Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
that your position was a correct one. I am now convinced that the
nationalization of prices is the best thing for the protection of the
entire piano trade, and I wish that you could win everybody over
to your line of thinking."
One thing is certain, communications from all parts of the coun-
try to the Review show that we have fairly awakened trade thought
along these lines, and that certainly is a move in the right direction.
When once the sentiment of the trade is aroused, action of some
kind will be the outcome, and while we do not propose to dictate
in the slightest degree to the members of this trade what plans
they shall adopt as to the conduct of their business, yet we do re-
serve the right to make suggestions which we deem advantageous
to the best interest's of the industry.
T
O advocate sound business principles is one of the proper
functions of a trade journal. Some still hold to the idea
that the mission of a trade paper ends with the publication of news
matter. That is only one department of the work; the field is too
large, too broad, to be covered by men who have such a narrow
conception of the mission of a trade publication. It should lead
and never be led. It should mould trade opinion in the right way.
At least, that is our belief. The true journalist is never anxious
to get credit for certain work which he may do, for the individual
who is looking for credit and recognition is always disappointed.
When we first suggested a trade association we were laughed
at. Many said it was an impossibility as well as an absurdity, and
yet the two associations came into being and have developed pre-
cisely as we had outlined years ago. It is simply a matter of pre-
paring trade opinion, and then at the proper time action will be
taken, and action will be taken individually, if not generally, in ad-
vancing the payments to be made at regular intervals on pianos
sold on time. There is no reason why the time should be put off,
because there is more money made in putting the plan into opera-
tion at once. Delays at all times are dangerous, but in this par-
ticular instance they are expensive.
WELL-KNOWN piano manufacturer, while discussing the
upward tendency of prices in everything, remarked: "Con-
ditions are such in the piano trade that manufacturers should take
immediate action in raising prices to fairly cover the increased cost
of manufacture. I may say to you that at the beginning of the
year we made a slight advance in our prices. We supposed at the
time that it was sufficient to cover the increased cost to us of labor,
lumber and materials, but within two months we were compelled to
stand in the various departments this distinct rise, which put our
modest advance out of sight.
"Take the question of boxes alone. Even the cheapest kind
of lumber has advanced, so that the cost of boxing pianos to-day
makes a large annual expense, because all of the shipments cannot
be made in carload lots. W^hile our Pacific Coast trade nearly all
demand full cars, yet at scores of points we are constantly sending
out single pianos and in groups, and the expense of boxing in a year
amounts to a large figure. The only way that I see is for the piano
manufacturers to make a substantial advance at the beginning of
the new year, so that we may meet fairly what increased cost comes
to us within the next twelve months. Dealers will not object, be-
cause every sensible man can see that the position is a sound one,
and in no other trade has there been any hesitancy about raising
prices. Lumber men do not explain to you apologetically that they
are compelled to raise prices. They simply send out a schedule,
and that ends it, no arguments are necessary. The same with the
hardware and all other lines of materials which enter into the piano
composition. It is simply mark up, and no argument, but the
piano manufacturer has to stand this advance all round, and he in
turn seems afraid to ask what is reasonable from the dealer. They
can get more for their pianos if they will, because with the good
times which are all about us a man is not going to be deferred in a
piano purchase for ten or fifteen dollars." The sentiments expressed
above are worth thinking over; they are right to the point.
A
W
HY does the average country boy proverbially become the
successful city man?
Well, one reason is because he has been brought up in a
healthy atmosphere and never learned to smoke cigarettes when he
was ten years old or stand around watching the clock waiting for
quitting time. In the main he brings with him to town a rugged
determination and steadfast purpose to win. He brings these right
REVIEW
along with him, with his home-made hair-cut and his country ways,
but he is more serious; he is determined, and is not easily deterred
from winning out. He is not fault-finding. Great cities are grind-
ing out thousands of country boys every year, and they are turning
them out within a very brief time the most finished, competent busi-
ness men of our times. Take our leaders in finance, in railroads,
many of them were country boys, who early acquired the habits of
frugality and started in to win. They did, and they climbed well
up on the ladder of wealth and fame.
W
E have plenty of men in the piano trade who originally
followed life on the farm when it did not pay as well as
at the present time, but they embraced their opportunities and suc-
ceeded, and there are plenty of chances to-day in the piano trade
for good, brainy, intelligent young men.
There is really a dearth of young men in every department of
the industry. There is a call for good salesmen, for good tuners
and for good all-round men. Business firms to-day are looking
everywhere for men who can sell the goods, but they are tired of
experimenting with men who think they can, and who want to be
paid salaries for standing round and looking pleasant. But the fel-
low who can get the orders, or who can sell the goods does not
have to worry long about what his salary is going to be. That
takes care of itself. The amount that the salesman can earn is
limited only by his ability. His compensation, whether he is paid a
salary or a commission, is based on the amount of profit that he
makes for his firm, but he must make the sales. He must make
paying sales.
I
T is one thing to sell goods, but it is a mighty sight better to
sell them well. All men are salesmen of some kind. The
laborer sells his labor, the professional man his thought. The man
most commonly called the salesman sells some commodity of life,
but really we are all salesmen, and the success we attain is largely
due to our ability to impress the purchaser with the fact that we
have something he wants, and that our particular brand is just a
little better than any other.
To be a good piano salesman one must be systematic. He must
treat his trade as a profession, learn all about the piano, learn to
talk intelligently and to impress customers with the fact that his
knowledge counts for something. Irregular habits lead to indiffer-
ence and to laziness, which is akin to servitude. No man can long
retain his ambition if he feels that his work is in the nature of servi-
tude. Without ambition he is likely to have little policy in the per-
formance of his duty and little confidence in his ability to win out
in the race for success.
T
HE inside player is in strong demand just now, and the busi-
ness is limited by the ability of the factories to turn out in-
struments. The inside player business for the fall and holidays
will be largely in excess of that of last year. There are more fac-
tories producing stock this year, and, of course, that fact alone
would help out the quantity considerably, but all are producing more
than last year, and still there does not appear to be enough of those
special piano products to go round. Dealers are calling loud and
insistently for more of the inside players, and the holidays are com-
ing on, and the week before Christmas there will be a rush for the
inside player which will surprise even the old-timers.
r
I S HERE is a certain dealer in the South on whose letter-heads
X appear the words : "Liabilities, $15,000."
It might seem at the first blush as if the dealer were over-
honest in stating to the whole world just what his obligations were,
but as a matter of fact he hasn't learned as yet to distinguish the
difference between the meaning of the words assets and liabilities,
and probably after he reads this in The Review he will destroy the
stock of paper which he has on hand. It.is surprising that a man
so ignorant of the English language should engage in the piano
business, but he is not the only one whose early education was seri-
ously neglected, and, strange to relate, this same man has the repu-
tation of being a pretty fair piano salesman.
I
MPORTANT copyright legislation which will affect the future
use of perforated music on piano players has been up for
hearing before a congressional committee this week at Washing-
ton. The manufacturers who oppose the passage of the bill in its
present form have been represented by eminent counsel.