Music Trade Review
Issue: 1908 Vol. 47 N. 18 - Page 5
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THE
MUSIC TRADE
In special lines, enormous advertising patronage follows in
successful trades. The largest talking machine manufacturers saw
immediately the benefit of advertising and they became large patrons
of printers' ink. As a result, the talking machine sprang imme-
diately into public favor and the demand for this special product
increased at a surprising rate. And the men at the head of the
talking machine interests realize full well that advertising must be
maintained if the trade is to be kept up.
Take in the piano player business. The Aeolian Co. have been
not only the greatest advertisers in the piano player trade, but they
have been among the greatest national advertisers in any trade and
their tremendous campaign of publicity has helped along the gen-
eral piano player demand at a phenomenal pace.
P
UBLICITY must be maintained and it is noticed that when
some of the great music trade houses of New York follow
up a plan of large advertising, the effect is felt by every other music
house in New York, showing that when people see pianos adver-
tised in a large degree, they think pianos, their attention is called
to them, and as long as arguments are made in the piano adver-
tisements in a strong, convincing manner, they gravitate to near-
by piano stores and the non-advertisers at such times profit in a
degree by the progressiveness of the great institutions.
Albert Pope, who was the father of the bicycle industry, frankly
admits that the bicycle business was killed by the abandonment of
competitive advertising. As soon as the bicycle trust was formed,
advertising stopped and the whole bicycle business stopped with it.
Asi a result, the trust collapsed.
;§ There was a period of over-production in the bicycle business
Jnd the combination was formed to reduce expenses and one of the
first steps taken was to cut off all appropriations for advertising in
magazines and trade papers. These business men thought that they
knew what they were about and that the people would continue to
buy bicycles. But they did not and by the abandonment of a pub-
licity policy, the bicycle men committed business suicide.
The tendency of the public is to use and favor that which is
constantly called to their attention and to forget that which they are
not so reminded of. Even soap could not stand a policy of non-
advertising. Sapolio had by a great campaign of publicity become
a household necessity. Now naturally anyone would think that
when it had won this position the forces behind the enterprise could
cut out advertising for a while at least. The manufacturers thought
along these lines and they figured that they would save the money
which they spent for advertising in profits for the stockholders.
It only took them a little while to learn that the business which
they thought so solid was slipping steadily away from them and in
less than six months they commenced to renew their large adver-
tising contracts and it was stated that it would take more than three
years to recover the business lost in that short time.
There is no business concern which has worked up a national
reputation for its product that can afford to rest on its advertising
oars. It has to keep pulling all the time. No concern is so
firmly entrenched to-day that it can afford to abandon methods of
•publicity. Young, vigorous concerns are constantly forcing non-
progressive institutions to the wall and advertising never paid better
than to-day. Advertising in trade papers of influence, circulation and
standing always pays and we have received communications from
many clients who have not hesitated to praise this trade newspaper
organization for much of their success in the music trade world.
D
URING a recent interview with one of the most thoughtful
and far-sighted gentlemen in the music trade a number of
matters were discussed which have a direct bearing upon the re-
tailing of pianos and the work of the two music trade associations.
The opinions of this gentleman are well worth repeating and we
may add they are entitled to serious consideration. He said:
"Each day piano men are required to furnish little replevy
bonds and in most instances at a cost of $5 to $10 each. The piano
associations should arrange to provide these bonds for their mem-
bers (and to this extent the two associations should work together)
and save to the industry this leakage. It could be so arranged that
the association guarantee its members vyho go on such bonds for
other members. It is doubtful if bonding companies have ever lost
a dollar on such bonds, and it is equally doubtful if the association
would ever lose a dollar, and yet thousands would be saved to the
individual members of the^two association^ # ^ . . ^
REVIEW
"Then a more serious situation; let any manufacturer sue a
dealer or a dealer sue a retail customer and it is easy and customary
to find EXPERTS to swear that the glue was bad and the wood un-
seasoned, etc., but it is out of the range of ordinary to find one
house sending a good man to help his neighbor by testifying intelli-
gently and truthfully as to the merits of the piano and the conse-
quent rightfulness of the claim."
IN LIGHTER VEIN
After next Tuesday political knockers can rest for a while.
Lemons will bo distributed to a number of people next Tuesday.
Talk about corn stalk fiddles—corn stalk paper is the latest fad.
Never put off until to-morrow the business that you can do to-day.
Advertising,
an evolution.
like
religion,
medicine,
government -and science, is
MARKET NOTE.—Many a profit is without honor in the stock
market.—Life.
This seems to bo the coupon age and everything goes that is going
to draw business.
The man who works overtime attending strictly to his own affairs
usually climbs pretty well up the ladder of success.
Tt is the first impression that counts—therefore a customer should be
received most cordially upon entering the piano wareroom.
A New York daily says that the farmers of the West are enjoying
their automobiles and pianos. Well, why not? They have the where-
withal.
We have discovered that the man who tells the truth in his adver-
tising usually insists upon his salesmen telling the truth to the people
who come to his waierooms.
AS THE TWIG IS BENT.—Father—What, in your opinion, is. my
son's natural bent?
>
Teacher—Across a knee.—Des Moines Register.
SAUCE FOR THE HEN.—Mother—Alice, it is bed-time. All the little
chickens have gone to bed.
Alice—Yes, mamma, and so has the hen.—Harper's Bazar.
HIDDEN REMINDERS.—Sister Ann—Did you get any marks at
school ter-day, Bill?
Bill—Yus; but they're where they don't show.
A NATURAL 'PHONE.—Laura was playing on the porch with her
dolls, but was greatly distressed by the song of a locust in a tree near by.
Running to the tree, she shouted, impatiently, "Ring off, bird!"—De-
lineator.
THEY ALL DO.—Hub—But if you like the young fellow, Kate, why
do you object to our daughter marrying him?
Wife—Oh, she'll marry him, for all that; but I want to give her a
chance to say, when they quarrel, that "mother didn't want me to marry
you, anyway."
CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT.—"Never," groaned the picture dealer,
"never try to argue a woman into believing that she ought to pay a bill
when she thinks otherwise. I tried it this morning—presented a bill
for some stuff ordered two months ago. Here was the irrefutable logic:
" 'I never ordered any pictures.'
" 'If I did, you never delivered them.'
" 'If you did, I never got them.'
" 'If I did, I paid for them.'
" 'If I didn't, I must have had some good reason for it.'
" 'And if I had, of course, I won't pay.' "
TAKE YOUR CHOICE.—A learned judge was explaining the intrica-
cies of evidence to a young friend and gave the following story in regard
to conflicting evidence:
Usually, he said, one statement is far more probable than the other,
so that we can decide easily which to believe. It is like the boy and the
house-hunter. The house-hunter, getting off a train at a suburban sta-
tion, said to a boy:
"My lad, I am looking for Mr. Smithson's new block of semi-
detached houses. How far are they from here?"
"About twenty minutes' walk," the boy replied.
"Twenty minutes!" exclaimed the house-hunter. "Nonsense! The
advertisement says five."
"Well," said the boy, "you can believe me or you can believe the
advertisement, but I ain't tryin' to make a sale."
THE
MUSIC TRADE
In special lines, enormous advertising patronage follows in
successful trades. The largest talking machine manufacturers saw
immediately the benefit of advertising and they became large patrons
of printers' ink. As a result, the talking machine sprang imme-
diately into public favor and the demand for this special product
increased at a surprising rate. And the men at the head of the
talking machine interests realize full well that advertising must be
maintained if the trade is to be kept up.
Take in the piano player business. The Aeolian Co. have been
not only the greatest advertisers in the piano player trade, but they
have been among the greatest national advertisers in any trade and
their tremendous campaign of publicity has helped along the gen-
eral piano player demand at a phenomenal pace.
P
UBLICITY must be maintained and it is noticed that when
some of the great music trade houses of New York follow
up a plan of large advertising, the effect is felt by every other music
house in New York, showing that when people see pianos adver-
tised in a large degree, they think pianos, their attention is called
to them, and as long as arguments are made in the piano adver-
tisements in a strong, convincing manner, they gravitate to near-
by piano stores and the non-advertisers at such times profit in a
degree by the progressiveness of the great institutions.
Albert Pope, who was the father of the bicycle industry, frankly
admits that the bicycle business was killed by the abandonment of
competitive advertising. As soon as the bicycle trust was formed,
advertising stopped and the whole bicycle business stopped with it.
Asi a result, the trust collapsed.
;§ There was a period of over-production in the bicycle business
Jnd the combination was formed to reduce expenses and one of the
first steps taken was to cut off all appropriations for advertising in
magazines and trade papers. These business men thought that they
knew what they were about and that the people would continue to
buy bicycles. But they did not and by the abandonment of a pub-
licity policy, the bicycle men committed business suicide.
The tendency of the public is to use and favor that which is
constantly called to their attention and to forget that which they are
not so reminded of. Even soap could not stand a policy of non-
advertising. Sapolio had by a great campaign of publicity become
a household necessity. Now naturally anyone would think that
when it had won this position the forces behind the enterprise could
cut out advertising for a while at least. The manufacturers thought
along these lines and they figured that they would save the money
which they spent for advertising in profits for the stockholders.
It only took them a little while to learn that the business which
they thought so solid was slipping steadily away from them and in
less than six months they commenced to renew their large adver-
tising contracts and it was stated that it would take more than three
years to recover the business lost in that short time.
There is no business concern which has worked up a national
reputation for its product that can afford to rest on its advertising
oars. It has to keep pulling all the time. No concern is so
firmly entrenched to-day that it can afford to abandon methods of
•publicity. Young, vigorous concerns are constantly forcing non-
progressive institutions to the wall and advertising never paid better
than to-day. Advertising in trade papers of influence, circulation and
standing always pays and we have received communications from
many clients who have not hesitated to praise this trade newspaper
organization for much of their success in the music trade world.
D
URING a recent interview with one of the most thoughtful
and far-sighted gentlemen in the music trade a number of
matters were discussed which have a direct bearing upon the re-
tailing of pianos and the work of the two music trade associations.
The opinions of this gentleman are well worth repeating and we
may add they are entitled to serious consideration. He said:
"Each day piano men are required to furnish little replevy
bonds and in most instances at a cost of $5 to $10 each. The piano
associations should arrange to provide these bonds for their mem-
bers (and to this extent the two associations should work together)
and save to the industry this leakage. It could be so arranged that
the association guarantee its members vyho go on such bonds for
other members. It is doubtful if bonding companies have ever lost
a dollar on such bonds, and it is equally doubtful if the association
would ever lose a dollar, and yet thousands would be saved to the
individual members of the^two association^ # ^ . . ^
REVIEW
"Then a more serious situation; let any manufacturer sue a
dealer or a dealer sue a retail customer and it is easy and customary
to find EXPERTS to swear that the glue was bad and the wood un-
seasoned, etc., but it is out of the range of ordinary to find one
house sending a good man to help his neighbor by testifying intelli-
gently and truthfully as to the merits of the piano and the conse-
quent rightfulness of the claim."
IN LIGHTER VEIN
After next Tuesday political knockers can rest for a while.
Lemons will bo distributed to a number of people next Tuesday.
Talk about corn stalk fiddles—corn stalk paper is the latest fad.
Never put off until to-morrow the business that you can do to-day.
Advertising,
an evolution.
like
religion,
medicine,
government -and science, is
MARKET NOTE.—Many a profit is without honor in the stock
market.—Life.
This seems to bo the coupon age and everything goes that is going
to draw business.
The man who works overtime attending strictly to his own affairs
usually climbs pretty well up the ladder of success.
Tt is the first impression that counts—therefore a customer should be
received most cordially upon entering the piano wareroom.
A New York daily says that the farmers of the West are enjoying
their automobiles and pianos. Well, why not? They have the where-
withal.
We have discovered that the man who tells the truth in his adver-
tising usually insists upon his salesmen telling the truth to the people
who come to his waierooms.
AS THE TWIG IS BENT.—Father—What, in your opinion, is. my
son's natural bent?
>
Teacher—Across a knee.—Des Moines Register.
SAUCE FOR THE HEN.—Mother—Alice, it is bed-time. All the little
chickens have gone to bed.
Alice—Yes, mamma, and so has the hen.—Harper's Bazar.
HIDDEN REMINDERS.—Sister Ann—Did you get any marks at
school ter-day, Bill?
Bill—Yus; but they're where they don't show.
A NATURAL 'PHONE.—Laura was playing on the porch with her
dolls, but was greatly distressed by the song of a locust in a tree near by.
Running to the tree, she shouted, impatiently, "Ring off, bird!"—De-
lineator.
THEY ALL DO.—Hub—But if you like the young fellow, Kate, why
do you object to our daughter marrying him?
Wife—Oh, she'll marry him, for all that; but I want to give her a
chance to say, when they quarrel, that "mother didn't want me to marry
you, anyway."
CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT.—"Never," groaned the picture dealer,
"never try to argue a woman into believing that she ought to pay a bill
when she thinks otherwise. I tried it this morning—presented a bill
for some stuff ordered two months ago. Here was the irrefutable logic:
" 'I never ordered any pictures.'
" 'If I did, you never delivered them.'
" 'If you did, I never got them.'
" 'If I did, I paid for them.'
" 'If I didn't, I must have had some good reason for it.'
" 'And if I had, of course, I won't pay.' "
TAKE YOUR CHOICE.—A learned judge was explaining the intrica-
cies of evidence to a young friend and gave the following story in regard
to conflicting evidence:
Usually, he said, one statement is far more probable than the other,
so that we can decide easily which to believe. It is like the boy and the
house-hunter. The house-hunter, getting off a train at a suburban sta-
tion, said to a boy:
"My lad, I am looking for Mr. Smithson's new block of semi-
detached houses. How far are they from here?"
"About twenty minutes' walk," the boy replied.
"Twenty minutes!" exclaimed the house-hunter. "Nonsense! The
advertisement says five."
"Well," said the boy, "you can believe me or you can believe the
advertisement, but I ain't tryin' to make a sale."
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