piano advertisement should neither be poor nor
misleading. It should be truthful and attractive. A piano adver-
tiser who is paying out good money for space should go a step
further and pay out a little more and know that his story is prop-
erly, cleverly and convincingly told. Then if his business does not
take on a decided increase, he will doubtless have the consolation
of knowing that the fault does not lie with the advertisement.
I
HE piano dealer who finds that his time should be given to
other matters, or that his training doesn't warrant the at-
tempt to prepare convincing advertising matter, would do
much better to have it properly arranged by those who are experts
in advertising and charge a reasonable price for the preparation
of the matter. America is the home of good and progressive ad-
vertising, and some of the piano mediants in this country know
how to keep their business properly before the reading public. It
pays, too, in the volume of business. In Europe the piano dealers
rarely ever advertise, and the business there, outside a limited few,
has not reached a point of dignity or attractiveness. America leads
the world in clever advertising, and there are any number of men
who can be easily secured in every city of the land who can exploit
a business properly, and perhaps do it at even less cost than the
merchant himself, when he counts his time at its actual worth.
T
N all the larger cities there are many music trade establishments
which have men employed who understand the art of adver-
tising, and there is no reason why to-day piano advertisements
should not be among the most attractive which appear in the col-
umns of the daily papers, but none of them should be misleading,
and they should not be written to give a false idea as to what the
dealer has to offer. What is said in an advertisement is just as
important as the space which it occupies, and the only economical
and commonsense way to make advertising pay is not to close the
clasp upon your purse when it comes to paying for the cost of the
preparation of the matter that is to fill the advertising space.
I
HILE discussing the question of costs with a well-known
member of the trade, he said recently that if the statement
made to him regarding th.^ prices at which certain, pianos were
W